--- title: Joe Biden Is on the 2020 TIME 100 List description: Find out why Joe Biden is one of the 100 most influential people of 2020. canonical: https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888311/joe-biden/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-09-22T22:46:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-07-21T07:21:58.935Z og:title: Joe Biden: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020 og:description: Find out why Joe Biden is on this year’s list og:url: https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888311/joe-biden/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40b8373ff9c74c83/698a1250db29872771265d0a/time-100-Joe-Biden.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Joe Biden: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Joe Biden: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020 twitter:description: Find out why Joe Biden is on this year’s list twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40b8373ff9c74c83/698a1250db29872771265d0a/time-100-Joe-Biden.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 22, 2020 # Joe Biden by Jim Clyburn  KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 07: Democratic Presidential Candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks to a full crowd during the Joe Biden Campaign Rally at the National World War I Museum and Memorial on March 7, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Kyle Rivas/Getty Images) KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 07: Democratic Presidential Candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks to a full crowd during the Joe Biden Campaign Rally at the National World War I Museum and Memorial on March 7, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Kyle Rivas/Getty Images)Kyle Rivas—Getty Images Dr. [Martin Luther King Jr](https://time.com/5786713/martin-luther-king-jr-time-cover-story/ "undefined"). once intoned, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Our delicately constructed institutions are fraying. The motto on our Great Seal, _e pluribus unum_, “out of many, one,” seems beyond reach. Presidential leadership is woefully lacking. In short, the state of our union is uncertain. I don’t take my endorsement of a presidential candidate lightly, but the nation’s circumstances and Dr. King’s admonition were on my mind [when I stood up on Feb. 26 and declared](https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/26/politics/jim-clyburn-endorses-joe-biden/index.html "undefined"), “I know Joe, we know Joe, but more importantly, Joe knows us.” I meant what I said that day. I bonded with Joe through extensive discussions of shared experiences regarding our states’ challenges in response to _Brown v. Board of Education._ Like most Americans, [Joe Biden](https://time.com/longform/joe-biden-2020/ "undefined") knows [hardship](https://time.com/3903700/joe-biden-grief/ "undefined"); he knows disappointment; he knows sacrifice and moments of contentment. It’s one thing to run to lead a country at its high point, but I believe it speaks volumes to Joe’s character that he will fight to lead us through these [unprecedented challenges](https://time.com/5876599/election-2020-coronavirus/ "undefined"). Joe Biden is honest, compassionate and empathetic—but most of all, he is a public servant. _Clyburn is a Democratic Congressman from South Carolina and the House majority whip_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888311/joe-biden/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888311/joe-biden/"},"headline":"Joe Biden","datePublished":"2020-09-22T22:46:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:21:58.935Z","description":"Find out why the Democratic presidential nominee is one of the most influential people of 2020, according to U.S. Representative Jim Clyburn.","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888311/joe-biden/","keywords":["TIME 100","T100 2020","T100 2020 Leaders"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40b8373ff9c74c83/698a1250db29872771265d0a/time-100-Joe-Biden.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40b8373ff9c74c83/698a1250db29872771265d0a/time-100-Joe-Biden.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888311/joe-biden/","name":"Joe Biden"}}]}] ```