In a candid interview with radio broadcaster Howard Stern on his SiriusXM show, President Joe Biden shared a deeply personal revelation about considering suicide following the tragic loss of his first wife and 13-month-old daughter in a car accident.
The devastating incident occurred on December 18, 1972, when Biden’s wife, Nelia, and daughter, Naomi, lost their lives in a car crash in Delaware.
Reflecting on that dark period in his life, Biden told Stern, “You don’t have to be crazy to contemplate suicide if you’ve experienced the pinnacle of happiness and fear you’ll never reach that peak again.”
He further explained, “There was a fleeting moment where I thought perhaps I should go to the Delaware Memorial Bridge and end it all, but the thought of leaving behind my two children stopped me.”
Biden also revealed that following his wife’s passing, he would often consider drinking a bottle of scotch to numb the pain, but his responsibilities as a father prevented him from doing so.
Despite having access to alcohol at home, he said, “I never drank, not out of virtue, but it just wasn’t something I did. I would sit there and contemplate drinking to drown my sorrows, but I could never bring myself to do it.”
For Biden, his decision not to drink stems from his family history of alcoholism, as he once remarked, “There are already enough drinkers in my family.”
Shifting gears, the President also mentioned his willingness to engage in a debate with his Republican opponent, Donald Trump, stating, “At some point, I am open to debating him, though the timing is uncertain.”