How the tragic deaths of Joe Biden’s first wife and daughter changed his politics

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Asked about his career goals, Mr Biden told his future wife’s mother: “President.” After he earned his bachelor’s degree in Delaware, Mr Biden moved to Syracuse for law school. open image in gallery Senator-elect Joseph Biden and wife Nelia cut his 30th birthday cake at a party in Wilmington Neilia became his closest adviser and the “brains” behind his campaign, The News Journal reported. The occasion marked the anniversary of the death of his first wife Neilia and daughter Naomi, who were killed in a traffic accident In his 2017 book Promise Me, Dad, Mr Biden wrote: “The pain. Mr Biden said in his Yale speech: “I can remember my mother – a sweet lady – looking at me, after we left the hospital, and saying, ‘Joey, out of everything terrible that happens to you, something good will come if you look hard enough for it.’” With an intense, heartbreaking focus on his family, Mr Biden then began commuting daily back and forth between Washington to Delaware by train to remain with his young sons.