Joe Biden gave an interview unlike any we’ve ever seen from a politician
Vice President Joe Biden may be playing coy when it comes whether or not he’s going to run in 2016, but after the interview he gave to Stephen Colbert on The Late Show last night, he’s definitely the President of our hearts.
Vice President Biden is known for his sense of humor and incomparable compassion for others, but in this unprecedented, intimate interview with Stephen Colbert, he opens up about the death of his son Beau and speaks not at all as a politician but as a father, and simply as a human. In fact, as Colbert puts it, he seems like just a normal guy, grieving the loss of his son.
Throughout the discussion Biden is open, human, empathetic, relatable. His discussion of grief is important and honest and incredibly brave.
Here’s the first part of the Wednesday’s interview.
Beau Biden, born Joseph R. Biden Jr., died in May after a battle with brain cancer. Beau, only 46, was the Delaware Attorney General and the Vice President’s oldest son. Back in May, the Vice President released a statement quoted in the New York Times, saying, “Beau Biden was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have ever known.”
Last night speaking with Colbert, Biden told him: “My son was better than me in every way.” He also talked about his struggles with loss after losing his first wife, Neilia and their daughter, Naomi, in a car crash in 1972. Both Beau and his younger brother, Hunter, were injured in that accident, and Mr. Biden reminisces about Beau and Hunter in the days following the tragic crash.
He remembers Beau’s compassion for those around him, including his younger brother Hunter, and that he “never complained,” even though he broke almost every bone in his body and was in a full body cast. Mr. Biden recalls Beau turning to his younger brother and reminding him, “Hunt. Hunt, I love you. I mean it. I love you.”
Throughout the interview, Mr. Biden’s perspective is remarkably selfless. Indeed it is an interview so honest and real that at one point the crowd is moved to chant his name.
If you ever have any doubts that there are genuine politicians in Washington, watch this video. But be prepared to bring ALL the tissues because it will certainly have you catching some feelings. And, perhaps, chanting his name.
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[Image via YouTube]
