Joe Biden Doesn't Wear a Wedding Ring, and People Are Starting to Wonder Why

Following his signing of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, and his announcement that all American adults would be eligible for a vaccine by May 1, President Joe Biden is understandably riding high. Although he's certainly accomplished quite a bit since he was inaugurated, there's one question that many have about Joe's personal life that has nothing to do with his recent successes. 

If you know much about President Biden, you know that he's been married to Jill Biden for decades. The two of them seem to have a supportive relationship but in spite of that fact, President Biden doesn't seem to wear a wedding ring. As it turns out, this tradition is actually fairly common among politicians, even though it irks some in conservative media. 

In fact, President Biden didn't wear a wedding ring when he was serving as vice president, and neither did President Barack Obama for the most part. Jill is regularly seen sporting her wedding ring, as was Michelle Obama. Their husbands, on the other hand, have elected to go ringless for much of their public life for reasons that they've never fully articulated. 

While in office, former President Trump also avoided wearing a wedding ring. As it turns out, this was true even before he became president. Old clips from The Apprentice show that he has long avoided wearing his wedding ring. For some reason, conservative commentators didn't get quite as flustered about former President Trump's decision to avoid the ring as they had when President Biden made the same choice. 

President Biden's wedding ring did not make an appearance during his first address to the nation, which came on the one-year anniversary of the official declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the address, he announced that all Americans over the age of 18 would be eligible for a vaccine by May 1. 

 "Let me be clear," he continued. "That doesn’t mean everyone is going to have that shot immediately but it means you’ll be able to get one beginning May 1." 

To make that possible, Biden said that the U.S. was averaging more than 2 million vaccinations per day and that the government had mobilized thousands of retired nurses and other healthcare professionals to administer the vaccines. He cited July 4 as the possible start of a return to normal but also acknowledged that conditions around the virus can change. 

"After this long hard year that will make this Independence Day something truly special where we not only mark our independence as a nation but we begin to mark our independence from this virus," he said. "For that to happen, I need you. I need every American to do their part." 

Given the aggressive timeline he's established, President Biden may find himself more worried about COVID-19 in the weeks ahead than whether or not he's got a ring on.