In a rare interview granted in recent weeks, the President of the United States Joe Biden returns to talk about a sad chapter in his life, admitting that, after the death of his first wife and daughter in a car accident, he came to contemplate the idea of suicide. The statement, part of an almost hour-long interview given to the famous radio program of Howard Sterncaused a series of reactions in America, given that Biden had not never spoken of this particularly painful episode of his existence.
“I thought about suicide”
The interview with the controversial radio host, famous for his vulgar and irreverent outingswas not present in the White House public program and therefore has surprised the rest of the media. Even more unusual, then, is the fact that Biden agreed to speak of his private life, including some particularly painful chapters, for nearly an hour. Normally the president barely answers questions at a press conference but, evidently, with Stern, whose democratic sympathies are well known, he felt comfortable. Many were surprised when Biden responded to a question about how he felt in 1972, when his first wife Neilia and their 13-month-old daughter Naomi were killed in a car accident.
“I sat there alone and thought about getting a bottle of scotch. I told myself ‘I’ll drink it all so I can get drunk’, even though I didn’t normally drink. I thought about suicide, you don’t have to be crazy to commit suicide. I was just thinking of walking to the Memorial Bridge in Delaware and jumping off it.”. Given the controversial topic, the president advised those who had such thoughts to ask for help Before it’s too late. The interview touched on many other rather personal topics, from when he didn’t take his studies seriously at university to when faced stuttering and many other questions soft, with moments that seemed tailor-made to make Biden look good. It is not yet clear what effect this interview may have on the public clearly biased and, probably, agreed point by point with the White House.
“I will debate Trump, I don’t know when”
The phrase that caused the most reactions overseas, however, was the one that addressed one of the doubts of this electoral campaign: Biden’s presence or absence in the traditional television debates with rival Donald Trump. To Stern’s question, the incumbent president responded in a somewhat cryptic manner: “I will debate Trump, somehow. I don’t know when it will happen but I would be happy to debate with him.”. The question comes in a delicate moment of the campaign, considering the many controversies due to Biden’s reluctance to grant interviews to the media. Thursday, the specialized site Politic had published a long article on one dispute in progress between the White House and the New York Timeswhich is becoming increasingly critical of him.
In essence, the White House would stand refusing to grant the famous Big Apple newspaper an interview with the president because not happy of the coverage given to his administration’s policies. Given that, traditionally, the New York Times has always had access to the president, the newspaper of the left-wing intelligentsia has it tied to the finger. The fact that Biden chose to speak to a very controversial radio host before the paper of record it didn’t go unnoticed. The Times noted how, during the interview, Biden said he had been arrested as a teenager at a civil rights protest. According to the newspaper, “There is no evidence that it actually happened”.
Given that polls see Trump’s lead rising in many key states, the choice to snub the press could turn out to be an own goal.
