Joe Biden
Title: President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.
Full Name: Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.
Birthdate: November 20, 1942
Birthplace: Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA
Occupation: Head of State
Profile: The 46th President of the United States (January 20, 2021 to January 20, 2025).
Website: https://joebiden.com/
Number of Quotes: 170
A diplomatic solution that puts significant and verifiable constraints on Iran's nuclear program represents the best and most
sustainable chance to ensure that America, Israel, the entire Middle East will never be menaced by a nuclear-armed Iran.
A gaffe in Washington is someone telling the truth, and telling the truth has never hurt me.
Abe Foxman has been a friend and advisor of mine for a long time.
Al Qaeda is almost all in Pakistan, and Pakistan has nuclear weapons. And yet for every dollar
we're spending in Pakistan, we're spending $30 in Afghanistan. Does that make strategic sense?
America doesn't have health insurance.
America's commitment to collective defense under Article 5 of NATO is a sacred
obligation in our view - a sacred obligation not just for now, but for all time.
America's experience, like many others, teaches us that fostering entrepreneurship is not just about crafting the right economic
policy or developing the best educated curricula. It's about creating an entire climate in which innovation and ideas flourish.
Anyone who's traveled with me to Afghanistan knows why I love this book: War,
by Sebastian Junger.
As a matter of fact, I didn't make a political speech outside of my state for 20 years.
Barack Obama is probably the most exciting candidate
that either the Democratic or Republican party has produced at least since I've been around. He's fresh, he's new, he's insightful.
Corruption is a cancer: a cancer that eats away at a citizen's faith in democracy, diminishes the instinct for innovation and creativity; already-
tight national budgets, crowding out important national investments. It wastes the talent of entire generations. It scares away investments and jobs.
Corruption is just another form of tyranny.
Don't compare me to the Almighty, compare me to the alternative.
A frequent refrain contrasting himself with opponents,
particularly Donald Trump.
Don't hold against me that I don't own - that I don't own a single stock or bond. Don't hold it - I have no savings accounts.
Don't tell me what you value. Show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value.
During the 60's, I was, in fact, very concerned about the civil rights movement.
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras have all agreed to send additional consular officers from Guatemala, from Honduras, from El Salvador, send
them to the U.S. border so that we can more quickly and humanely identify unaccompanied children and process their individual removal.
Every Republican's voted for it. Look at what they value and look at their budget and what they're
proposing. Romney wants to let the - he said in the first 100
days he's going to let the big banks once again write their own rules - unchain Wall Street. They're gonna put y'all back in chains.
Except for the title father,
there is no title, including vice president,
that I am more proud to wear than that of United States senator.
Failure at some point in your life is inevitable, but giving up is unforgivable.
Fighting corruption is not just good governance. It's self-defense. It's patriotism.
Folks, I can tell you I know we're making progress when I look at the past.
Characteristic phrasing emphasizing progress from a difficult past.
Folks, I can tell you I've known eight presidents, three of them intimately.
Folks, you're the reason that the automobile industry is back. Whether it was the wage freezes, the plant closures, folks, you sacrificed to keep
your companies open. Because of your productivity, the combined auto companies have committed to invest another $23 billion in expansion in America.
For any young democracy, the most difficult but important step is burying the legacy of tyranny and establishing an economy and a
government and institutions that abide by the rule of law. Every country faces challenges to the rule of law, including my own.
For too long in this society, we have celebrated unrestrained individualism over common community.
Reflecting his theme of unity and community.
Foreign policy is like human relations, only people know less about each other.
Given a fair shot, given a fair chance, Americans have never, ever, ever, ever let
their country down. Never. Never. Ordinary people like us. Who do extraordinary things.
Global energy security is a vital part of America's national security.
Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more
qualified than I am to be Vice President of the United States of America. Let's get that straight. She's a truly close personal friend. She
is qualified to be President of the United States of America. She's easily qualified to be Vice President of the United States of America.
I always wonder when it was that I was embraced.
I believe the American people have a genuine and justifiable fear of government
intrusion in what they instinctively know is going to be an ever more intrusive world.
I can die a happy man never having been president of the United States of America. But it doesn't mean I won't run.
I consider myself to be as informed on American foreign policy as anyone in America.
I didn't play soccer; I played that other football in grade school through college.
I don't say very much I don't really think through. I know that sounds inconsistent
with Joe Biden.
I exaggerate when I'm angry, but I've never gone around telling people things that aren't true about me.
I graduated from the University of Delaware with a double major in history and political science.
I guess every single word I've ever said is going to be dissected now.
I have a really close relationship with Mike Bloomberg.
I have an expression I use as I've gone around the world through my career: You never tell another man
or woman what's in their interest. They know their interest better than you know their interest.
I have no doubt that Russia will and should remain a major source of energy supplies for Europe and the world.
I have Parents
magazine in my home.
I know I'm not supposed to like muscle cars, but I like muscle cars.
I know what I believe, I know what I want to do, and I'm just comfortable saying it, and laying it out there.
I know why we're strong. I know why we have held together; I know why we are united: it's because there's always been a growing middle class.
I love that Cadillac ATS!
I ran for the Senate six times. And one of the things I know about Senate races off years and on races, and on years, the same as
governor's races, is it's all local. It all gets down to what the specific issues in that - in that district or that state is.
I used to say to my late wife, I have great faith in the American people.
I used to stutter really badly. Everybody thinks it's funny. And it's not funny. It's not.
I view the vice presidency as a partnership.
Describing his relationship with President Obama.
I was kind of secretly hoping one of my kids would go out and make a million bucks. So when they put me in a home, at least I'll have a window with a view.
I was not an activist.
I'm not big on flak jackets and tie-dyed shirts. You know, that's not me.
I've been really, really fortunate.
I've been waiting over 40 years to come to Cyprus, and it has not disappointed - the birthplace of Aphrodite,
the Crossroads of Civilization, and, I might add, a genuine strategic partner to the United States of America.
I've known and continue to know every one of these major world leaders by their first names, and I have access to them.
If I don't run for president, we'll all be OK.
If we do everything right, if we do it with absolute certainty, there's still a 30% chance we're going to get it wrong.
2009 remark on swine flu response, later often referenced or mischaracterized.
If you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't Black.
In an interview with The Breakfast Club
radio program, May 22, 2020.
If you need more than 10 rounds to hunt, and some argue they hunt with that many rounds, you shouldn't
be hunting. If you can't get the deer in 3 shots, you shouldn't be hunting. You are an embarrassment.
If you’re in a confined aircraft and you’re not wearing a mask, you should probably be wearing a mask—it doesn't hurt.
During a July 21, 2022 speech in Wilmington, Massachusetts.
If you're in a confined aircraft; when one person sneezes, it goes all the way through the aircraft.
In my heart, I'm confident I could make a good president.
In Romania, American forces have found a devoted NATO ally.
In the 21st century, the countries that thrive will be the ones where citizens know their voices will be heard because the institutions are transparent.
In the good old days when I was a senator, I was my own man.
In the middle of a recession, where we're just climbing out of it, where the economy -unemployment is
still at 9.7 percent, the idea of raising taxes and reducing spending is a prescription for disaster.
In this world, emotion has become suspect - the accepted style is smooth, antiseptic and passionless.
Income inequity has to be addressed.
Innovation can only occur where you can breathe free.
ISIS is not an existential threat to something happening to someone in the United
States of America. It's a serious problem overseas, but it's confusing and frightening.
Isn't it a bitch? I mean, ... this vice president thing?
Response to a student body vice president at Harvard College, Oct. 2, 2014.
It is my view that we cannot conduct foreign policy at the extremes.
It is no secret that I believe my son, Attorney General Beau Biden would make a great United States Senator - just as I believe he has been a
great Attorney General. But Beau has made it clear from the moment he entered public life, that any office he sought, he would earn on his own.
It's never, ever a good bet to bet against America.
A core belief and frequent theme in his speeches.
It's overwhelmingly in the self-interest of the United States of America to have a secure, democratic friend, a strategic partner like Israel.
It's presumptuous to say you know how somebody feels.
Just talk to me as a father - not what the Constitution says. What do you feel?
Let me tell you what I literally told every world leader I've met with, and I've met them all: It's
never, never, never been a good bet to bet against America. We have the finest fighting force in the world.
Let's build back better.
Let's just be smart this time. I'm looking for smart.
Life is a matter of really tough choices.
Look folks, we know who built this country and we know who is going to rebuild
it. It's you. Instead of vilifying you, we should be thanking you. We owe you.
Look, freedom is an overwhelming American notion. The idea that we want to see the
world, the peoples of the world free is something that all of us subscribe to.
Malarkey!
His signature term for calling out nonsense or falsehoods.
Most liberals think of civil liberties as their Achilles heel. It isn't.
My dad always said, Champ, the measure of a man is not how often he is knocked down, but how quickly he gets up.
My dad used to have an expression - It is the lucky person who gets up in the morning, puts
both feet on the floor, knows what they are about to do, and thinks it still matters.
My dad used to have an expression. He'd say, Joey, a job is about a lot more than a
paycheck. It's about your dignity. It's about respect. It's about your place in your community.
Frequently cited to emphasize the value of work.
No fundamental right is safe in this country if the right to vote is undermined.
Emphasizing the importance of voting rights.
No fundamental social change occurs merely because government acts. It's because civil society... begins to rise up and demand change.
No matter how you cut it, this real debate on personal accounts is about the legitimacy of Social Security; it's not about the solvency of Social Security.
No nation should stoke instability in its neighbor's country.
No nation should threaten its neighbors by massing troops along the border.
No one doubts that innocent men, women and children have been the victims of chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
And there's no doubt who is responsible for this heinous use of chemical weapons in Syria: the Syrian regime.
No one ever doubts that I mean what I say. The problem is I sometimes say all that I mean.
No one making less than $250,000 under Barack Obama's
plan will see one single penny of their tax raised, whether it's their capital gains tax, their income tax, investment tax, any tax.
Now, people when I say that look at me and say, What are you talking about, Joe? You're telling me we
have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?
. The answer is yes, that's what I'm telling you.
Nowhere is it written that there must be conflict between the United States and China.
Obama
and Biden want to raise taxes by a trillion dollars.
Guess what? Yes, we do in one regard: We want to let that trillion dollar tax cut expire so the middle class doesn't have to bear
the burden of all that money going to the super-wealthy. That's not a tax raise. That's called fairness where I come from.
On the way back from Mumbai to go meet with President Xi in China, I stopped in Singapore to meet with a guy
named Lee Kuan Yew, who most foreign policy experts around the world say is the wisest man in the Orient.
One of the things I've never been accused of is not caring about people.
Other than being crazy enough to press a button, there is nothing that Putin can do militarily to fundamentally alter American interests.
Our future cannot depend on the government alone. The ultimate solutions lie in the attitudes and the actions of the American people.
People everywhere in the world are hungry for economic opportunity. And it's about a lot more than being able to make money.
People should not be in a position where their children have access to weapons and ammunition.
Poor kids are just as bright, just as talented, as white kids.
Remarks made to Asian and Latino Coalition, Des Moines, Iowa, August 8, 2019.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has, as Minister Livni knows, has
been my friend for over 30 years. We drive each other crazy. But he has truly been a personal friend for well over 30 years. He acknowledged this.
Putin sought to destabilize Ukraine's economy.
Putin sought to keep Ukraine weak through corruption.
Quite frankly, Russian aggression in Ukraine and its illegal occupation of Crimea remind us that we still
have a good deal more work to do to guarantee the strategic vision of a Europe whole, free and at peace.
Reality has a way of intruding. Reality eventually intrudes on everything.
Romania can be a linchpin in delivering gas to its neighbors and even become an energy exporter for its neighbors across Central and Eastern Europe.
Saudi Arabia has allowed training on its soil of American forces.
Show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value.
A well-known phrase he often uses to discuss priorities.
The 21st century is going to be the American century. Because we lead not only by the example
of our power, but by the power of our example. That is the history of the journey of America.
The American people are so much stronger, so much more resolved than any enemy can fully understand.
The American people have not become heartless.
The American people have the right to know if their president is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook.
Paraphrasing/contrasting Nixon's
famous line, used during the 2020 campaign.
The Chinese have figured out that they have a giant environmental problem. Folks in Beijing, some days,
literally can't breathe. Over a million Chinese die prematurely every year because of air pollution.
The devastating punch we took on September 11th still reverberates throughout American society.
The effects of climate change are real and must be acted on.
The greatest gift is the ability to forget – to forget the bad things and focus on the good.
The Middle East is hopeful. There's hope there.
The moral disapprobation of society has an impact on behavior in societies.
The only thing I know is I ain't changing my brand. I know what I believe. I'm confident in what I
know. And I'm gonna say it. And if folks like it, wonderful. If they don't like it, I understand.
The Qataris have cut off support for the most extreme elements of terrorist organizations.
The Recovery Act is working, but it's going to continue to work. It's not over. A lot's
going to happen this summer. And even after the summer, there's more to come with the act.
The United States supports a strong, united Ukraine with productive and peaceful relationships with both the East and the West, with both Russia and Europe.
The United States, to state the obvious, is greatly concerned by the startling number of unaccompanied minors
that - children and teenagers who are making a very perilous journey through Central America to reach the United States.
The White House isn't the place to learn how to deal with international crisis, the
balance of power, war and peace, and the economic future of the next generation.
There is no inherent power in the office of the vice presidency. Zero. None. It's all a reflection of your relationship
with the president. I mean, Kennedy
never let Johnson in the office.
There used to be an old bad joke. I hope it's not so much a good joke anymore. Everybody's from Scranton; no one's in Scranton.
There's a lot of revisionist history that goes on these days about Iraq.
There's no political point worth my son's life.
There's one advantage in having been around as long as I have. Everybody in the Senate knows
me, and - I'm going to say something presumptuous, to repeat myself - I think most respect me.
There's only one person in this race who will be there, who's always been there for you, and
that's Hillary Clinton's life story.
This is a big fucking deal!
Whispered to President Obama at the signing
of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, caught on hot mic - arguably his most famous utterance, though not an official quote.
This nuclear option is ultimately an example of the arrogance of power.
Two million felons have tried to buy a gun and, because of the background check, have been denied.
Unions did in fact build the middle class. And here's what that did. That built the United States of America as we know it.
We Americans think, in every country in transition, there's
a Thomas Jefferson hiding
behind some rock or a James Madison beyond one sand dune.
We are America, second to none, and we own the finish line. Don't forget it.
A common patriotic refrain.
We choose hope over fear. We choose unity over division. We choose light over darkness.
A central theme of his 2020 campaign and presidency.
We didn't crumble after 9/11. We didn't falter after the Boston Marathon. But we're
America. Americans will never, ever stand down. We endure. We overcome. We own the finish line.
We don't want two-tier people in America. Those who are legal but not citizens, and citizens.
We have to be remembered for what's been done.
We must end this uncivil war.
From his 2021 Inaugural Address, calling for unity.
We must rekindle the fire of idealism in our society.
We're close friends - the American people, the Israeli people, our governments. There's
absolutely no daylight - none - between us and the Israelis on the question of Israel's security.
We're going to be OK because of the American people. They have more grit, determination and courage than you can imagine.
Well, I thought the deal was, when you went to work for the government you weren't supposed to make money!
Well, I was 29 years old when I came to the United States Senate, and I have learned a lot.
What on God's green Earth are we doing?
Expressing exasperation or disbelief, often about gun violence or political obstruction.
When my first semester grades came out, my mom and dad told me I wouldn't be playing football.
When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got
on the television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed. He said, Look, here's what happened.
When we wrote the Constitution, the intention was to give the commander in chief the
authority how to use the forces when you authorize him to be able to use the forces.
When you go to your local police officer, your police chief in the town you live in, big or small, he will tell you the vast
majority of the weapons recovered at a crime scene are either stolen weapons, and/or they have been lost
or stolen.
You are twice as likely to be struck by lightning as you around to be affected by a terrorist event in the United States.
You get a lawyer whether you're in a military tribunal or whether you're in a federal court, number one. The attorney general decided that
the court with the biggest - with the greatest venue, with the best jurisdiction was the New York court. That was the right decision to make.
You know, my Grandpop Finnegan used to have an expression: he used to say, Joey, the guy in Olyphant's out of work, it's an
economic slowdown. When your brother-in-law's out of work, it's a recession. When you're out of work, it's a depression.
You never make fun of anybody with a club foot or a withered arm, but it's open season on anybody who stutters.
You should be attacking the carbon emissions, period, and whether it's
cap-and-trade or carbon tax or whatever, that's the realm in which we should be playing.
You want to know whether we're better off? I've got a little bumper sticker for you: Osama bin Laden is dead and General
Motors is alive. Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive! Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive!
You're a lying dog-faced pony soldier.
Remark made to a student at a campaign event, Hampton, New Hampshire, February 9, 2020.
You're looking at a middle-class guy. I am who I am.
You're president, if you conclude my judgment is not the right judgment, I abide by that, but I want an opportunity to have an input.
You've all seen over the last eight years what President Obama means
to this country. He is the embodiment of honor, resolve, and character - one of the finest presidents we have ever had.
You've got to reach a hand of friendship across the aisle and across philosophies in this country.
Last on Earth
