Did Joe Biden Graduate At The Bottom Of His Class?

The 2020 Presidential Debate has everyone’s News Feed buzzing with reactions from Democrats and Republicans alike. However, the general consensus seems to be that it was, in short, an absolute trainwreck. Trying to sift through and fact-check all of the seedy claims, constant interruptions, and (dare we say it) immature insults being hurled back and forth, one seems to stand out in the crowd. And that is the question of Joe Biden’s educational credentials. 

During a particular section of the debate, Biden addressed the concerns over the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that is wreaking havoc on the United States. He claimed that “More will die unless Trump gets smarter soon”. President Trump immediately answered this claim by attacking Biden’s intelligence. He did so by talking about his graduating position at the University of Delaware. His exact words were as follows: “Did you use the word smart? You graduated either the lowest or almost the lowest in your class. Don’t ever use the word smart with me. Don’t ever use that word. Because you know what? There’s nothing smart about you, Joe.”

This begged the question, did joe Biden actually finish last in his graduating class?

Did Joe Biden Lie About His Top Graduating Spot?

Last April, during a campaign stop in Claremont New Hampshire, Biden was asked about his law degree. More specifically, where he attended and how well he did in school. 

Biden was irritated by the question and began his answer with a jab at the interviewer calling into question his intelligence. He began by saying ″I think I probably have a much higher IQ than you do.” He then went on to answer the question, which is where the problems started. His answer was as follows: 

″The first year in law school I decided I didn’t want to be in law school and ended up in the bottom two-thirds of my class and then decided I wanted to stay and went back to law school and in fact ended up in the top half of my class,″.

Biden did not suspect that these records from years ago would surface and be used against him, but unfortunately, such is the nature of this particularly nasty presidential election. Only a week ago were the records of Biden’s college career at Syracuse University College of Law released, and they tell a different story from the one he boasted on the campaign trail. 

According to the records, Biden graduated number 76 out of a total of 85 law students graduating that year. To delve deeper into the claim he made about his first year versus the remainder of his degree, he showed almost no improvement year over year, as he ranked 80 out of 100 students during the first semester of his first year, and then 79 out of 87 remaining students the second semester of his second year. 

What Else Did Biden Lie About In His University Career?

Unfortunately for Joe Biden, his college ranking was not the only detail he incorrectly claimed while on the campaign trail. Biden also made it known that he went to Syracuse University College of Law on a fully-paid scholarship. According to the released records, he only a half- paid scholarship ($800 scholarship out of $1,620 total tuition).

Biden also made claims about his accomplishments in school, including: 

• winning an international moot court competition, 
• winning outstanding student in the political science department, 
• and graduating with 3 undergraduate degrees. 

In regards to these claims, the records show that:

• Biden did not ever make mention of the moot court competition on his resume,
• he did not win any political science award during his undergraduate career, 
• and, he graduated with only 1 undergraduate degree (a B.A. in political science and history)

What Does Biden Say In Response to The Accussations?

It’s not great when you catch someone who is aiming to be the leader of the free world in so many blatant lies and/or exaggerations. However, when questioned about this notion, Biden defended himself saying that he was ″frustrated″ and ″angry as hell″ during this interview and that he “exaggerate[s] when [he’s] angry”. 

He goes on to say that ″It’s so easy to make things look like there’s something sinister about them, I guess every single word I’ve said is going to be dissected now.″

When asked specifically if he thinks his entire candidacy will survive all of these accusations and lies he’s been caught in, he responded:  ″I think if I can get by the next week, I can pull out of this. If I can just get my story across.″