First lady Jill Biden said Monday she does not support President Joe Biden’s determination to stay in the 2024 presidential race, as the couple goes on the offensive to keep the Democratic Party in line.
She also gave lectures to the press traveling with her, asking her to ask questions about the president’s position within the party.
“Why are you yelling at me? You know me. Don’t yell at me. Just talk,” the first lady said with a smile after making an unscheduled stop at a coffee shop in Tampa, Florida.
But she still did not answer a single question about the president’s health or Democrats’ concerns about his ability to defeat Donald Trump.
Jill Biden spent Monday on a three-state tour highlighting Biden’s commitment to veterans
The first lady is on a three-state tour to launch Veterans and Military Families for Biden. In her speech, she emphasized the administration’s commitment to veterans and assured the crowd that President Biden will remain in the 2024 race.
“Despite all the talk about this race, Joe has made it clear that he is fully committed to it,” she said.
And while she didn’t directly respond to the rumors that she was behind his decision, she did indirectly hint at it.
“That’s the decision he made and just as he’s always supported my career, I’m all for it. I know you are too, or you wouldn’t be here today. And with four more years, Joe will continue to fight for you,” she said.
The crowd responded with cheers, chanting variations of “yes” and “four more years.”
Biden was greeted by friendly crowds at all three locations.
Voters told DailyMail.com that while they acknowledged the president’s bad night at the debate, they still supported him over Donald Trump.
The halls were filled with cheering supporters, Biden-Harris signs and expressions of sympathy for the first lady as she campaigned in the three crucial states.
But there were protesters, too — at all three stops. In North Carolina and Georgia, Trump supporters waved flags as Jill Biden’s motorcade drove by. In Florida, protesters protesting the president’s Gaza policies mounted a sign that read “Genocide Jill” — a play on the “Genocide Joe” signs that followed the president.
Jill Biden’s message echoed that of Joe Biden, as the president went on the offensive Monday, sending a letter to congressional Democrats saying he would stay in the race. He also held a call with donors, telling them he was “done talking about the debate.”
“We’ve got to move forward. Look, we’ve got about 40 days until the convention, 120 days until the election. We can’t waste any more time getting distracted,” Biden said, according to a recording obtained by Politico.
Jill Biden shakes hands during a campaign rally in Tampa, Florida on Monday
Jill Biden led the charge for progress. She is one of the president’s closest advisers and is seen as one of the few people who could convince him to step down as the Democratic nominee.
But she made it clear she was going all in, spending the day attacking Trump for his veterans record and arguing that the former president should not be in power.
She told the military crowd that she and Joe Biden know what it’s like to be in the military. Their late son Beau served in Afghanistan in the Delaware National Guard.
“This is personal for us. We know what it’s like to connect on a slow phone call from across the world, to smile at another holiday dinner table. Let me ask you this: Does Donald Trump — does Donald Trump know what it’s like?,” she said.
She repeated the story about how Donald Trump called soldiers “losers” and “suckers” — a story Trump denies.
“He’s bad,” she said of the former president in Georgia.
“He didn’t want to be seen with wounded veterans because it didn’t look good for him. It’s outrageous. But it’s not surprising,” she said.
She also warned about what would happen if Trump returned to the White House.
“Donald Trump wakes up every morning and thinks about one person, and one person only: himself,” she said.
She specifically cited the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that presidents enjoy immunity while they hold office.
“We know what Donald Trump is like as a commander in chief. He dismissed the military community as inferior. America’s leadership in the world. It could be worse this time. He said he wanted to be a dictator from day one,” she said.
She pointed to the recent Supreme Court ruling that presidents enjoy immunity from official actions while in office.
“Our democracy cannot tolerate a Trump presidency with virtually no restrictions,” she warned.
The Biden family has rallied around the president.
Jill Biden and Hunter Biden now serve as the president’s gatekeepers.
The president’s sister, Valerie Biden Owens, is also supporting him. Owens managed Joe Biden’s first Senate campaign and has been involved in all of his campaigns since then. She is his top political adviser.
Jill, Hunter and Valerie are the three most important people in every decision Joe Biden makes about his future.
He listens to them the most. They should get his blessing to drop out of the presidential race.
There are no signs that this is the case.
The Biden clan gathered at Camp David this past weekend for a pre-scheduled photo shoot with famed photographer Annie Leibovitz. But the main topic of conversation was Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Trump.
Both Jill Biden and President Biden have criticized Donald Trump for his comments about veterans, particularly a report in which he called them “suckers” and “losers.” Trump has denied those comments.
The whole family encouraged Bien to participate in the race.
Jill Biden specifically points out everything the family has had to endure during Joe Biden’s time in the White House.
She noted that Hunter Biden’s accuser, NBC News reported, hinted that he could go to prison. The family — and even some Republicans — saw Hunter’s prosecution for a 2018 gun purchase as far-fetched.
Jill Biden argued that now was the time to fight.
There’s another reason the Bidens are digging in their heels. The family, and Jill Biden in particular, remembers how Joe Biden was forced to drop out of the 1988 presidential race after a plagiarism scandal.
“In 1987, she watched him get dismissed by the press, pundits and polls, and it was a painful experience for both of them,” Michael LaRosa, the first lady’s former spokesman, told The New York Times.
He said he discussed the 1988 episode with the first lady several times while he was working for her.
“I think they learned from that experience and they wouldn’t feel forced like they did in 1987.”