Instead, he began as a distinct character with outrageous qualities who shared little in common with his source. The Onion variously portrayed Biden as a blue-collar " average Joe ", an affable "goofy uncle", a muscle car driver, a raucous party animal, a petty criminal, and even a drug-dealing gang member—all while serving as the 47th vice president of the United States. The character became one of The Onion ' s most popular recurring features during the Obama presidency , garnering critical acclaim and large numbers of page views. Although Biden was mentioned in The Onion as early as , he had not been the focus of an Onion piece until Obama's and his inauguration in January Staff writer Chad Nackers originated a distinctive version of Biden, which developed over the course of the real Biden's two terms as vice president between and The character subsequently appeared in more than 50 Onion articles, as well as numerous videos and other media. Despite the radical discrepancies between the fictional character and the real politician, The Onion ' s depiction of Biden was often regarded as having a significant, mostly positive influence on his public image. Commentators have noted that the character reinforced Biden's reputation as a good-natured, easy-going populist with strong ties to the working class. The real Biden expressed his enjoyment of the characterization and publicly commented on it several times.


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Subscriber Account active since. Instead, Biden spent the day selling his nearly five decades of political experience with his folksy, unscripted persona. He asked voters to trust that he'll bring normalcy, and even bipartisanship, back to Washington. And he argued that addressing the political divide is a more pressing and challenging task than proposing policies that appeal to most Americans. Unlike in the s and 80s, when Biden said politics were civil but Americans were in "overwhelming disagreement" about civil rights and the Vietnam War, today most Americans agree the country needs to protect the environment, invest in education, and upgrade its infrastructure.
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Biden has a good feel for the American people and can smell what they really want deep down. Tara Reade was a staffer in the office of then Senator Joe Biden in She claims that one day at work Biden pinned her up against a wall and kissed her while reaching his hand under her skirt and penetrating her with his fingers. A friend of Tara Reade said that Reade had confided in her about the alleged assault when it happened.
We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. A former Nevada state legislator named Lucy Flores wrote a personal essay that New York magazine published on Friday, in which she describes an encounter with Biden at a campaign event.