Joe Biden is making his first appearance on The Daily Show since taking office as the president of the United States — and weighing in on attacks against LGBTQ+ Americans — sitting down with actor and former Obama administration staffer Kal Penn for a segment airing Monday night.
In a preview of the White House interview released Monday morning, guest host Penn — who is engaged to his longtime boyfriend — asks President Biden how he came to be a vocal supporter of marriage equality.
“I can remember exactly when my epiphany was,” Biden responds in the clip. “I hadn’t thought much about it, to tell you the truth. I was a senior in high school and my dad was dropping me off … [I was] about to get out of the car and I look to my right, and two well-dressed men in suits kissed each other.”
The president continues: “I turned and looked at my dad, and he said, ‘Joey, it’s simple, they love each other.’ … It’s just that simple. It doesn’t matter whether it’s same-sex or a heterosexual couple, you should be able to be married. What is the problem?”
Biden made history as the vice president in 2012 when he announced his support of same-sex marriage before the Obama administration had a chance to sign off, becoming one of the most prominent politicians to stand for LGBTQ+ rights at the time and beating President Barack Obama to the punch.
Same-sex marriage was later legalized nationwide, in 2015, thanks to the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges — but at least one current justice on the far-right Supreme Court has recently suggested reassessing the decision, creating fear that many LGBTQ+ people could lose their hard-won rights.
This past December, Biden doubled down on his support of marriage equality and reinforced protections for LGBTQ+ couples by signing the Respect for Marriage Act into law, which guarantees that the federal government will continue to recognize same-sex marriages even if Obergefell were overturned down the line.