President Biden said Friday that he considered suicide after the death of his first wife and infant daughter in a car accident shortly after his victory in the U.S. senatorial election.
In an interview with radio host Howard Stern, Biden admitted to being upset after the death of his first wife, Neilia, and 18-month-old daughter Naomi in the 1972 accident.
![These are the remains of the car in which the wife and daughter of Delaware's U.S. senator-elect, Joseph R. Biden Jr., were killed. Neilia Biden and her daughter, Amy, 1, were killed when the family's station wagon was struck by a flatbed tractor-trailer on the highway. Biden's other two children were also injured in the wreck and were listed in "monitored state" to the hospital. (Bettmann Archives/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.nydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-851102896.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1)
“In a brief moment, I thought, ‘Let me just go to the Delaware Memorial (bridge) and jump,'” Biden said.
“You don’t have to be crazy to commit suicide,” he added.
Biden said he turned away from suicidal thoughts because of his young sons, Beau and Hunter, who survived the accident.
“I had two children,” he said. “It wasn’t like I had to kill myself… (But) you’ll never be okay.”
Biden also said he considered getting drunk to ease the pain of the tragedy, even though he doesn’t drink.
“I used to sit there and I just thought I’m going to pull out a bottle of scotch,” Biden said. “I’m just going to drink it and get drunk.”
The surprising revelation came in a high-profile surprise interview with Sternthe former shock athlete who now hosts a show on Sirius XM radio.
Biden also said he was willing to debate former President Trump before the fall election.
![Senator-elect Joseph Biden and his wife Nelia cut his 30th birthday cake at a party in Wilmington on November 20. His son Hunter is waiting for the first piece. Biden, by reaching 30, fulfills the constitutional requirement that senators be 30 years old when they take office. (Photo by Bettmann Archives/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.nydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-515385004.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1)
“Somewhere. I don’t know when,” Biden said. “But I’m happy to debate him.”
Trump quickly responded on his social media by accepting a confrontation: “I say: anywhere, anytime, anywhere. »
The Commission on Presidential Debates has announced the dates and locations for three general election debates between presidential candidates: September 16 in San Marcos, Texas; October 1 in Petersburg, Virginia; and October 9 in Salt Lake City. The only vice presidential debate is scheduled for September 25 in Easton, Pennsylvania.
But it’s not 100% sure the debates will take place because Trump and Republicans have ridiculed the commission as biased.