The two sides of the Democratic coin: Joe Biden

In the US presidential election on November 3, 2020, Republicans will most likely run again with the current president of the United States, Donald Trump. The US Democratic presidential candidate is currently being voted on in primary elections. Of the more than 25 candidates, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are considered the top candidates with the best chances of success. The two are different leaders of the same party, with different stories inside the Democratic Party, two sides of the same coin. Aula News already introduced Bernie Sanders. But who is actually Joe Biden and what does he stand for? The following article will give you an overview.

Former US Senator and Vice President

Biden, now 77, grew up in Delaware, which he represented as a senator from the age of 29 on (1973). Biden had already applied as a candidate for the 1988 and 2008 presidential elections, but dropped out prematurely in both cases. In 2009, he resigned from his office as US Senator to follow the Democratic 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, into the White House for two terms as Vice President.

Biden did not run as a candidate for the subsequent presidential election in 2016, but announced after the victory of the Republican Donald Trump: “I think I could have won“. After serving as Vice President, he held the representative position of “Franklin Presidential Practice Professor” at the University of Pennsylvania and also supported the Cancer Moonshot Initiative, which he founded after his oldest son died of cancer in 2015.

During Trump’s first term in office, Biden frequently criticized him for his personal behavior (“Grow up”, “Stop tweeting and start focusing”), his proximity to autocrats and dictators, the trade war with China, and his decision to withdraw US soldiers from the Syrian war zone. On April 25, 2019, the former Vice President announced that he would run for the Democratic presidential election in 2020.

“The Biden Plans”

On his official website, Biden published his main ideas on 25 political topics. There Biden advocates a modern immigration policy that welcomes asylum seekers and migrants. As president, he wants to reverse Trump’s deportation policy, issue more work visas and facilitate access to American citizenship for unregistered immigrants. He also wants to work for improved inter-agency cooperation and also to cooporate more closely with the US neighbor countries Mexico and Canada.

With regard to health care, Biden refers to the so-called Affordable Care Act, which President Obama passed during their joint term in power. He aims to protect this law by all means. As president, he promises to continue to build it up, simplify the healthcare system and reduce its costs. Under the motto “supporting health, not rewarding wealth”, Biden wants to finance the health system by strengthening the tax on the super-rich.

In his previous political functions, Biden was engaged in gun laws. He has reached a national background check for gun owners. In addition, he supports the proposal for a national registration of assault weapons with law enforcement authorities. Biden also promises to ban online sale of firearms and ammunitions. With the increased control he wants to “keep guns out of dangerous hands” and to sharpen the sense of responsibility for handling them.