#Biden reacts to death of ‘dear friend and mentor’ Walter Mondale

President Joe Biden reacted to the death of Vice President Walter Mondale by remembering him as a “dear friend and mentor” who gave him trusted guidance throughout his political career.

In a statement released after Mondale’s death, Biden said he and First Lady Jill Biden spoke to the former vice president and his family over the weekend.

Mondale, a former senator who went on to serve as VP under Jimmy Carter, died at age 93 in Minneapolis, according to a family spokesperson.

“When I arrived in the United States Senate in 1973, Walter Mondale was one of the first people to greet me. Through his work as a Senator, he showed me what was possible,” Biden said in his statement.

“There have been few senators, before or since, who commanded such universal respect.

Biden said Mondale was the first person he reached out to after former President Obama asked him to be his vice president.

“He not only took my call, he wrote me a memo. It was Walter Mondale who defined the vice presidency as a full partnership, and helped provide a model for my service,” Biden said.