Having entered the United States Senate in 1973, Joe Biden has been a fixture of American public life for decades. Thanks to his tenure as vice president in the Obama administration, the longtime Senator’s stature has only grown throughout the past decade — making him one of the country’s best-known liberal politicians and a prospective leading contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

Biden’s real, if superficial, appeal rests heavily on his image as an affable, blue-collar everyman at once populist and easygoing: an image arguably shaped more by social media and cable TV than by reality. Indeed, you might even say that there are two Joe Bidens: one a character, the other a real-life politician.

While few people are likely to mistake Diamond Joe for the real-life Biden (a devout Catholic who reportedly doesn’t even drink), the meme-ified version of the former vice president has nevertheless increasingly come to define his public image. And that’s a problem, given how little resemblance Biden the real-world politician — a notoriously gaffe-prone Senator who has spent the majority of his career as a hawkish, somewhat socially conservative Democrat — has to his mostly likeable, laid-back, and apolitical cultural avatar.

The real Joe Biden got into politics opposing busing, a vital de-segregation measure he dismissed in the 1970s as “the atom bomb of anti-discrimination weapons”. Throughout his subsequent career as a US Senator, he would go on to champion several pieces of legislation that disproportionately targeted black Americans and helped institutionalise mass incarceration including 1994’s infamous Crime Bill, then boasting on the Senate floor: “The liberal wing of the Democratic Party has 70 enhanced penalties… The liberal wing of the Democratic Party is for 100,000 cops...The liberal wing of the Democratic Party is for 125,000 new State prison cells.” As recently as 2007, Biden still called the bill his “greatest accomplishment.”

Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Show all 23 1 /23 Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Joe Biden The former vice president - poised to be a frontrunner - has announced his run. He recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Bernie Sanders The 2016 runner-up has announced that he will be running again in 2020 Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Hillary Clinton The 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State says she is “still considering” whether she will run again. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Pete Buttigieg The Indiana mayor and war veteran will be running for president. If elected, he would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Kamala Harris The former California attorney general will be running for president in 2020. Introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony, she has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts Senator has formally launched her bid for president in 2020. A progressive Democrat, she is a major supporter of regulating Wall Street. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Beto O’Rourke The former Texas congressman told Oprah Winfrey that he “has been thinking about running for presidency”, but stopped short of formally announcing his bid to run in 2020. AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam has announced his bid. He intends to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord. Vice News Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege.” Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has announced that he will be running for the presidency in 2020. If he secures the nomination he said finding a female vice president would be a priority. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but is likely to face tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Andrew Yang The entrepreneur has announced his presidential candidacy, and has pledged that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18. AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual advisor has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? John Kerry The former secretary of state has said he is still thinking about whether to run. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Michael Bloomberg The entrepreneur and former New York mayor– with a net worth of around $50bn – has said he will decide by the end of February whether to seek the presidency. AFP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Howard Schultz Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has not yet ruled out running for president in 2020, despite criticism that his bid could help re-elect Mr Trump by dividing the Democrat vote. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Eric Holder The former attorney general has said he will decide in “the next month or so” whether to run as a 2020 presidential candidate. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Eric Swalwell The California congressman said he is “ready to do this” and will decide before April whether to run. MSNBC Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Terry McAuliffe The former Virginia governor, who worked to elect Democratic governors during 2018 midterms, said there was a “50 per cent” chance he would run. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Sherrod Brown The Ohio senator is still undecided about whether to run for president in 2020. Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Mitch Landrieu The former New Orleans mayor said he doesn’t think he will run for president, but “never say never”. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Biden’s populist, blue-collar image is likewise difficult to reconcile with his long-standing proximity to corporate and financial interests and propensity to defend the ultra-rich. In 1979, after receiving donations from Coca-Cola, for example, Biden co-sponsored legislation that helped the soft-drink industry skirt antitrust laws. In the 1990s he voted against several measures aimed at the regulation of credit card companies, one of which (MBNA) just happened to be his largest single donor throughout the decade. Even as issues like corporate power and economic inequality have increasingly entered the mainstream for Democrats, Biden has insisted: “I don’t think 500 billionaires are the reason we’re in trouble. The folks at the top aren’t bad guys.”

The list goes on and on. From having a decidedly mixed record on pro-choice legislation, casting a vote for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, expressing his fondness for noted torture proponent Dick Cheney, and declaring anti-LGBTQ Republican vice president Mike Pence a “decent guy”, Biden the politician has never really resembled the innocuous caricature that’s flourished on social media. But should he indeed enter the race, it’s Biden the conservatively minded politician, not Biden the harmless internet meme, who will ultimately be running for president.