Biden honors his mom on Mother’s day: ‘She was the quintessential lady’

President Biden honored his mother on Mother’s Day Sunday, calling her “the quintessential lady” in a new video.  

“My mom was always about, always about honor, about responsibility. She used to say, ‘You know, Joey – the greatest virtue of all is courage, because without courage, you couldn’t love with abandon,’” Biden said in a video message on Twitter about his mother, Catherine Eugenia “Jean” Biden.  

“She said ‘Bravery resides in every heart, but someday it will be summoned. Be ready,’” he added.

My mom taught me about the importance of family, loyalty, and faith. Her immeasurable strength lives on in all of her children, her grandchildren, her great-grandchildren, and the many other lives that she touched. pic.twitter.com/hapYzf5S3y

— President Biden (@POTUS) May 9, 2021

The president, whose mother died in 2010, shared a photo in the Sunday video of himself, his mother and former President Obama in Grant Park in Chicago before Obama’s acceptance speech in the 2008 presidential election.

“We’re backstage, and they said ‘And now the president and vice president of the United States of America,” Biden said.   

“My mom had my hand, and she reached out – look at the look on Barack’s face – and she grabbed his hand, and said, ‘come on honey, it’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay.’ That was my mom,” he added.   

Biden also called it a “great benefit” that his mother got to know both his children and grandchildren. 

“Incredible lady,” Biden added. “She was the quintessential lady.” 

Jean Biden died in 2010. Biden in a statement at the time said that she “passed away peacefully,” with her family by her bedside.

First lady Jill Biden in a video on Twitter commended moms across the country on Sunday amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which she said is “challenging us and changing us like we never could have imagined.” 

“Whether your kids are 2 or 52, this year has been a tough one for moms,” Jill Biden said in the video on Twitter.

“I know it feels like so much is on you. It was a lot even before the pandemic, and, just when you thought there was little left to give, you gave more because you’re a mom and that’s what moms do,” she added. 

This year has been a tough one for moms. Just when you thought you had little left to give, you gave more…because you’re a mom, and #thatswhatmomsdo. You’re strong and resilient. From one mother to another, I see you and I thank you. #MothersDay pic.twitter.com/Llf533tE9n

— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) May 9, 2021