JOE BIDEN'S resilience and inherently Irish stubbornness played a big part in him becoming President of the United States, according to CNN's chief political correspondent John King.
He referenced Biden's never-say-die attitude, after losing a number of Democratic nominations, as well as his mental toughness to overcome significant personal tragedy on his way to the White House.
"Everybody said he'd never be president - he ran in 1988 and got nowhere," King told the Irish Times.
"Whether you agree with him, whether you support him, he just never gave up. Add in all the personal tragedy in life for a man to have gone through … I don't care about your politics, you have to admire the resilience of the man."
Biden's son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015 while serving as Attorney General of Delaware, a tragedy that hit the President extremely hard at the time.
King went on to attributes Biden's rise to the summit of American politics as a result of him being "stubborn Irish".
He went on to say that Biden was the complete opposite of his predecessor Donald Trump, and argued he'd be able to do adapt and rise to the occasion no matter what, because it's something he's done all his career.
"He's the anti-Trump in many ways, and Trump was the anti-Obama," King said. "The American people in the middle of a pandemic said, 'Whoa, we want an experienced, tested adult'.
"Joe Biden is a creature of the United States Senate. He was the vice president, he has been an institutionalist legislator, and then a number two to Barack Obama.
"Biden's never been the CEO. And so he’s the CEO of a country, and the CEO of a political party, at a time of enormous fundamental change being driven by voters, and more diverse voters. Can he adapt? Can he lead? Can he open his mind to the new ideas in the party?"
Biden's Irish heritage is no secret and he actively referenced his roots during his presidential campaign.
The President's ancestors originally came from counties Mayo and Louth.
