Ashley Biden Speaks at 2024 Democratic National Convention

Good evening. I have this memory. It’s the eve of my 8th birthday. Dad is still in DC tending to urgent matters in the Senate. That night, as a surprise, Mom told me, Beau, and Hunter to get in the car. I remember pulling up to the Wilmington Amtrak station, riding up the escalator to the platform. The train stops, doors open, and Dad steps out. As soon as I saw him, I run down that platform and jump into his arms. Like magic, mom brought out a cake, they sang Happy Birthday, and I blew out the candles. Dad hugged me and he said that he had to get back to work. He crossed to the southbound train and off he went to DC. That was a snapshot of one moment, of one day on this extraordinary journey of being Joe Biden’s daughter.

(01:19)
Joe Biden is the OG girl dad. He told me I could be anything and I could do anything. As a child, I would sit on the leather chair in his office doing my homework, and he would sit next to me doing his work, drafting the Violence Against Women Act. And he wasn’t just a girl dad. I could see that he valued and trusted women, how he listened to his mother, how he believed in his sister, and most of all, how he respected my mother’s career. Dad was always there doing everything he could to be a true partner to her. Dad, you always tell us, but we don’t tell you enough that you are the love of our lives and the life of our love.

(02:38)
I had my wedding reception in my parents’ backyard. At the time, my dad was vice president, but he was also that dad who literally set up the entire reception. He was riding around in his John Deere 4-wheeler, fixing the place settings, arranging the plants, and by the way, he was very emotional. I thought that I would be a mess, but he was the one crying and I was the one who had to comfort him. Before he walked me down the aisle, he turned to me and said that he would always be my best friend. All these years later, Dad, you are still my best friend. His example in service inspired my career. I’m a social worker in Philadelphia.

(03:49)
I support formerly incarcerated women as they heal from past trauma and they reclaim their lives. Dad always told me that I was no better than anybody else and nobody was better than me. He taught me that everyone deserves a fair shot and that we shouldn’t leave anyone behind. That’s what you learn from a fighter who has been underestimated his entire life. When I look at Dad, I see grace, strength, and humility. I see one of the most consequential leaders ever in history. And I also know that he never stops thinking about you, about your dreams, about your dignity, about your opportunity, about your family. Dad knows that family is everything.

(04:59)
When Hunter and I lost our brother, Beau, to cancer in 2015, the grief and the pain felt like it might never end. Dad had the capacity to step out of his own pain and absorb ours. And I know that Beau is here with us tonight as he is always with us. After Beau passed, I got this tattoo on my wrist. It says, “Courage, dear heart.” A reminder to myself to keep going, to get back up like my dad has always done. He has taught me that a courageous heart is a miraculous thing. A courageous heart can heal a family. A courageous heart can heal a nation and maybe even the world. And now this election requires the courageous hearts of all of us.

(06:10)
In 2020, my dad selected Kamala Harris to beat Donald Trump, and he knows in 2024, she will beat Donald Trump again. So tonight, I am asking you, if you stood with us in 2020, call upon your courageous heart. Stand with us today. Work harder than you have ever worked before in your life. This is the fight of our lifetime, our freedom, our democracy, our reproductive rights. All of this, all of it is on the ballot, and I know together we can do this because my dad helped show us the way.