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Joe Biden silences Iraq war protester by telling him 'I lost my son too'

The two men found common ground in their grief

Olivia Blair
Friday 02 September 2016 12:20 BST
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'My friends died,' heckler shouts. 'So did my son,' Joe Biden replies

In a rare move for a politician, Joe Biden responded to a heckler with an emotional and personal response which silenced a rally on Thursday.

The US Vice President was campaigning for the Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in Cleveland, Ohio when he was interrupted by an Iraq war protester.

“My friend died, we fought for America” the man shouted repeatedly. According to the Guardian, the protester was at odds with Mr Biden over the US foreign policy in Syria.

A sombre-looking Biden paused before turning to the man.“Will you listen? Yeah, so did my son”, he replied, before inviting him to discuss the issues with him after his speech. The man was reportedly later seen entering the backstage area after speaking with the secret service.

Mr Biden’s veteran son Beau died from brain cancer last year. The 46-year-old, who served a long deployment in Iraq and was awarded a bronze star, was first diagnosed with the illness in 2013. He was also twice elected the attorney general of Delaware.

Mr Biden has said his grief was a factor in him not running for the Democrat nomination this year.

Beau’s death came after his one-year-old daughter Naomi and wife Neila Hunter died in a car crash in Delaware in 1972. Beau and his brother Hunter survived the tragedy with broken bones.

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