Jill encourages Joe Biden to hold on: Is the First Lady clinging to power?

Tagesspiegel Jill encourages Joe Biden to hold on: Is the First Lady clinging to power? Story by Juliane Schäuble • 11 hours • 5 minutes reading time His family forms the US President's closest circle of advisors: Experts explain how the Bidens are arming themselves against the storm of criticism and want to avoid a withdrawal. There are two diametrically opposed stories about Jill Biden these days. One is that the First Lady is driving her aging husband, drunk with power, into another election, regardless of the fact that the whole world has just witnessed the lapses he is suffering from. The other story is that the petite Jill Biden is in truth a lioness when it comes to her family - loyal like no one else. As long as Joe Biden wants to stick to his path, the "Philly Girl", as the "New York Times" recently called her in a profile, will stand by his side and protect him from all evil. If he no longer wants that, she will follow him out of the White House into his well-earned retirement with a light heart. The first story, which is mainly spread in right-wing media, includes reports about Hunter Biden, Joe Biden's second son, who has just been convicted of violating gun laws. He not only encouraged his father to run for the White House because that was the only way to keep him out of prison. But Hunter Biden is also said to be watching over who has access to the US President and thus unduly influencing the policies of the American government. The second story fits with the memory of the suffering that Joe Biden has already had to endure: above all the death of his first wife, his daughter and his eldest son. It is therefore no wonder that Jill Biden acted as her husband's top protector during the 2020 election campaign. At the time, she even physically stood in front of him when two demonstrators stormed the stage at a rally in Los Angeles. "Dr. Biden," as her husband respectfully calls her, caught her and possibly prevented something bad from happening. Philadelphia, writes the New York Times, is tough. "That's how Dr. Biden is when it comes to protecting and supporting her husband, fierce and reflexive. She has played this role since the days the couple courted each other when he was a young senator recovering from the loss of his first wife and young daughter in a car accident. And those who want to get her to encourage Mr. Biden to reconsider his presidential candidacy may be misunderstanding her - and her marriage - badly." No matter which version of Jill Biden you want to believe, it is a fact that she is currently her husband's most important advisor. When he messed up in the TV debate against his challenger Donald Trump, it was said that the First Lady was the only one who could make it clear to the president when it was time to quit. In Jill Biden's eyes, that moment has clearly not yet come. When Joe Biden said after the debate that he didn't know what had happened, she is said to have replied that she would not allow 90 minutes to define his entire term in office. On Monday, the US President reiterated that he would stay in the race - despite the growing chorus of people trying to get him to withdraw and despite increasingly wild speculation about what might be wrong with him. In a letter, the 81-year-old called on Democratic members of Congress to come together and focus on their opponent on November 5: Donald Trump. Jill Biden is also spreading this message. She is traveling out into the country to allay voters' concerns that Joe Biden's name might soon no longer be on the ballot. The Biden campaign hopes that voters will regain confidence if the First Lady personally assures them of this. With all the talk about this race, Joe Biden has made it clear that he is fully committed. That is the decision he has made, and just as he has always supported my career, I am fully on board. Jill Biden, First Lady For this reason, she is visiting particularly important states for the election on November 5th. Because that is where her husband's future could be decided: If the values ​​of the President and the Democratic Party drop significantly here in the coming days, it is said, the next wave of panic is imminent. On Monday, Jill Biden appeared in three states: Wilmington, North Carolina, Tampa, Florida, and Columbus, Georgia. In front of military personnel in a Wilmington brewery, she explained: "With all the talk about this race, Joe Biden has made it clear that he is fully on board. That is the decision he has made, and just as he has always supported my career, I am fully on board." Jill Biden, First Lady For this reason, she is visiting particularly important states for the election on November 5th. Because that is where her husband's future could be decided: If the values ​​of the president and the Democratic Party drop significantly here in the coming days, it is said, the next wave of panic is looming. On Monday, Jill Biden appeared in three states: Wilmington, North Carolina, Tampa, Florida, and Columbus, Georgia. In front of military personnel in a Wilmington brewery, she explained: "With all the talk about this race, Joe Biden has made it clear that he is fully on board. That is the decision he has made, and just as he has always supported my career, I am fully on board." Despite moving into the White House and the responsibilities that come with it, the 73-year-old continues to teach at a community college. "Teacher Jill Bilden believes that the Biden magic lies in establishing contact with ordinary, hard-working people. This makes her the most important voice in President Joe Biden's ear. If he decides to step down and open the Democratic convention to other successors, it will only be because she told him, 'It's time.'" But that has not happened yet, and it will not happen, the well-connected journalist is certain. "Jill Biden believes that her husband is the best alternative to Donald Trump, that he has beaten him once and will beat him again, and that the Democrats overwhelmingly prefer Joe Biden to any other choice." While she used to stay away from Joe Biden's political world, she now helps run it as a family business. Steve Clemons, editor-in-chief of the political blog "The Washington Note" In the face of the fierce headwinds, the First Lady has changed her strategy, according to Clemons: She is increasingly distancing herself from Biden's employees because she does not trust them to have her husband's interests in mind, he says. "While she used to stay away from Joe Biden's political world, she now helps run it as a family business. She is the most powerful person in the White House next to her husband and is central to one of the most important questions of our time: Should he run or not?" "It's not surprising that Jill Biden has played the role of supporter and defender of her husband - but she is more visible than we have seen her before, and she is angry," says Christy Setzer, founder and president of the Washington-based consulting firm New Heights Communications. "They probably understand that the debate has damaged them." But the couple have been through it all before and know that he is capable of recovering from it. "As someone who has been with him for decades, Jill knows that as well as anyone," says Setzer. Her current commitment, however, is anything but uncontroversial. When she praised her husband after the debate for answering all the questions, she received a lot of ridicule online. And the fact that a few days later an interview with her - which had been planned for a long time - and a photo shoot for the fashion magazine "Vogue" took place was interpreted by many as proof of her misguided ambition. The always friendly smiling First Lady, who has always been praised for her modesty, has not had to listen to much criticism so far. But in an election year, different rules apparently apply.