First lady Jill Biden was not elected, but she exercised soft power in the United Kingdom as she and her husband, President Joe Biden, reintroduced the United States and themselves on the world stage.
While Joe Biden juggled public and private engagements, Jill Biden was as visible as her husband — the pair contrasting themselves to former President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, who was a reluctant White House spouse.
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For first lady historian Andrew Och, Jill Biden’s schedule seemed more packed after four years of Melania Trump. Pat Nixon and Rosalynn Carter were also less-involved first ladies, unlike Nancy Reagan, Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama, Och told the Washington Examiner.
“It’s the constant struggle with the public of whether a first lady does too much or too little, and it’s getting more clouded now because politics are so divisive and people are picking their sides so strictly,” the Unusual for Their Time: On the Road with America’s First Ladies author said. “The last first lady that really didn’t have to put up with too much of this at all was Laura Bush.”
“Because there are criticisms for [Joe] Biden being older, for Biden being a puppet, and things like that, they will obviously gravitate to his wife,” Och added.
Some first ladies have outshone their husbands on international jaunts, according to historian David Pietrusza, citing former President John F. Kennedy.
“JFK and Jackie traveled to Paris in 1961. However, Jackie was such a big hit, and JFK quipped at a news conference, ‘I am the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris, and I have enjoyed it,'” Pietrusza said.
But as a two-term second lady and wife of a 36-year senator, Jill Biden was well-prepared for her inaugural excursion overseas as the first lady, author Kate Andersen Brower said.
“Dr. Biden took more than twenty trips abroad as second lady, and she’s well aware of the importance of optics and the ways that little things — like a jacket, or a smile — matter,” said the author of First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies.
That did not stop Jill Biden from sneaking in some last-minute reading during her five-day tour en route aboard Air Force One, which she promoted on social media. Republicans latched on to the photo of her with a briefing book to question her husband’s preparedness.
“Where’s Joe?” tweeted Tim Murtaugh, Trump’s 2020 campaign communications director, implying it was the first lady and not the president who was about to meet with world leaders.
Where’s Joe? https://t.co/LolRnxkTaB
— Tim Murtaugh (@TimMurtaugh) June 9, 2021
At the same time, first couples rely more on style than on substance at summits, such as the G-7 and NATO gatherings, anyway, Brower argued.
“It’s always been about conveying a general message from the U.S. and not leaving with any groundbreaking deals having been reached,” she said. “The first lady is uniquely able to use her soft power to convey the message that the U.S. wants to rebuild its image around the world and its relationship with its allies.”
Although the White House touts the G-7 communique for criticizing China over human rights, Joe Biden was also careful to appear chummy with his counterparts. He emphasized that “America is back” in his silted addresses and uneven press conference performances, a departure from Donald Trump’s sharp elbows “America first” approach to foreign policy.
Jill Biden differentiated herself from her predecessor, too, but with fewer words. On her first full day, she wore a black jacket with “Love” emblazoned on the back to meet British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife, Carrie. The sartorial choice quickly drew parallels with Melania Trump’s decision to don a green “I Really Don’t Care Do U?” coat in 2018 to visit child migrants housed at the southern border.
To Brower, Jill Biden was “authentically herself,” encouraging people to refer to her by first name, alluding to her Philadelphia roots, and opening up about her personal challenges.
“With the ‘Love’ jacket, she was clearly playing off of Melania’s jacket controversy and offering an antidote to the divisive message of the Trump years,” she said. “This was a cultural reset as much as it was a political one.”
Democratic strategist Tracy Sefl described Jill Biden as “mature” and “confident,” noting her itinerary was well-designed to showcase her key issue of military families and her comfort in her new role.
“There’s something reassuringly unflappable about her, whether she’s standing with the Queen or smilingly listening to the chatter of small children,” Sefl said.
Simultaneously, the maiden first lady to hold a doctorate degree and to continue working professionally hinted at a struggle to define herself. She snapped at reporters for asking whether she sought advice from Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge before the first couple had tea with Queen Elizabeth II.
“No, I didn’t. We’ve been busy. Were you not in that room? We were talking education,” she said after an early childhood roundtable with the likely future queen consort.
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Jill Biden flew home on Sunday while her husband traveled to Brussels for NATO and European Union discussions ahead of his high-stakes talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday.
