{"id":11129,"date":"2021-01-20T13:17:17","date_gmt":"2021-01-20T02:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/?post_type=articles&p=184355"},"modified":"2021-02-04T22:41:08","modified_gmt":"2021-02-04T22:41:08","slug":"ashley-biden-childhood-interview","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/ashley-biden-childhood-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Ashley Biden: What It Was Like To Grow Up With Joe Biden As My Father"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Credit: Getty. Edit: Kimberlee Kessler<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“I’m just so proud, I truly am proud of my father.” Ahead of Inauguration Day<\/a> on January 20, Joe Biden’s daughter, Ashley Biden, appeared on TODAY<\/a>, <\/em>as she opened up about the past weeks on the road to The White House. Following the Capitol siege last week, the transfer of power, which is normally a hallowed tradition, will be unlike past years with First Lady Melania Trump failing to reach out to First Lady In Waiting Dr. Jill Biden. Ashley says,<\/a> “we’re okay with it.”<\/p>\n

In addition, the 39-year-old social worker revealed intimate details on growing up in the Biden household. Much like middle-class families at the time – the American dream as some would call it – Ashley’s childhood was a familiar scene of her parents’ 9 to 5 jobs, family dinners, and school sports.<\/p>\n

“My parents were very involved in my life as they were my brothers’,” Ashley tells TODAY.\u00a0<\/em>“Mom was a public school teacher and Dad rode the train to and from work. He always made my lacrosse and field hockey games…. We had a lot of time together. That was really who I was with all the time. It was Mom, Dad, Beau, and Hunter. Whether it was family dinners at night – family dinners were very sacred. We would talk about our days and current events. Dad and Mom were just extremely involved.”<\/p>\n

Ashley says she learned a lot from her parents’ love, one that has come from respect. “They really respect one another’s opinion and they trust each other’s judgement. Dad is a romantic and Mom is too. She would leave notes on Dad’s mirror covered with words of encouragement. Dad has always been romantic with Mom but they’re also best friends. They have this really beautiful love. Mom really keeps Dad grounded, you know?”<\/p>\n

\"Ashley
US Vice Presidential nominee Joseph Biden, his wife Jill (L) and daughter Ashley applaud as Presidential nominee Barack Obama speaks at the Democratic National Convention 2008 at the Invesco Field in Denver, Colorado, on August 28, 2008. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama tonight will summon Americans to join his crusade for political change as he claims his place in history in a dazzling finale to the Democratic convention. AFP PHOTO Emmanuel DUNAND (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Joe Biden<\/a>‘s career as a public servant seemingly rubbed off on Ashley. Not only is she an influential social worker, activist, and philanthropist – she served as the executive director of the Delaware Center for Justice from 2014 to 2019 – but her drive to help in society began at a young age.<\/p>\n

“When I heard dolphins were getting caught in tuna nets from catching tuna, I was like, ‘We’ve got to do something about this.’ And after a little bit, Dad said, ‘Ok let’s do this, let’s do something about saving the dolphins.’ At the time – I think this was in 1990 – at the time you were allowed to go in the House floor. So I brought all of my posters, and I went with Congresswoman Boxer and I went onto the House floor to every congressman and woman… I was eight.<\/p>\n

“It was instilled in me at a young age that silence was complicity. That an abuse of power was the worst type of abuse.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Joe’s late wife, Neilia, was killed in a car accident in 1972 with infant-daughter Naomi. Joe remarried to Jill (although as the story goes, he had to propose five times) and Ashley is the only child of the couple. She shared half-brothers Beau and Hunter. In 2015, Beau, who went on to follow in his father’s footsteps as a politician, tragically passed away from brain cancer.<\/p>\n

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\u201cDad is so empathetic and has the ability to recognize pain\u2026 and to comfort.\u201d -Ashley Biden says about her father, President-elect Joe Biden pic.twitter.com\/YjxSwCUOhL<\/a><\/p>\n

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 19, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n