[18] At the University of Delaware in Newark, Biden briefly played freshman football,[20][21] and, as an unexceptional student,[22] received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in history and political science in 1965.

[30][10] Family members managed and staffed the campaign, which relied on meeting voters face-to-face and hand-distributing position papers,[41] an approach made feasible by Delaware's small size.

[30][41] A few months before the election, Biden trailed Boggs by almost thirty percentage points,[30] but his energy, attractive young family, and ability to connect with voters' emotions worked to his advantage,[15] and he won with 50.5% of the vote.

[85] The 1994 crime law was unpopular among progressives and criticized for resulting in mass incarceration;[86][87] in 2019, Biden called his role in passing the bill a "big mistake", saying it "trapped an entire generation".

[123] He was considered a strong candidate because of his moderate image, his speaking ability, his high profile as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the upcoming Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination hearings, and his appeal to Baby Boomers.

[124][125] By August, Biden's campaign messaging had become confused due to staff rivalries,[126] and in September, he was accused of plagiarizing a speech by British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock.

[132] Biden has made several false or exaggerated claims about his early life: that he had earned three degrees in college, that he attended law school on a full scholarship, that he had graduated in the top half of his class,[133][134] and that he had marched in the civil rights movement.

[175][177][178] Following the first presidential debate of the general election, in which President Obama's performance was considered surprisingly lackluster,[179] his lead over Romney collapsed,[180] putting pressure on Biden to stop the bleeding with a strong showing against the Republican vice-presidential nominee, Paul Ryan.

[206][200][207] Confronted with rising unemployment through July 2009, Biden acknowledged that the administration had "misread how bad the economy was", but maintained confidence the stimulus package would create many more jobs once the pace of expenditures picked up.

[222] Later that month, during the final days before the United States fell off the "fiscal cliff", Biden's relationship with McConnell again proved important as the two negotiated a deal that led to the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 being passed at the start of 2013.

[235] In August 2016, Biden visited Serbia, where he met with the Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić and expressed condolences for civilian victims of the bombing campaign during the Kosovo War.

[321] The package included direct payments to most Americans, an extension of increased unemployment benefits, funds for vaccine distribution and school reopenings, and expansions of health insurance subsidies and the child tax credit.

[337] Biden supported the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act aimed to address gun reform issues following the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas;[338] he signed the bill on June 25, 2022.

[350][351][352] By the end of 2021, inflation rates measured by the consumer price index (CPI) reached a nearly 40-year high of 7.1%, which was partially offset by the highest nominal wage and salary growth in at least 20 years.

[450] In the final year of his presidency, the Biden administration worked to extend at least 14 contracts with private prison companies to run immigrant detention centers, despite his 2020 campaign promise to end the practice.

[458][459] The act generated controversy, as it included felons such as Michael Conahan, a judge involved in the kids for cash kickback scandal, and Rita Crundwell, a comptroller responsible for the single largest municipal fraud in U.S. history.

[462] On his last day in office, Biden commuted the sentence of Leonard Peltier, convicted of murdering two FBI agents and later involved in a violent prison escape attempt, to house arrest.

[60][472][473] Biden's pardon came amid incoming December sentencing dates for Hunter for his convictions and concerns about the succeeding Trump administration potentially targeting political rivals for prosecution.

[500][501] In early February 2022, Biden ordered the counterterrorism raid in northern Syria that resulted in the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, the second leader of the Islamic State.

The Defense Department initially claimed the strike was conducted on an Islamic State suicide bomber threatening Kabul Airport, but admitted the suspect was harmless on September 17, calling its killing of civilians "a tragic mistake".

[562][563][559] In late 2022, Biden issued several executive orders and federal rules designed to slow Chinese technological growth, and maintain U.S. leadership over computing, biotech, and clean energy.

Officials have urged him to take a harder stance against Israel, criticizing his administration's leniency and support despite the Israeli government's contentious offensive, which has led to significant civilian casualties and humanitarian crises.

[627] FBI agents searched Biden's home in Rehoboth Beach on February 1 and collected papers and notes from his time as vice president, but did not find any classified information.

[640][641][642] In February 2024, Alexander Smirnov, a former intelligence informant who was prominent in the bribery allegations against Biden, was charged with making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

[690] After the debate raised questions about his health and age, Biden faced calls to withdraw from the race, including from fellow Democrats[691] and the editorial boards of several major news outlets.

The experts polled generally regarded Biden's signature accomplishment as his victory over Trump in the 2020 election, which was perceived as helping to protect and restore political and institutional norms in American government.

[710] Journalist Amy Walter, editor of the nonpartisan The Cook Political Report, argued that Biden's presidency was deemed a failure by the public particularly due to frustration over inflation.

[727] Other analysts have likened his ideology to traditional liberalism, "a doctrine of liberty, equality, justice and individual rights that relies, in the modern age, on a strong federal government for enforcement".

[797] The Times wrote, "Mr. Biden's folksiness can veer into folklore, with dates that don't quite add up and details that are exaggerated or wrong, the factual edges shaved off to make them more powerful for audiences.

[799] This was attributed to the Afghanistan withdrawal, increasing hospitalizations from the Delta variant, high inflation and gas prices, disarray within the Democratic Party, and a general decline in popularity customary in politics.