Joe & Jill Biden Look Like Different People In Old-School Pic With Ashley
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Ashley Biden gave us all a major blast from the past in 2025. The former first daughter took to Instagram Stories to share a photo of her younger self clinging to her father, then-Delaware SenatorJoe Biden as he chatted with reporters in May 1988. At 45 years old when the picture was taken, Joe looked shockingly good-looking in the throwback picture in his trusty blue suit, tan pants, and a baseball cap. Although Jill Biden would have her biggest fashion fails in the following decades, she, too, looked stunning in a light blue dress that contrasted with her black belt and black heels.
By looking at that sweet throwback, it seems natural to assume that Ashley was reminiscing on a simpler time in her life. However, the snap actually marked the end of a stressful period in their lives, since it was taken in after Joe was discharged from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center after undergoing his second major surgery to fix a life-threatening aneurysm near his brain earlier in that same month.
Although Joe looked dashing in the throwback photo that Ashley shared, he didn't see himself in the same light. In his 2007 book "Promises To Keep," the future president shared that he felt insecure in his post-surgery body because he had lost weight, couldn't feel the right side of his forehead, and had a drooping eyelid. Thankfully, he regained feelings in his face about six weeks later. Although Joe may have been struggling internally at the time the photo Ashley shared was taken, he didn't let it show when he spoke to reporters.
Joe Biden's health scare reshaped his perspective on life
As the Los Angeles Times noted, after his exit from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in May 1988, Joe Biden thanked his lucky stars, saying, "I am happier than you can possibly believe to be out of the hospital." Moreover, the Democrat stated that he was happy he had decided to bow out of his first presidential race in September 1987 since it had given him a far better chance at recovering from his health issues. Notably, Joe had undergone a surgery to fix his first life-threatening aneurysm around his brain in February 1988.
In "Promises To Keep," the future president shared that he had only 50% odds of making it out of the initial surgery and an even greater chance of having major health issues afterward. After pulling through the first surgery, Joe took a seven month leave from the Senate to recover, during which Jill Biden and his team barred him from tending to any work-related matters. In fact, they were so strict about their decision that they didn't even allow Joe to get back to then-president Ronald Reagan after he called him twice.
According to The Delaware News Journal, Joe wrote that his time away from work changed his perspective on life, explaining, "The only things that are truly urgent are matters of life and death," he continued. "I was no less committed or passionate, but I no longer felt I had to win every moment to succeed." Suffice it to say that, like many other heartbreaking details of Joe's life, his health scare only pushed him towards his goals.