Jill rejected Joe Biden 4 times. But on the fifth marriage proposal, the wife of the new president was unable to refuse. And today, after 43 years together, he adds a new chapter to his story: entering the White House. Without completely giving up the profession of prof
How will she dress on the day of the inauguration? What battles will you carry on over the next 4 years? Will he really return to the chair? There are many questions still pending about Jill Biden , born 69 years ago in New Jersey, professor and first lady in pectore of the United States after her husband Joe Biden’s victory (not yet official) in the November 3 elections. “A lot of curiosity about her is normal, because in the public eye she is the most interesting figure in the presidential entourage,” says Lauren Wright, a Princeton University scholar and author of the essay On Behalf of the President : Presidential Spouses and White House Communications Strategy . But who is the woman who is about to enter American history?
Jill Biden has 3 degrees and is already setting up her staff
Jill Biden (but her maiden name is Jacobs, from Giacoppa, inherited from her Sicilian grandfather) remains the girl raised in Pennsylvania in a middle-class family: father employed in a bank, mother housewife and 4 sisters. At 15 she puts on a maid’s apron and starts working. “From an early age I knew I wanted my money, my identity, my career,” she will say in an interview. It is a phrase that will forge his whole life. On the curriculum there are 3 degrees and a PhD in Educational Sciences . And that title, prof, that the American press already puts in front of Flotus, acronym of First Lady of the United States. To understand what his style will be, just look at what is happening.
Jill Biden in August in connection from a Milwaukee school during the Democratic convention
Unlike Melania Trump , who shed bitter tears on her husband’s election day, Ms. Biden is rubbing her hands. “She is a veteran of Washington, thanks to her 8 years as second lady, when Joe was Barack Obama’s vice president, and her commitment to the election campaign that has just ended,” assures Lauren Wright. “For her, the transition is simple: she is already fine-tuning her staff and her role will expand. The traditional tasks, such as the organization of ceremonies and the furnishing of the White House, will be accompanied by a more progressive agenda: we will often see it in the spotlight ».
Life has reserved for her twists and turns
Not that she minds being with Joe Biden, quite the opposite. I have been husband and wife since 1977 , after she had returned 4 marriage proposals to the sender. An impulse of responsibility towards that man, formerly a senator from Delaware, who a few years earlier had lost his wife and youngest child in a car accident. “I wanted to be sure of what I was doing, because Beau and Hunter (Biden’s children who survived the crash) couldn’t lose a second mother,” Jill said.
Grandmother of 5 grandchildren, Jill Biden had a daughter from her marriage to the future US president: Ashley, born in 1981
Life will reserve for the couple twists and turns : the birth of : in these weeks of great tension, with Donald Trump shouting at the scandal for the alleged (but not verified) electoral fraud, Jill and Joe have invited everyone to calm down. Ashley in 1981 and the death of Beau from a bad disease in 2015, the 5 grandchildren and the reckless existence of Hunter. “They went through it all in close unity,” says Lori Cox Han, a professor of political science at Chapman University in California. “Even within the walls of the White House, they will continue to be a compact and shadowless couple, in the wake of the Obamas, of whom they have remained friends. You will support him and be his backstage adviser. ‘ In reality, the serenity operation has already started, even if the official settlement will take place on January 20
She wants to be the first first lady to make a living
Love, of course, but also a career. Historic tweet on the eve of his speech at the Democratic convention in August: «Teaching is not what I do. That’s what I am. ” Many anecdotes confirm this. She in a classroom at Northern Virginia Community College and secret service agents in the corridors waiting for her dressed as students. She on the plane with the Obamas intent on correcting her homework and Michelle who exclaims: «Oh yeah, you have a job! Tell me”.
“Maybe he’ll be back in class in his spare time. If this were the case, it would still be an example for all: reconciling family commitments and career is possible, even if you are the first woman in the country “
In the amazement of the former first lady is the whole revolution that Jill Biden started years ago: earning a living, even then being the wife of the second most powerful man in America . “It is unlikely that he will continue to teach full-time now, his schedule will be very busy,” says Lori Cox Han. “Maybe he’ll be back in class in his spare time. If so, it would still be a historic step forward for her, as well as an example for all women: reconciling family commitments and career is possible, even if you are the first woman in the country “.
Jill BIden with Robert Hunter, one of 3 children born from Joe’s first marriage
On the democratic chessboard, Jill Biden will be one of the most important pawns. “Hers is a power that no one else in the president’s circle: she is perceived as a political outsider, even if she is not, and therefore tends to be liked and listened to by everyone,” says Lauren Wright. “Her public initiatives will overlap with her husband’s political agenda.” He has already said he wants to continue working on the military family aid program, and Cancer Moonshoot, to improve the lives of cancer patients. Will he make people speak for his outfits too? The expert smiles. “As she is, I think this will be one of the aspects that she will delegate to her staff.”
