First Lady Dr. Jill Biden is stepping up her involvement in her husband’s reelection campaign, taking a more assertive stance against Republicans and former President Donald Trump. Her recent remarks at an Atlanta event aimed at mobilizing female voters marked a significant shift in her approach.
As the First Lady embarks on a three-day, four-stop campaign tour across battleground states, launching the “Women for Biden-Harris” coalition, her role in the reelection effort is becoming more defined. The campaign aims to utilize her influence to organize and mobilize female voters, while delivering a clear message about Trump.
Dr. Biden is also expected to engage with Black and Latino communities as the campaign seeks to make significant inroads with these crucial demographic groups. While she has long maintained that she is not a political adviser to the president, she is his most trusted partner and holds significant influence within the White House and campaign.
Despite her campaign commitments, the First Lady continues to balance her official role and her full-time teaching job at Northern Virginia Community College. The campaign is reportedly looking to hire staff to support Dr. Biden as she intensifies her outreach efforts.
Utilizing a Less-Divisive Biden
Dr. Biden has been an active surrogate for her husband in previous campaigns and has campaigned for Democratic candidates in the midterm elections. As she travels the country promoting the administration’s initiatives, she is expected to visit a mix of red states and more moderate areas.
“She’s not going to just go to deep, deep blue areas. She’s going to go to a variety of areas in this country,” a source familiar with the planning said.
Biden campaign advisers believe the First Lady’s appeal extends far and wide, particularly with women, grassroots supporters, and in moderate parts of the country.
Taking on Trump
Dr. Biden’s willingness to actively campaign and support a reelection bid stems in part from the president’s predecessor and expected opponent, she revealed in an interview for the book, “American Woman.”
“I would rail against injustice if I feel like somebody who would be Joe’s opponent would not be a good thing for this country… I think I would work even harder,” she said.
Influence and Issues
Dr. Biden joins a long line of first ladies who have campaigned for incumbent presidents seeking a second term. That role comes with an inherent ability to influence public perception of their husbands.
“A first lady definitely has that opportunity and privilege, really, to soften the messages – even the hardest messages,” said Anita McBride, a former aide to former first lady Laura Bush.
Dr. Biden is confronting challenges to women’s health care and reproductive rights, an issue her husband’s campaign is making a centerpiece of its strategy to attract moderate voters.
“Women will not let this country go backwards,” the First Lady said. “We’ve fought too hard for too long. And we know that there is just too much on the line.”