Campaigns Hard For Joe Biden
With the election less than a year away, the first lady is campaigning hard for her husband. She’s holding fundraisers in red states, where Jill Biden thinks her husband can make gains with his agenda.
Jill Biden is a warm presence in the White House, spontaneously hugging aides who cross her path and introducing herself to new ones. But she’s also a fierce advocate for her husband, sitting in on high-level political meetings and shaping policy priorities.
Jill Biden Education
While Jill Biden grew up in a family that placed value on education, she didn’t consider it her primary career focus. In fact, she hoped to become a fashion designer. But when she met Joe, her plans shifted – she wanted to marry well and start a family.
Jill Biden pursued a bachelor’s degree in fashion merchandising, graduating with honors. But she quickly realized it wasn’t the path for her and returned to school, obtaining a master’s degree in teaching. She began her teaching career in 1976. She later earned a doctorate in education from the University of Delaware.
As a professor and first lady, Biden is focused on educational opportunities for students of all ages. Jill has championed military families and community colleges, raised awareness about breast cancer prevention.
Jill Biden also has a passion for literacy and is an advocate for children and adolescents. She has hosted book tours, visited elementary schools, and promoted the importance of reading and literacy. She also has made a concerted effort to address the issue of bullying among teens.
Despite the challenges she has faced in her life, Biden remains positive. She has taken on a public role and spoken out against domestic violence, sexual assault, and mental health issues.
In her memoir, Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself, Biden recounts her childhood and her marriage to Joe. The book was published in 2019 and is a New York Times bestseller. Throughout her husband’s political career, she has taken on a more prominent role in his campaigns and in the White House. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she led efforts to help American families, worked tirelessly as the vice president’s wife, and even taught full-time during her time in the White House.
Family
Jill Biden, the wife of America’s vice president, is known for her focus on family issues. She has also taken the lead in promoting education. She has worked to promote women’s issues and to support military families. In addition, she has used her role to advocate for the importance of community colleges.
Jill was born in Hammonton, New Jersey, in 1951 and grew up in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. She met her husband, Joe, on a blind date set up by his brother in 1975. He was a senator at the time, and she was a 24-year-old college senior. After the couple married in 1977, they helped raise his two sons from his first marriage and welcomed a daughter, Ashley, of their own in 1981.
The couple has remained close to their children throughout the years and have devoted much of their lives to the cause of supporting military families. Joe’s first marriage ended tragically with the death of his first wife, Neila, and their infant daughter, Naomi, in a 1972 car accident. Jill’s previous marriage also ended in divorce.
After a successful career in teaching, Biden earned two master’s degrees, in education and English, from West Chester University and from Villanova. In addition, she completed a doctorate in education from the University of Delaware. She taught at a number of schools, including Brandywine High School, Claymont High School and Delaware Technical and Community College.
During her time as the second lady, Biden has made a point of visiting community colleges and promoting the importance of education. She has fought for equal pay for women and is an advocate for the importance of early childhood education. She has also spoken out against sexual harassment and is a champion for the rights of students and teachers.
Politics
The first lady has been one of the most active surrogates for Democratic candidates in this election cycle. Jill Biden is a seasoned campaigner, having worked hard for her husband in previous elections. And she has a strong presence on social media, using her accounts to push back against critics and remind voters of their support for her husband.
But while her efforts have made an impact, it’s unclear whether they will be enough to keep the Bidens in power for another two years. Jill, who is known as “Nana” to her grandchildren and as a matriarchal keeper of tradition and normalcy, has a lot at stake in the outcome of this year’s midterms.
That’s partly because she’s more political than any recent first lady, a fact that could make her a powerful force for Democrats as they try to retake the House and Senate. While Melania Trump, Michelle Obama and Laura Bush largely avoided political work, Jill Biden has toured the country on behalf of pandemic recovery and other priorities, even heading into Republican strongholds to talk about schools reopening and mass shooting victims.
Aside from her responsibilities in the administration, Jill remains a professor at Northern Virginia Community College, and she is believed to be the first wife of a president or vice president to retain a salaried position while serving as a spouse. In her role as a teacher, she has focused on advocating for community colleges and military families. She has also earned a master’s degree in English and a doctorate in education, and she has spoken out against bullying and sexual assault. In a speech last week, she called for an end to “code words of disapproval” and urged students to speak up when they see discrimination and harassment.
Personality
Jill Biden is Philadelphia-bred, scrappy and independent. She’s a lifelong educator, the first lady to continue working outside the White House during her husband’s presidency (though she left teaching for a time in 2009), and has a reputation as a community college teacher known as a “tough grader.” Aides say she’s willing to tell the president hard truths and voice blunt disapproval when Jill Biden believes he’s not living up to his duties. She sits in on high-level political meetings and shapes policy priorities by conveying what she hears from Americans in her travels.
Yet she has a playful side, spontaneously hugging aides who cross her path and introducing herself as “Jill” when she meets someone new.
Those who know the first lady also describe her as someone who has a firm grip on reality, a quality that has made her uniquely capable of bringing a sense of humility to the office and countering the polarization and divisiveness she has encountered. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, she was one of the first leaders to meet with ordinary people across the country.
In addressing the nation, Jill Biden sounded less like a politician and more like a grandmother – calling for the nation to take care of its children, honor the brave men and women who serve our military, and focus on education.