President-elect Joe Biden grew visibly emotional during remarks to supporters in his home state of Delaware before he traveled to the nation’s capital ahead of his inauguration.
Speaking at a Major Joseph R. “Beau” Biden III National Guard Reserve Center on Tuesday, Biden said, “I’m truly honored to be your next president and commander in chief, and I’ll always be a proud son of the state of Delaware.”
“You’ve been with me my whole career, from the good times to the bad. I want to thank you for everything and to my fellow Delawareans here today, on behalf of the entire Biden family, I want to express how much you mean to me and to every one of us,” he said.
He recounted that the Irish poet James Joyce said that at his death, “Dublin will be written on my heart.”
Biden said as he grew emotional, “When I die, Delaware will be written on my heart and the hearts of all the Bidens. We love you all. You’ve been there for us in the good and the bad. You never walked away. And I am proud, proud, proud, proud to be a son of Delaware. And I am even more proud to be standing here doing this from Major Beau Biden.”
“So, ladies and gentleman, I only have one regret, [Beau’s] not here. Because we should be introducing him as president,” he added as tears streamed down his face.
Watch the video below:
President-elect Joe Biden: "I only have one regret, that [Beau's] not here. Because we should be introducing him as President." https://t.co/CJwbDmkEWj pic.twitter.com/Ld7G1wA2yD
— The Hill (@thehill) January 19, 2021
Still, he voiced optimism for the country as he said, “Delaware has taught us anything is possible, anything is possible in this country.”
Beau Biden died in 2015 after a battle with brain cancer.
Joe Biden is slated to be sworn in as the nation’s 46th president at noon on Wednesday.
