Biden, once bullied, best Democratic candidate to beat Trump, sister says

Valerie Biden Owens, center, chats with Jill Lesh, left, and Cynthia Owens, right, as Biden Owens campaigns for her brother, former vice president and Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden, at Pulp Lifestyle Kitchen in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News

2020 campaign comes to Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY — A small but enthusiastic group gathered Saturday in a downtown Salt Lake City restaurant to meet the sister of Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden.

“As Joe’s sister, I have always had a special advantage because I grew up with a big brother who told me that I could do anything that he could do, only I could do it better. And from the time we were small kids, he pushed others to see me as he saw me,” said Valerie Biden Owens, who has managed her brother’s campaigns and is his principal surrogate and campaigner.

“And he saw me as strong, and tough, and capable, and a scrappy little kid who was gonna keep up with everybody,” she said.

The group of about 40 people at the “Women for Biden” meet-and-greet event included several female state and local political leaders among other supporters.

In Biden Owen’s 20-minute speech, she talked about her brother’s childhood and political history, one she said has been focused on women’s rights and the rights of “hard-working Americans.”

The event took place even as next week’s impeachment hearings are set to begin. At the heart of the issue is whether President Donald Trump asked the president of Ukraine to investigate Biden and his son Hunter Biden in exchange for defense aid. Hunter Biden, who accepted a seat on the board of a Ukraine natural gas firm, has said he made a mistake by getting involved in business in that country but has denied any wrongdoing.

“As Joe’s sister, I have always had a special advantage because I grew up with a big brother who told me that I could do anything that he could do, only I could do it better.” — Valerie Biden Owens

Those current events didn’t enter the conversation Saturday, with Biden Owens focusing on some of her brother’s accomplishments and painting a comparison between him and Trump.

Adam Dunstone, Midwest and Western U.S. political director for the Biden campaign, said of the president: “We’re not focused on his impeachment. We’re focused on beating Trump in this general election, right, and winning this primary.

“And so we’re in a competitive race and we’re going to win this primary race so that we can take on Trump, because Joe Biden is honestly the only candidate that can beat this guy in the general election. And Donald Trump’s strength in the electoral college is very underrepresented, and I believe Democrats are continuing to underestimate him.”

He said be believes Biden is the only person who can beat Trump in states like Florida, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Dunstone discounted Trump’s allegations of wrongdoing by the Bidens in connection to Ukraine.

“It’s just completely absurd and false and made-up nonsense. I mean, this is a president who’s been on record with over 12,000 lies, and this is another one of those. And it’s absurd. It is not based on fact whatsoever,” Dunstone said.

Biden Owens focused on her brother’s character.

Spenser Heaps, Deseret News

Valerie Biden Owens campaigns for her brother, former vice president and Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden, at Pulp Lifestyle Kitchen in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019.

“He’s always been a good person who wants to help other people find their power,” she said.

Although some might believe he always had the confidence that led him to positions of power, his drive comes from knowing what it felt like to be made fun of and bullied. As a child, Biden had a stutter, his sister said, and other kids teased him.

“But he was not going to be defined by what other people said about him,” Biden Owens said. “Joe learned early on about bullies, and he knows and remembers that we all have bullies.”

She then said Trump is not “just another bully. He’s a threat to the nation.”

“And that’s why Joe’s running, he’s running for the fight for American families, he wants to build on Obamacare, why throw it all out?” she said, as well as to reform immigration systems and education.

Biden Owens argued against the idea that any Democrat can beat Trump, emphasizing that Trump has a lot of support in many red states. She argued that the party will need a “statesman” on the ballot to face up against the president.

“We need a president who has courage and conviction. That he can walk across the aisle and close the divide without having to apologize that he’s talking to ‘the enemy,’” she said. “He’s the best person I believe to lead forward, he has the guts to beat Trump, he has the heart to cross the divide and to bring the other guy along with us, and he has the experience to fix the mess that we’re in.”

Biden Owen’s speech was met with loud applause from the crowd, many of whom lined up to speak with her and take pictures with her after her remarks.

”I think vice president Biden has a wonderful spokesperson on his bid for him. ... She touched on all the things I think are important to American people,” said Rep. Carol Spackman-Moss, D-Holladay.

Jeff Stern, from Summit County, said he’s a longtime Biden supporter. “I was just glad to hear her perspective of what Joe was like younger. ... I always knew Joe was fighting for women’s rights. The thing that really connected with me is when I graduated from college, I found out I had dyslexia,” he said.

He said when people have made fun of Biden’s gaffes, he’s identified with him because of his own dyslexia. Stern said he was able to relate to hearing about Biden’s childhood struggles with bullying.

Miranda Cask also said she found the casual meet-and-greet emotional.

When Trump became president, as a green card holder from Indonesia, Cask said she was afraid she would be barred from seeing her parents and family when Trump implemented a travel ban from some Muslim-majority countries, including her own. So she flew her parents to Utah. While her dad was here, he suffered a stroke, Cask recalled.

She said her dad died earlier Saturday morning.

“I forced myself to come here because I need someone who can be a bridge between Republicans and Democrats, who can unite the country again, and I believe that Joe Biden is the person.”

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