Biden Asked Penn Higher-Ups About His Grandchild’s Application: Report
THANKS, GRANDPA
Correspondence reviewed by The Daily Pennsylvanian reveal that Joe Biden spoke with the then-President and then-Dean of Admissions at the University of Pennsylvania about his granddaughter’s application. The messages did not indicate that relatives of the president received any advantage in their application process, but demonstrate the close ties between the president and the Ivy League school, the outlet reported. In 2018, Biden reached out to university President Amy Guttman after his granddaughter Maisy was not selected for early admission. He told his son Hunter that his daughter was “still in the game for regular acceptance… But must do well in class this period…It’s real.” A few months later, the president spoke with the school’s Dean of Admissions who told him he’d hear the results from Gutmann, which he took as “encouragement.” Another of Biden’s grandchildren was given a tour of the school’s campus when they were a sophomore. Three sources said that the messages were discovered on Hunter Biden’s laptop. In between his time in the Obama administration and his presidency, Biden served as Benjamin Franklin Presidential Professor of the Practice at Penn. In 2018, the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement was founded. Penn declined a request for comment from The Daily Pennsylvanian. University admissions told the outlet, “We do not comment on applicants.” Furda, Gutmann, and the White House also did not respond to requests for comment.