SCRANTON, Pa. — President Biden traveled to his hometown of Scranton on Friday to deliver a moving eulogy at the funeral of his best childhood friend.
The president returned to St. Paul's Catholic Church, where he said he was baptized, to attend the memorial service for Thomas Bell, who died on September 18 at the age of 81. .
Mr. Biden called his late friend “a man of immense character,” and reminisced about their childhood together, saying that he found “the ordinary to be boring and the extraordinary to be thrilling.” The president became emotional twice while giving a speech, once in a familiar church and in front of friendly people.
“I'm sorry, but I'm the president and I'm not supposed to get emotional, but Tommy brought out all the emotions in me. I could always count on Tommy, I hoped that he, too, would know that he could always count on me,” the president said.
Mr. Biden recalled telling Mr. Bell of his intention to run for president, and said that Mr. Bell told him he could win.
“All these years later, no matter what was going on, I was his Joe and he was Tommy. Nothing about our relationship has changed,” Biden said.
In typical fashion, the president quoted Irish poets and spoke about loss based on his own personal experience of losing his wife and children.
“Tommy was –” Biden said, pausing in parts. “For years, we've been close, and that's important.”
“I apologize for getting emotional. Thank you to everyone who allowed me to participate,” he added.
After the eulogy, Biden quickly returned to his duties as president, providing updates on the Israeli attack on the outskirts of Beirut and Hurricane Helen, which is battering the Southeast.
