President Biden’s influence was allegedly used to secure the acceptance of his niece, Maisy Biden, to the highly selective University of Pennsylvania, according to a report from the Washington Free Beacon.
This revelation comes at a time when President Biden has vowed to investigate practices such as legacy admissions that perpetuate privilege instead of promoting equal opportunities, following a recent Supreme Court ruling on race-based college admissions standards.
In 2018, Hunter Biden, Maisy’s father, reached out to his father and other connections within the Biden family, seeking assistance in getting his daughter into the Ivy League university. Despite Maisy’s grades falling significantly below the university’s rigorous standards, UPenn remained one of her top choices.
“I applied early decision to Penn today!!” Maisy reportedly texted Hunter Biden on October 31.
On December 13, 2018, Joe Biden texted his son, saying that he’s “going to try to see [University of Pennsylvania] Pres GUTMANN tomorrow.”
Two days later, he informed Hunter that he had a positive conversation with Gutmann regarding Maisy’s application.
In subsequent messages, Joe Biden emphasized the importance of Maisy performing well academically and suggested exploring the possibility of tutors.
“Maisy still in the game for regular acceptance. But must do well in class this period. It’s real,” Joe Biden allegedly wrote on December 15. “We should talk about tutors etc starting tomorrow.” he continued.
“I also think it would help if you had lax coach talk to their lax coach. Bottom line is that Guttman [sic] made clear that in order for her to explain the 11th grade you had to show improvement in 12th,” Hunter said. “Which is something I think we would have all liked to know form [sic] the start, but in fairness we were much later in the app process than usual and made it look like we weren’t 100% about Penn.”
He assured Hunter that Gutmann would personally inform him about Maisy’s application status and that he would relay the information promptly. Furthermore, Joe Biden mentioned that expressing interest in playing lacrosse for Penn might be beneficial for Maisy’s chances.
“If I hear before 1pm on [March 29, 2019] I’ll call immediately so you can call Maisy,” Joe Biden said. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do on anything.”
Ultimately, Joe Biden’s efforts appeared to yield results, as Maisy Biden was accepted to the prestigious University of Pennsylvania.
In July 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Amy Gutmann to serve as his ambassador to Germany, a position she currently holds. The timing of this nomination raises questions about any potential connection between Gutmann’s appointment and her previous interaction with the Biden family.
