An agonizing silence, not a glance, not a handshake, and the live broadcast was slow to cut off on CNN after the debate between the two US presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, on Thursday, June 27. Then Jill Biden, wife of the Democratic president, arrived at the podium as Trump ducked out. She helped her husband down a few steps. Moments later, Jill congratulated him at a brief gathering with Democratic supporters. "Joe, you did such a great job. You answered every question, you knew all the facts. And let me ask the crowd. What did Trump do? Lie!" said Jill to the crowd. Her energy only made her husband's weakness more glaring.
The viral images revealed the 73-year-old first lady's central role in the presidential campaign after 81-year-old Joe Biden's disastrous debate. "Who is the commander-in-chief?" the nickname of the President of the United States, asked Republican Chip Roy, House Representative from Texas, on X. "I have no respect for Jill Biden. Encouraging your husband to embarrass himself like this is not love," added Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe. On the left, they're calling on the first lady to take responsibility and make her husband resign. "Yes. Get Jill in here. Please. It’s time for the crap part of marriage. The part where supporting your spouse means telling them very, very hard things," wrote Monica Hess, editorial writer at the Washington Post.
While it's not possible to know the couple's private exchanges, it's clear that Jill plays a major role in both her husband's family and political decisions. She is the second wife of Joe Biden, who lost his first wife and their young daughter in a car accident in 1972. They married in 1976 and she raised Joe Biden's two sons, Beau and Hunter. The eldest, Beau, a model son and Iraq war veteran, died of brain cancer in 2015. The younger, Hunter, the prodigal son, who sank into drugs and shady business deals, was convicted on June 11 of illegal gun possession. "Jill came along at a really important point and put my family back together. She is the glue that held it together," said Joe Biden to People magazine in 2021.
"You'll love her, Joe. She doesn't like politics," said Joe Biden's brother Frank, encouraging him to meet Jill. In actual fact, Jill was involved in all his political battles. Skeptical about his first candidacy in 1988, she pushed her husband to run in 2008, then to accept the vice-presidential post offered by Barack Obama, which Joe Biden had initially turned down. In 2016, Beau's death traumatized the family and led Joe to abandon his candidacy for president. "I had planned on running before Beau got sick," said a resignated Joe Biden. Jill may have temporarily lost her Christian faith, but not her faith in her husband. "Joe would have made a great president. Maybe America missed an opportunity," she deplored back in April 2016 on NBC.
You have 32.68% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.