Jill Tracy Biden (formerly, well known as Stevenson) was born on June 3, 1951. She is a known American educator and the second lady of America from 2009 to 2017. The wife of Joe Biden, the president-elect of the US, set to be inaugurated on January 20, next year. Yes, you got that right – Jill Biden is expected to become the first lady in 2021.
Born in New Jersey, Jill Biden grew up in Pennsylvania. Jill got married to Joe Biden in the year 1977 and became a stepmother to Hunter and Beau, Joe Biden’s sons from the first marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Biden have a daughter together. Named Ashley, their child was born in 1981. Jill Biden is proud a bachelor’s and a doctoral degree holder from the University of Delaware. He also has a master’s degrees from both – West Chester and Villanova Universities. She taught English and reading in high schools for about 13 years and is known for her contribution to teaching adolescents, especially those with emotional disabilities at a psychiatric hospital.
From 1993 to 2008, Jill Biden had been an English and writing instructor at the Delaware Technical & Community College. From 2009, she has been a professor at Northern Virginia Community College where she taught English. She is also considered to be the first wife of a vice president with a paid job when her husband is on tenure.
Early life
Raised in Pennsylvania, Jill moved to Delaware
Jill Biden, now 67, had been born as Jill Tracy Jacobs in New Jersey and had later moved to Pennsylvania. The eldest among the five sisters, Jill has raised a strong woman by Donald, her father who worked at a bank, and Bonny, a homemaker. In 1969, Jill had completed her graduation from the Upper Moreland High School and headed for a junior college in Pennsylvania to pursue fashion merchandising. But that didn’t work in her favor, and soon she was set to accomplish her next act.
In February 1970, Jill tied the knot with Bill Stevenson, and the two decided to get an enrolment done in the University of Delaware. The couple slowly drifted apart while in college, and later divorced. During this time, Joe Biden was working through his heartbreak as just some weeks after being elected as the senator, his wife, Neilia, and one-year-old child, Naomi, passed away in a massive car accident. His other children, Hunter and Beau were also in the car but somehow survived.
Hook
Now that we have introduced Jill Biden to you all, let’s talk about the most recent controversy regarding whether Joe’s wife should be called “Doctor” Jill Biden. Are you, too, thinking isn’t “Doctor” a title exclusive to physicians? Well, we will get to that. Meanwhile, if you are enjoying this video, do not forget to like and subscribe to our channel.
The answer to the question and the raging controversy can be resolved and given easily by simply looking up a dictionary. Two definitions stated in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary are as follows:
1.a person specializing or skilled in healing arts such as a dentist, physician, or veterinarian, and one who is a holder of any an advanced degree and/or has the license to practice
2. a person who’s earned one of the highest academic degrees (like a PhD) given by any registered university
Jill Biden holds her doctorate (Ph.D.) from the University of Delaware and can be, undoubtedly, referred to as Dr. Jill Biden. If we go back to history, Martin Luther King was never a doctor but had earned his Ph.D. Chris Wallace from Fox News noted that no one has ever objected to the King being referred to as Dr. Martin Luther King, so why do that for Biden? That said, let’s head over to hear a little about Jilly and Joe. Well…
Jilly and Joe met on a blind date
It was 1975, when Joe met his Jilly on a blind date, which was coordinated by the former’s brother. Although Jill was in college then and Joe was a senator and had two children already (nine years senior to Jill), their bonding was near-instant. Jill, in an interview with Vogue, had revealed that they had gone out to watch A Man and a Woman, on their first date, at a movie theater situated in Philadelphia, and hit it off. When they got home, Joe had shaken her hand and wished a good night. She went upstairs and called my mother at 1 a.m. to just let her know that she had finally met a gentleman.
Joe had proposed to Jill five times before she had finally accepted his proposal. By that time, she had fallen in love with the boys, and she felt that the marriage had to work out because she thought that they had lost their mom, and she could not let them lose a mother yet again. So, she just wanted time to be 100% sure.
They married in 1977, on June 17th, at the US chapel in New York. They threw a close-knit wedding party. Beau and Hunter were at the altar with the couple. The way the couple perceived the wedding was that the four of them were getting married. Such was also mentioned in Joe’s memoir titled, Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics.
Jill and Joe welcomed their own daughter Ashley and with her birth, the Bidens were raising three children in Delaware. As a senator, Joe commuted back and forth from Wilmington from Washington daily just so that he could spend some time with Jill and the children. Today, the couple are grandparents to five grandchildren: Finnegan, Naomi, Maisy, Hunter, and Natalie.
The Jill and Joe relationship has stood the test of time. On the campaign trail during 2008, Joe had publicly called his wife drop-dead gorgeous. On Valentine’s Day in early 2020, Joe made a public tribute to Jill, his wife of more than 40 years on his Instagram handle. He wished Happy Valentine’s Day to the love of his life and the life of his love. He further captioned an image expressing love for his beloved Jilly.
Jill’s phenomenal Role in the presidential campaign of 2008
Despite opposing the Iraq War personally, Biden did not wish that her husband would be running in the 2004 presidential election. She was so serious about this that she interrupted a strategy meeting that intended to discuss the possibility by making an entry in it in her swimsuit with the word “NO” written on her stomach. But following George W. Bush’s re-election in 2004, she urged Joe Biden to run for the president. She later recalled that she was wearing black for a week. Adding further that she just could not believe that he has won because she felt that everything was already going so downhill. And that she was against the Iraq War. She has also, apparently, told to Joe that he would have to change the scenario.
In 2008, when Joe Biden’s unfruitful campaign for the next nomination for the Democratic was ongoing, she continued to teach during the week and would be joining him when it came to campaigning during the weekends. She said that she would have taken an activist role in addressing education as her chief focus of concern as a potential first lady. She also stated that she would not seek inclusion in Cabinet meetings and that she would prefer to call herself apolitical only if she stood a chance as she was married to Joe for about 30 years.
Once her husband was selected as the running mate to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, she resumed campaigning again. She had put on the pin of Blue Star Mothers Club to acknowledge Beau Biden’s deployment for Iraq. She has never been a polished speaker yet was quite capable of establishing a connection with her audience. She also made some joint appearances with the well-known Michelle Obama. Throughout the time Joe was working hard for the vice president, Jill Biden continued teaching four days every week at the Delaware Technical & Community College during the fall semester of 2008 and then continued campaigning over the long weekend while also grading all class papers in the campaign bus.
2020 presidential transition
Jill Biden’s husband was elected as the president and is going to take office in January, precisely on the 20th. She will become the first spouse after Barbara Bush to be holding the positions of both the Second and First Lady. What may come to many of you as a surprise is that she will set the record as the first Italian-American first lady. Jill Biden has reportedly claimed that she wants to continue with her teaching. Then, she will continue being the first wife of a US president with a paying job besides that of the White House.
In mid-November 2020, it was announced that her chief of staff as the first lady would be a diplomat and attorney named Julissa Reynoso Pantaleon and senior advisor would be staffer Anthony Bernal. Recently, in December 2020, an op-ed piece published in the Wall Street Journal delivered by the writer Joseph Epstein, urged the future First Lady to drop the designation, “Dr.”, as she is not exactly a medical doctor. This encountered a widespread backlash among professional women.
Joe and Jill’s contribution to cancer initiatives
The Biden family has a history of being involved in cancer care and research initiatives for a few decades. It is an emotional cause for them. In 2013, Beau was diagnosed with brain cancer and died two years later at 46.
With Beau’s death, Jill and Joe soon became the face of a national effort to spread awareness and end cancer. In 2016, Joe, particularly, was prompted by Obama to head the White House Cancer Moonshot.
Jill’s involvement with cancer awareness campaigns had started before Beau’s diagnosis. After four of her friends were diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993, Jill was the founder of the Delaware Biden Breast Health Initiative. Her primary goal was to educate younger women regarding the importance of timely cancer detection.
The Bidens continue to contribute to the domain of cancer research even after they left the White House. They still work with the Biden Cancer Initiative, the organization, which works to bring cancer researchers, healthcare providers as well as patients to work for clinical trials and treatment plans.
Let us conclude by just stating that Jill Biden is not alone. Independent first ladies have always faced criticism. Don’t forget to let us know what you think about the controversy. You can drop your opinion in the comment section.
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