Joe Biden’s raspy voice was not so raspy when he was younger. A video from an ABC interview of Biden in 1972 showed how drastic the difference between his voice today and back then was.
Biden’s age has been an issue his entire career. However, in the 1972 ABC interview, they were harping on the fact that he was coming in as a young 30-year-old senator, not that he was a man in his 80’s vying for the presidency. Unlike today, where Biden’s voice can come off a bit unclear and shaky, the younger version of him oozed with confidence, particularly when he is talking about making changes to the seniority in the Senate. He shared in the interview, “I think that seniority system has many more drawback than it has merit.” Young but stern, Biden was speaking like many Americans have never heard him speak before.
In another interview from 1976, just four years later, Biden’s voice continued to be bold, but you could still tell he was young. Speaking on the then-upcoming 1976 presidential debates, Biden told CBS 8 San Diego, “Well, I think he [President Gerald Ford] can benefit more because he’s going in as an underdog and no one really expects the voting public — I don’t think, expects him to be very sharp or quick.” Throughout the interview, his voice had a youthful and eager sound that is rare nowadays.
