Biden crisis puts first lady's office in the spotlight
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First Lady Jill Biden and President Biden during a 4th of July event on the South Lawn of the White House on July 4 in Washington, D.C. Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images
First Lady Jill Biden's role as defender-in-chief of President Biden following his shaky debate has shone a spotlight on the influence that first ladies can have during major political moments.
Why it matters: Jill Biden has always been a loyal advocate for her husband, a role that first ladies have taken throughout history, former Laura Bush Chief of Staff Anita McBride told Axios.
- "Is she telling him to fight? I'm sure, and they're fighting for his legacy ... to get to November to tell people, look, we told you so," Jill Biden's former press secretary Michael LaRosa told Axios.
- "It's going to be the final cherry on the resilience Sunday. That is what I think is going through her mind."
State of play: "There really is no person who's closer to the president than their spouse and singularly invested in their success, unlike any other confidant or any other advisor. It's just different," McBride said.
- That may be particularly true for Jill Biden, said Elizabeth Alexander, communications director for the First Lady.
- "She's been with him through rebuilding a family, two aneurysms, three presidential campaigns, six Senate campaigns, the loss of their son, the heartbreak and grief of family addiction, the brutal 2019 campaign, and running against Donald Trump during COVID in 2020," she said.
- "To say they've been in foxholes together doesn't even begin to explain their bond."
Zoom out: The first lady has also taken an elevated role throughout Biden's administration, in many ways operating as a permanent campaign surrogate for her husband, said LaRosa.
- On the campaign trail, she's repeatedly gone after Trump and become a messenger for Democrats' platform on reproductive rights, among other issue areas.
- "At her core, she sees being first lady as an act of service. Since day one, she's said "If I can help with something, or somewhere, count me in,'" Alexander said.
Like many first ladies, she's also tried to provide a more human side of the president, McBride said, which is especially important given the questions surrounding Biden's candidacy.
- "Biden is a fierce advocate for her husband and is countering as best she can all the questions about his abilities and that she sees him in private moments, she knows what he struggles with, she knows how much time and attention that he is paying to all the issues," McBride said.
Zoom in: Recent days have been filled with public statements and private leaks from donors and campaign and White House officials who worry the Biden family and the president's key allies have obscured details about his health.
The bottom line: "The President has plenty of political and policy advisors – that's never been her role, she's his spouse," Alexander told Axios.
- "As much as any husband and wife team make decisions together that impact their lives, they absolutely do, but as she's said more times than I can count – politics is his lane."
Go deeper: Behind the Curtain: Biden oligarchy will decide fate
