By: Devika Kandelwal
September 30 2020
Biden makes no direct claim of attending the university, as claimed by Trump. Biden’s statement was taken out of context and was mischaracterized.
Biden makes no direct claim of attending the university, as claimed by Trump. Biden’s statement was taken out of context and was mischaracterized.President Donald Trump criticized former Vice President Joe Biden’s education, claiming that Biden has incorrectly said he went to Delaware State University instead of the University of Delaware. However, Trump’s claim is inaccurate. Trump is referring to a statement Biden made during a speech in South Carolina in 2019, in which he said he “got started out of an HBCU, Delaware State.” In the speech, Biden makes no direct claim of attending the University, as claimed by Trump. Biden’s statement was taken out of context and has been mischaracterized. “Watched in full context, it is clear that Biden was discussing his long association with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, not making a claim that he had attended Delaware State University,” reported NPR. When Biden said he “started out” at the University, his comment was linked to his longtime history in Delaware politics. In his 2016 commencement address, Biden explained that the DSU student community members played a memorable role in his first Senate run. “It really did start here,” Biden said, adding, “The only reason I got elected then was because of this campus and the community it represents.” Biden holds an honorary doctoral degree from the University and has delivered two commencement speeches for the school in 2003 and in 2016.