Joe Biden’s Kids and Grandchildren Told Him They 'Were Proud' of His Decision to Exit 2024 Presidential Race
“And it mattered to me a lot," the president told 'CBS News Sunday Morning' of his family's unwavering support
Sophie Park/Getty
Joe Biden in March 2024When Joe Biden made perhaps the most difficult decision of his entire career, his family had his back.
In a new sit-down chat with CBS News Sunday Morning published Sunday, Aug. 11 — his first interview since announcing his exit from the 2024 presidential race — Biden, 81, revealed how his loved ones reacted to the news, which he announced on July 21 and expounded upon in an Oval Office address three days later.
When asked by CBS News correspondent Robert Costa what he told his family — who sat beside him as he filmed the address — after explaining the tough decision last month, the president replied, "It's what they said to me.”
“My grandchildren call me Pop, my children call me Dad, and they said they were proud,” he continued. “And it mattered to me a lot."
Related: All About Joe Biden's 4 Children, Beau, Hunter, Naomi and Ashley
Biden also reflected on one of his family members who was not present — his late son, Beau Biden, who died of brain cancer in 2015 at age 46.
When Costa asked the president if he was thinking of Beau while he and his family were together in that moment, he paused before replying, “Look, I can honestly say that I think of him all the time.”
“Whenever I have a decision that's really hard to make, I literally ask myself, 'What would Beau do?' He should be sitting here being interviewed, not me,” Biden continued. “He was really a fine man.”
Biden also said that his late son “was committed to my staying committed,” which is part of why he ran for president in 2017.
“We had a conversation toward the end when he was … we, everybody, we knew he wasn't going to live,” he told Costa. “And he said, 'Dad, I know, we know what's gonna happen. I'm gonna be okay, Dad. I'm all right. I'm not afraid. But Dad, you gotta make me a promise.'
“I said, 'What's that, Beau?' He said, 'I know when it happens, you're gonna want to quit. You're not gonna stay engaged …. Look at me. Look at me, Dad. Give me your word as a Biden. When I go, you'll stay engaged. Give me your word. Give me your word.' And I did.”
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Biden welcomed Beau — as well as son Hunter, 54, and late daughter Naomi — with his late wife Neilia Hunter, and shares daughter Ashley with his second wife, first lady Jill Biden. Both Naomi and Neilia died in a car crash in 1972, at ages 1 and 30, respectively.
As far as the folks who call him “Pop,” Biden is a proud grandparent to seven. Hunter shares daughters Naomi, 30, Finnegan, 23, and Maisy, 22, with ex-wife Kathleen Buhle, daughter Navy Roberts, 6, with Lunden Roberts, and son Beau Jr., 4, with his wife, Melissa Cohen.
Beau, meanwhile, welcomed daughter Natalie, 20, and son Robert "Hunter," 17, with wife Hallie.
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