Emotional Biden says teachers helped him overcome stutter

President Joe Biden congratulated the 2022 national teacher of the year on Wednesday by offering a deeply personal story saluting school leaders who helped him overcome a serious childhood stutter decades before he had White House aspirations.

“I wonder how I got here. I got here because of my parents and my teachers,” Biden said in a long, heart-felt deviation from his prepared remarks during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House. “That idea is exemplified by the national teacher of the year.”

The president and first lady Jill Biden, who continues to teach English at a community college in suburban Washington, cheered Ohio history teacher Kurt Russell, the 2022 national teacher of the year, and finalists for the award who gathered from each state.