But of his rocky reception with some families in Dover, Ms. Murray said, “I’m sure he understands the reaction he’s got better than many people.”
In his public meetings with world leaders, doctors, military officials and families, Mr. Biden often shares how his experience of sending his son to Iraq or fighting brain cancer affected his family. Conjuring Beau’s memory amid the violent collapse of Afghanistan, the result of the most politically explosive decision of his presidency to date, provided a rare moment for critics to indulge in a fondness of praising his son.
“Mr. Biden is not a Gold Star father and should stop playing one on television,” wrote William McGurn, a speechwriter for President George W. Bush, in a comment in the Wall Street Journal. Mr. Biden never claimed to be Son died fighting, but he has spoken many times about his son’s overseas assignment and the toll he has taken on his family. Mr Biden’s supporters say military families have a right to their mourning, but the president is entitled to too his.
“The families who grieve are free to feel free to feel like they are,” Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime was killed in a 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. and who has received regular calls from Mr Biden, said in an interview. “But for everyone else who may have criticized: The President’s children, the living and the not, they formed the President.”
You have also influenced Mr Biden’s presidency from the start. In January, before Mr. Biden left Delaware for Washington, Mr. Biden told his advisors that he would give a farewell address at the Delaware National Guard headquarters. It’s a building named after his son.
“I have only one regret,” said Mr Biden as he made tearful remarks that day. “That he’s not here because we should introduce him as president.”
As Commander in Chief, Mr. Biden has no critical political advisor whose advice he trusted more than almost anyone else. He talks to his other children, Hunter and Ashley, daily, Helpers said, but he spoke to his eldest up to four times a day, exchanging notes, and discussing next steps.
