President Joe Biden will not be standing for re-election, after enthusiastically campaigning for it over the past few months. His Vice President Kamala HarrisĀ is now set to stand as the Democratic nominee, while he is now seeing out his term as President.
It's no doubt a low moment for the 81-year-old, as speculation about his age and capacity led many to question whether he'd be able to lead for another four years. But this isn't the only major loss for Biden, who very nearly resigned from his career in 1972 after the death of his wife Neilia and daughter Naomi.
The then-senator was persuaded not to resign by Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield, although the tragedy took its toll on him. He found love again in 1975 when he went on a blind date with Jill Tracy Jacobs, who he married in 1977; he credits Jill for his renewed interest in politics and life - and they had a child together.
© Tasos KatopodisJoe Biden is father to four kids - Beau, Hunter, Naomi and Ashley. Here's all you need to know about his children.
Beau Biden, 46
© Mark WilsonJoe and Neilia welcomed their eldest son, Joseph Robinette "Beau" Biden III, on February 3, 1969. He was named after his father and grandfather, yet nicknamed Beau. He was badly injured in the car crash which killed his mother in December 1972, suffering a broken leg.
Beau would go on to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991 and Syracuse University College of Law, following in his father's footsteps. He then worked as counsel to the Office of Policy Development in the U.S. Department of Justice in Philadelphia, and then as the federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney Office from 1995 to 2004.
© AFPIn 2003, he joined the Delaware Army National Guard, attaining the rank of major in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps. In 2008, he was deployed to Iraq where he served on active duty overseas until late 2009.
In 2013, Beau was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. After two years of radiation and chemotherapy, he died aged 46 in May 2015. He is survived by his wife Hallie Olivere, and their kids Natalie Biden and Robert Biden II.
© Mark MakelaHunter Biden, 54
© Bruce BennettHunter, legal name Robert Hunter Biden, is Joe and Neilia's second son. He was born on February 4, 1970, and survived the car crash alongside his brother which killed his mother, suffering a minor skull fracture.
The 54-year-old graduated from Georgetown University in 1992, where he studied History. He would go on to study at Yale Law School, graduating in 1996. Not long after graduating from Georgetown, he met Kathleen Buhle, who he married in 1993. They would go on to have three children together: Naomi, Finnegan, and Maisy.
© GettyAfter studying, he would go on to work as both a lobbyist and in private equity. He caused controversy when he accepted a consultancy role at the bank holding company MBNA, whose employees donated more than $200,000 to his father's senate campaigns over the years.
But Hunter has continued to face a number of personal troubles over the years. In 2014, he was discharged from the Naval Reserve, where he was a public affairs officer, after he tested positive for cocaine use.
Not long after, he joined the board of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian natural gas company, where he was reportedly paid up to $50,000 per month. He came under scrutiny because of his father's vice presidency and his own apparent lack of qualifications, as a lawyer and former lobbyist. His duties ended in 2019.
In 2015, a data leak showed he had used Ashley Madison, a dating website for people seeking extramarital affairs. While denied even registering for the website, that same year he and his then-wife Kathleen filed a consent motion to end their marriage. The divorce was finalized in 2014.
© Paul MorigiHunter's personal life remained under public scrutiny as he dated his brother's widow, and his own former sister-in-law, Hallie - from 2017 to 2019. During this time, a woman named Lunden Roberts claimed that Hunter was the father to her daughter, Navy Joan Roberts. Which was later verified by a paternity test despite his initial denial.
Finally, Hunter married Melissa Cohen just days after initially meeting in 2019. Together, they share one son, Beau, named after Hunter's late brother.
© GettyHe has also experienced a number of legal issues, as in June 2023 he was charged on federal misdemeanor charge for failing to pay federal income tax, and a felony charge of illegally possessing a weapon.
He pleaded not guilty to the federal demeanor charges of failing to pay federal income tax. In September 2023, he was indicted on three counts related to gun possession. Two of these charges involved signing a form that stated he was not using illegal drugs when he purchased a revolver in 2018, the third alleged that he possessed a firearm while using a narcotic.
He was convicted of the three felony charges on June 11, 2024. Days after, he requested a new trial.
STAR REELS
Naomi Biden, one
© BettmannJoe and Neilia had a third child, Naomi, on November 8, 1971. Sadly, she died at just one-years-old during a 1972 car crash which killed her mom as well. Hunter named his daughter Naomi in her honor.
Ashley Biden, 43
© Alex WongFour years into his marriage with Jill, Joe welcomed Ashley, his youngest daughter. She is Jill and Joe's first and only child together.
After graduating from her bachelor's degree from Tulane University, Ashley achieved a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy and Practice in 2010. That year, she met Howard Krein, who she married in a joint Catholic-Jewish church service in 2012.
© Mark ReinsteinShe would then go on to have a career in social work, working for the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families for 15 years before becoming the executive director for the Delaware Center of Justice from 2014 to 2019.
She also launched a "socially and ethically conscious apparel company" in 2017, called Livelihood Inc., with 100 percent of the net proceeds going to the brand's community development initiatives.
