While Beau Biden passed away nearly six years before Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States, Ashley Biden revealed that her late brother has still been with them in spirit. The First Daughter of the United States shared a bittersweet story of how she and Joe felt Beau’s “presence” amid Joe’s presidential campaign — and revealed how Beau would’ve reacted to their dad’s win — during her first ever television interview, which the TODAY show aired on Jan. 19.
“I remember when we were in South Carolina, things weren’t looking so great,” Joe’s daughter admitted while looking back at the South Carolina primary in Feb. 2020 that would make or break her dad’s run for president. While visiting, Ashley and Joe stumbled upon a “small community church,” where they were greeted by a surprise.
“And all of a sudden in this, like, small little church on the speakers is the song, [‘On Eagle’s Wings’],” Ashley revealed, referring to the song that reminded Joe of his lost son the most. “Dad and I looked and each other and started bawling, hugged, and we’re like, ‘This is Beau.’ And we’re like, ‘Beau did you have to raise up that far?'” The answer is yes, because Biden went on to win the South Carolina primary that put Barack Obama‘s former vice president in the lead of Democratic presidential candidates!
The interview, led by George W. Bush‘s daughter Jenna Bush Hager, was conducted before Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were inaugurated into office on Jan. 20. At the time, Ashley told Jenna that “Beau will be there” with her family as they watch Biden take his oath in front of the U.S. Capitol. Ashley added, “Oh, [Beau’s] so proud. He’s so, so proud. He’s so proud of dad.”
You can watch the rest of Ashley’s interview above to learn how she and her family reacted to Joe’s election win in Nov. 2020. Joe has since moved into the White House, and has already given the Oval Office a makeover (and got rid of Donald Trump‘s old decorations, including a button for Diet Coke).
Beau passed away in May of 2015 from brain cancer at the age of 46 (Ashley also pointed out the coincidence in their dad becoming the 46th president). At the start of his presidential campaign, Biden also opened up about his late son in an emotional interview on The View in April of 2019.