First Lady Jill Biden, 72, is nine years younger than President Biden, who turns 81 in November.
While the presidential election 2024 is more than a year away, the first lady will make her first solo appearances of the campaign season starting Monday with a three-day fundraising tour in New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
Most of her time will be spent at four political events, including two in California’s Bay Area, to support her husband’s re-election and the Democratic National Committee and Democratic state party committees.
Biden, 72, will also attend an event in Los Angeles to mark the 30th anniversary of the Giffords Law Center, an anti-gun group founded by the former congressman. Giffords was shot in the head in 2011.
Related Posts
Biden’s appearance will be her first since a quip she made at an event on Thursday did not get the response she expected.
“I’ve visited red and blue states, and I’ve found that the common values that unite us are deeper than our divisions,” Biden remarked before pausing for a minute.
When the audience did not applaud, the first lady said, “I thought you might clap for that.”
The audience instantly clapped, drawing comparisons to Jeb Bush’s mistake during the 2016 presidential race when he asked the audience to “please clap.”
Biden, who also teaches English at a community college, encouraged people to prioritize voting in the 2024 presidential race at several events last year.
“Like many educators, I use to-do lists to stay organized,” she said. “So where voting falls on your to-do list will determine whether this election is won or lost.”
Then Biden would say, “Put voting at the top of your to-do list.”
According to Elizabeth Alexander, a senior campaign aide who previously worked as Jill Biden’s communications director, the first lady – who introduces herself simply as “Jill” – is well-liked and will be a “formidable presence” on the campaign trail.
“As she has been for all of her husband’s presidential campaigns, she will continue to be a formidable presence on the stump,” Alexander added. “Her warmth and approachability, combined with her 30-plus years as a classroom teacher, make her an effective campaign messenger on the campaign trail.”
According to Democratic advisors and pollsters, Americans consider the first lady compassionate and personable, making her one of her husband’s most significant advantages.
“Some people go to presidential fundraisers because, quote, unquote, it’s necessary,” Democratic campaign consultant Bob Mulholland told The Associated Press. “People go to Jill Biden’s fundraisers because they want to hear from her.”
“As a teacher, she knows how to listen and single out people who she thinks need extra attention or extra conversation,” Mulholland continued.
“Everyone who meets this woman loves her,” said Steve Westly, a Bay Area startup entrepreneur who has raised money for Biden in prior elections.
Jill Biden, he said, is the “most genuine, sunny, warmhearted, kind person you’re ever going to meet.” She emanates it.”
According to Republican strategist Doug Heye, independent voters favor presidents’ spouses. He also argued that she might offer the president extra safety from criticism, as Republicans risk examining her and enraging supporters.
“Criticizing the first lady can backfire,” Heye said.
Through her husband’s decades of public service, the first lady has become a seasoned public speaker, and she will participate in roughly 40 campaign and fundraising events in the autumn of 2022.
Her campaigning, though, has sometimes created some controversy.
Last year, the Biden campaign was chastised when Jill Biden compared Hispanic diversity to the taste of breakfast tacos.
The remark quickly became a meme among Republicans and their supporters.
She made another off-handed statement earlier this year when she invited the NCAA women’s basketball tournament losers to the White House alongside the victors. The concept was highly panned and never realized.
Jill Biden earlier told The Associated Press that her husband is “not done” and has more he wants to accomplish for the people of America.
Biden is nine years younger than President Obama, who will be 81 in November.
