First Lady Jill Biden: You and Joe

Jill Biden is touring the USA as “First Lady” in the US election campaign – and is well received: She looks fitter, more approachable than the President. But she won’t be able to save the election campaign alone – and her political engagement remains delicate.

Jill Biden doesn’t always get stormy applause – but she gets it often at the moment, at least from supporters of the Democratic Party. In the final sprint before the “midterms”, the First Lady is more popular with many Democratic candidates than her husband, US President Joe Biden.

The Democrats are under pressure, the latest polls again see the Republicans at an advantage. In a survey published by the “New York Times” last Monday, 49 percent of those questioned said they would prefer the Republicans, while 45 percent tended towards the Democrats. And as an election campaigner, the president himself only stands out to a limited extent: his popularity ratings remain low at around 40 percent.

Jill Biden, on the other hand, is increasingly touring alone, without Joe, all over the country. According to the White House, there were eleven appearances in the states of Georgia and Florida last weekend. “These fights feel enormously draining, and they are,” Jill Biden told Democratic campaign workers in Orlando, Fla. “But in the end it’s the little things that make the difference. That one call to the neighbor who may have forgotten to dial, that one ride to the polling station.”

Standard phrase: “Joe and I”

While Joe Biden has to deal with tough issues, such as the Russian war in Ukraine, sometimes seems unfocused at almost 80 and often gets tangled up in speeches, 71-year-old Jill Biden seems fitter, more approachable, gets her audience to the different topics – for example when it comes to their greatest passion, education, teaching, as here in an appearance in front of teachers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin: “If we want to strengthen the middle class again, protect women’s rights and social security, we need leadership, Leaders who stand up for their students,” she says.

Jill Biden continues to teach as a college professor two days a week. She is the first First Lady to continue working while in the White House. Democratic election strategists are convinced that this will also benefit her. In fact, in many of the First Lady’s solo performances, the audience can feel it: on the one hand, she is credited with being competent and independent in terms of content, on the other hand, she can convey human closeness and warmth, and is always ready for group photos and selfies.

At the same time, she emphasizes the solidarity with her husband: the phrase “Joe and I…”, “Joe and I…” is part of her standard repertoire. And Joe keeps emphasizing how much he relies on his wife’s support. “She knows me better than I know myself,” he said in a CBS interview.

Fine line in perception

However: Jill Biden alone will not be able to save the democratic election campaign. Even her predecessors had to take criticism – from different directions.

At times, Michelle Obama was accused of doing too little politically for her husband Barack Obama. In the case of Hillary Clinton, it was the opposite: She had personally campaigned for health care reform alongside Bill Clinton before the midterm elections – too much effort, it was said afterwards.

Jill Biden tries to keep the balance: she keeps as many appointments as possible. At the same time, she never gives the impression that, like Hillary Clinton, she has her own political ambitions. She fights for her issues, the Democratic Party – and for him: Joe.

“An attractive replacement for the President”

The bottom line, however, is that their powers of persuasion have their limits. In the summer, a survey by the television channel CNN came to the conclusion that 34 percent of Americans have a positive attitude towards Jill Biden, 29 percent a negative attitude. 28 percent of respondents were undecided, nine percent had never heard of her.

“It’s a very fine line to walk as far as what level of engagement the public thinks is acceptable. But in the end, Jill Biden is an attractive replacement for the president,” said Lauren Wright, a researcher on first ladies at Princeton University , on radio station NPR: “The amount of appointments is enormous. The pressure of expectations on First Ladies remains high on a wide variety of occasions during a presidency.”