President Joe Biden has recollected an incident from his law school days at Syracuse University College of Law where he held the attention of his torts class for around ten minutes, despite not having read the relevant case. The narrative, divulged during Biden’s October interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur, seemed to imply that Biden’s anecdote was received with startling acclaim, though some have cast doubt on the likelihood of such a reaction. Reporting on the incident, Reuters explained Biden’s vivid memory of the standing ovation he received.
In response to this performance, Biden’s professor purportedly noted that he might make “a hell of a trial lawyer”, despite his comments being irrelevant to the case at hand. It’s crucial to note in this scenario that Biden himself admitted to not taking law school very seriously during that time.
The outlandishly positive memory has been greeted with some skepticism. Critics have condemned the anecdote as delusional, with legal scholar Derek T. Muller expressing doubt about the veracity of Biden’s claims via Twitter. Muller contests that, throughout the annals of American legal education, it’s highly unlikely that an unprepared student’s 10 minute monologue would be met with a standing ovation.
Biden’s story, whether it is purely nostalgic or admittedly embellished, opens up larger discussions on accountability, the importance of preparedness in legal education, and how politicians navigate their personal history in public discourse.