"[43] Journalist James Traub has written that "Biden is the kind of fundamentally happy person who can be as generous toward others as he is to himself."[135]
In recent years, especially after the 2015 death of his elder son Beau, Biden has been noted for his empathetic nature and ability to communicate about grief.[524][525] In 2020, CNN wrote that his presidential campaign aimed to make him "healer-in-chief", while The New York Times described his extensive history of being called upon to give eulogies.[526]
Journalist and TV anchor Wolf Blitzer has called Biden loquacious.[527] He often deviates from prepared remarks[528] and sometimes "puts his foot in his mouth."[529][172][530][531]  Biden has a reputation for being prone to gaffes and in 2018 called himself "a gaffe machine".[532][533] The New York Times wrote that Biden's "weak filters make him capable of blurting out pretty much anything."[172]
According to The New York Times, Biden often embellishes elements of his life or exaggerates, a trait also noted by The New Yorker in 2014.