Joe Biden Ranked 76th In A Class Of 85 While At Syracuse University College of Law

Joe Biden was indeed among the bottom 10 students of his class academically at Syracuse University College of Law.

Snopes confirmed that Biden ranked 76th academically in a law school class of 85 at the university, where he earned his law degree in 1968.

The outlet made the confirmation after a meme about the president and his academic performance went viral across Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and other platforms and sparked confusion among a number of people.

The image shows a much younger Biden sporting a graduation cap and gown as he posed for a photo with another man.

"Graduated 76th in a Class of 85," read the text on the image.

According to Snopes, the picture associated with the meme was not taken during Biden's graduation at Syracuse University but rather at a 1976 undergraduate commencement ceremony at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania.

The then-senator received an honorary degree from the university and gave a speech during the ceremony.

The man in the photo with Biden was identified as the university's then-president Rev. William J. Byron, who passed away at the age of 96 on April 9.

During Biden's tenure as vice president under former President Barack Obama, the Syracuse University College of Law Alumni Association addressed Biden's low rank in his graduating class.

In a letter, the organization emphasized that it is not the only indicator of a person's abilities before going on to highlight Biden's many accomplishments since graduating from Syracuse University.

"But statistics often prove not to be the predictor of one's abilities or prospects," the letter read. "And, indeed, it was after leaving Syracuse that his life and career took off."

Biden's academic performance became a topic of discussion during his 2020 presidential campaign when a 1987 video of him falsely claiming he graduated "in the top half of my class" resurfaced.

"I think I probably have a much higher IQ than you do," Biden, who was running for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination at the time, told a reporter during a campaign stop in Claremont, New Hampshire, in April 1987.

''The first year in law school I decided I didn't want to be in law school and ended up in the bottom two-thirds of my class and then decided I wanted to stay and went back to law school and in fact ended up in the top half of my class,'' he added.

Biden later admitted his mistake in a statement published in a 1987 New York Times report.

"I did not graduate in the top half of my class at law school and my recollection of this was inaccurate," he said at the time.

According to the Associated Press, Biden released just days prior his law school transcript, which showed he graduated 76th in a class of 85.

Biden ranked low in his class throughout his time at Syracuse University, the outlet noted.

The controversy, along with allegations of plagiarism in his academic work and campaign speeches, eventually derailed Biden's 1988 presidential bid.

In a statement to the Times in 1987, Biden said of the plagiarism accusations, "I was wrong, but I was not malevolent in any way. I did not intentionally move to mislead anybody. And I didn't. To this day I didn't."

Biden continues to campaign for a second term in the White House after clinching the Democratic presidential nomination last month.

Tags

Joe biden