2024-07-06 18:23:57
After his Disastrous debate with Donald Trump the american president Joe Biden had the unconditional support of the First Lady Jillwho is more than ever at the forefront of her husband’s campaign.
“He is as influential as the pundits say, and his opinion matters more to (President Biden) than anyone else’s. Without your support, it would be impossible for him to continue in the race.“,” Tammy Vigil, a communications professor at Boston University, told AFP.
On Monday, the Vogue magazine revealed the cover of its August issue: Jill Biden, wearing a long white silk jacket-style dress by Ralph Lauren.
The photograph dates from late April, and the magazine’s article is based on interviews and reports conducted during this period, long before Joe Biden crashed live on CNN against his Republican rival.
Vogue reveals that she spoke to her on the phone shortly after the debate, as the tensions mounted calls for the 81-year-old Democrat to withdraw his candidacy.
– “The appropiate person” –
“We will not allow those 90 minutes to define the four years he has been president. We will continue to fight,” said the 73-year-old professor.
“Joe is not only the right person for the job,” “he’s the only person for the job,” said the woman, her partner of 47 years, during a rally with Democratic donors on Saturday.
At the end of the debate on Thursday, the first lady took her husband by the arm to help him struggle down the few steps of the CNN studio.
On Friday, she appeared alongside a reinvigorated Joe Biden at a rally in North Carolina, wearing a dress emblazoned with the word “Vote.”
She married Joe Biden in 1977. He was widowed after the death of his wife and daughter in a car accident. They were survived by two sons: Beau and Hunter.
Beau Biden, with a promising political future ahead of him, died of cancer. Hunter struggled for years with crack addiction. With Jill he had a daughter, Ashley, and has several grandchildren.
The first lady is his centre of gravity. Without her support, the Democrat would not have sought a second term. After arriving at the White House, he continued teaching English at a university near Washington, something unheard of for the wife of a president.
– Ornaments and campaign –
Otherwise, she performs the stereotypical and relatively modest role of a first lady, that is, she is in charge of Christmas decorations and the menu for gala dinners, as well as agreed causes, in her case, for example, the promotion of reading.
“A contemporary American first lady is supposed to be the ‘not-so-secret weapon’ who helps her husband by vouching for his character and helping raise funds. That’s why Jill Biden is expected to be involved in the campaign,” explains Tammy Vigil.
“However, there are also unstated limits to such activity that are difficult to determine until a particular line is crossed. If she is too vigorous in defending her husband, people will complain. However, if she is not visible enough (as in the case of Melania Trump), she will also be criticized,” she believes.
By so openly supporting Joe Biden since the calamitous confrontation with Donald Trump, will Jill Biden create a wave of sympathy? Or will she instead alienate part of the public?
Since the debate, the first lady has become a favourite target on social media for some of Donald Trump’s supporters, who accuse her of being an unscrupulous manipulator.
“What Jill Biden and her campaign team did tonight (…) is elder abuse,” conservative Congresswoman Harriet Hageman reacted Thursday afternoon in a message on X (formerly Twitter).
By Aurelia End
2024-07-06 18:23:57