US Election 2020: Biden clan waiting in the wings

They could be the first family in waiting: a sprawling clan of children and grandchildren more than ready for the spotlight.

Democratic Presidential candidate and former US Vice President Joe Biden, alongside wife Jill Biden and some of his grandkids. Picture: AFP

They could be the first family in waiting: a sprawling clan of children and grandchildren who all say they speak with Joe Biden daily and attest to his character and his enormous passion for vanilla ice cream.

The Bidens were introduced to the nation during the Democratic National Convention in August. Four of the grandchildren appeared in a video squashed together on a small white sofa, finishing each other’s sentences. They look rather alike – in a public event at the close of his campaign Mr Biden appeared to confuse two of them.

In the video, Finnegan Biden, 20, the middle of the three children of Mr Biden’s second son Hunter, joked that either their grandfather or his campaign “might have thought that we were smaller”.

Naomi Biden, second from the right, and Joe Biden’s other granddaughters. Picture: Democratic National Convention

They were ready for the spotlight, they said. In fact, they had urged their grandfather to run for the presidency. Naomi Biden, 26, Finnegan’s older sister, said that she had actually called a family meeting to persuade him. “He thought we were calling a meeting to discuss whether or not we wanted him to, but really we were calling it to be like, ‘Get in that race! Hurry up!’”

They said that Mr Biden spoke with them every day: if they didn’t, he would ask what was wrong. They also disclosed his habit of eating vanilla ice cream with chocolate sprinkles, reaching into the freezer to take furtive spoonfuls so that his wife, Jill, would not see.

The headquarters of the Biden clan is a large lakeside house in Greenville, Delaware. At the local supermarket, the former vice-president often poses for selfies with shoppers, according to a member of staff. A man making a late-night run for groceries said he grew up with Hunter and Mr Biden’s first son, Beau, describing them as “lovely kids”, particularly Beau, who died of brain cancer aged 46 in 2015. “The years have not been kind to Hunter,” he added.

Biden with his wife, Dr Jill Biden. Picture: Getty Images

Hunter, 50, the focus of attacks by President Trump for his business dealings in Ukraine and China, is now based in California, and has denied suggestions that he is somehow in hiding. He was divorced from Kathleen Buhle, the mother of Naomi, Finnegan and Daisy, in 2017. He is now married to Melissa Cohen, a filmmaker from South Africa. After a long struggle with drug and alcohol addiction, he has said he relaxes at home by painting, while trying to ignore social media and cable news.

Once, when a helicopter hovered overhead, he wondered if it contained photographers. “I said, ‘I hope they’re taking pictures of us right now. I hope it’s a live feed to the president so he can see just how much I care about the tweets,” he told The New Yorker. “Here I am, living my life.”

Joe Biden’s first wife, Neilia, the mother of Beau and Hunter, was killed in a car crash in 1972, along with their younger sister Naomi. He has been married to Jill Biden since 1977. Dr Biden, 69, taught at a community college while her husband was vice-president and says she wants to continue to do so, even if she is the first lady.

Biden and sons Hunter Biden, left, and Beau Biden in 2009. Picture: AFP

They have a daughter, Ashley, 39, the executive director of a group that advocates for criminal justice reform, a vocation she says stemmed from lengthy debates at family dinners.

A Biden presidency is expected to restore dogs to the White House. The family has two German shepherds, Major and his brother Champ.

The Times