DES MOINES, Iowa — Joe Biden touched on his own experience with personal tragedy while honoring the life of NBA great Kobe Bryant.
“I didn’t know him well. I only met him a couple of times,” the former vice president told the crowd gathered for the campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa. “It makes you realize that you gotta make every day count, every single solid day, every single day count.”
A moment of silence was held at the house party hosted by Creative Visions, Des Moines NAACP, and Urban Dream, with audible gasps heard around the room as news spread of Bryant’s death. Bryant, 41, died Sunday after his private helicopter crashed near Calabasas, California, killing everyone on board.
Biden, 77, is no stranger to personal loss. Delaware’s senator for 36 years lost his first wife, Neilia, and one-year-old daughter Naomi in a car crash in 1972. His eldest son Beau Biden, Delaware’s former attorney general, died in 2015 at age 46 after a battle with brain cancer. He often refers to his “surviving son,” Hunter Biden, 49, on the campaign trail. The younger Biden has become a central figure in President Trump’s impeachment for his dealings in Ukraine.
Bryant was honored at the White House in 2010, while Biden was part of the Obama administration, after the Los Angeles Lakers were crowned the 2009 NBA Champions.
“Of course, I’ve got to recognize Kobe Bryant, one of the most competitive players I’ve ever seen, for being named Finals MVP last year, obviously already MVPs under his belt, the youngest player ever to reach 25,000 points in his career,” former President Barack Obama said at the time.
