Source: TANNEN MAURY / GettyPresident Joe Biden has known more than his fair share of hardship and tragedy. Whether overcoming his childhood stutter or losing his wife and daughter to a car crash in 1972 or his son Beau to cancer in 2015, devastation has been a constant companion throughout his life and it’s tempting to see his recent diagnosis of aggressive prostate cancer in that light.
But that is not Joe Biden. Yes, he has known deep tragedy professionally, politically and personally, it has never defined him because he has always found the strength not just to overcome that tragedy, but turn it into triumph.
I have often referred to President Biden as “Uncle Joe” or “Scrappy Joe from Scranton” because he’s always punched above his weight, reminding me of how my grandparents used to tell me, “When people want to count you out, show them that they don’t know how to count.”
It’s one thing to get knocked down. That happens to all of us. Joe Biden teaches us how to get back up and, more than laudable or even righteous, that is profoundly American.
Furthermore, while some make their name in pomp and bluster, President Biden has lived his life with the blue-collar work ethic and sensibility he grew up with and the simple goodness and grace of his faith. Ask any of the people who have known him. They’ll tell you.
Ask the simple campaign volunteers who were always surprised that he remembered their names or their families. Ask the countless everyday Americans he met how he’d take time out of a packed schedule to listen to their troubles, how he would celebrate their victories and how he’d console them and pray with them in times of sorrow.
Ask them if they’ve ever seen anything like him before or since.
Source: The Washington Post / GettyJoe Biden has always leaned on his faith and it shows. I know. I’ve seen it firsthand. I was there with him at Royal Missionary Baptist Church on January 19, 2025. It was one of his last official events as President and I had the honor not only to help plan the trip, but to worship with him in those pews.
He talked about faith that day. He talked about faith in God and faith in each other. He talked about faith in an America “Where the people we love go through hard times, fall down, make mistakes, but we’re right there to help them get back up.”
“We don’t turn on each other,” he said. “We lean into each other. That’s the sacred covenant of our nation. We pledge allegiance, not just to an idea but to each other. That’s who we’re pledging allegiance to.”
In high times, tough times, and all times, he leans on his friends, his family, and his faith. It was on full display that day, and it remains on full display.
When I heard about President Biden’s diagnosis over the weekend, like most of you, I was shocked and saddened. More than anything else, Joe Biden is a good man and he doesn’t deserve this fight. Then again, he’s never shied away from one either. That’s why this is one of those rare moments where we get to see people across this nation and the world rally together to stand behind this good man who stood for us, who challenged us to cure cancer in all its forms and who cheers us to get back up and be better than we ever thought possible.
Antjuan Seawright is a Democratic political strategist, founder and CEO of Blueprint Strategy LLC and a senior visiting fellow at Third Way. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @antjuansea.
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