Jill Biden is still feeling the pain of being “betrayed” by Democrats who privately offered support to her husband — and then publicly called for him to drop out of the presidential race — but the first lady is now looking forward, those close to her say.
She was at the president’s side in Wilmington, Delaware, that fateful day when he decided to drop out of the presidential race after a relentless pressure campaign by his party colleagues.
In fact, when he called Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday, July 21, to inform her of his decision, he put the first lady on the phone.
“We love you,” he told Harris, according to a source familiar with the conversation. He also called Doug Emhoff, with whom he has a close relationship.
She will address the Democratic National Convention on Monday night, before her husband gives his bittersweet farewell speech and formally hands the baton to Harris.
But much of her attention is focused on the fall, when she will return to her job as a professor at a community college in Northern Virginia. She also plans to campaign for Harris.
In her remarks, she will “speak to the President’s strength and character in a way that only a wife of nearly 50 years can, and reiterate her support for Vice President Harris, calling on Americans to come together “with faith in each other, hope for a brighter future and love for our country,” a family source told DailyMail.com.
Jill Biden has been a constant presence at Joe Biden’s side, including upstairs when he spoke to the nation about his decision to drop out of the presidential race.
It was a notable about-face from the 2020 race, when Jill Biden was reported to be angry with Harris over a line of attack in one of the early primary debates, targeting Joe Biden for his record on school busing in the 1960s as part of desegregation efforts.
Now, however, Jill is firmly in Harris’s camp.
After Biden endorsed his vice president to be the Democratic nominee, the first lady posted a handwritten note on social media supporting Harris.
“Thank you for the trust you placed in Joe. Now it’s time to place that trust in Kamala. Love, Jill,” it read.
He also plans to take that message to the election campaign.
“She will of course be running for Vice President Harris in the fall,” the source said.
But the famously resentful first lady has not forgotten those days after the first presidential debate, when many Democrats questioned her husband’s ability to campaign for a second term.
“The first lady was dismayed by people who privately supported her husband and then publicly did not support him while he was considering whether to remain in the presidential race,” a source familiar with the matter told DailyMail.com.
The source declined to give names.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden disembark from Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews after spending the weekend at Camp David
Jill Biden to campaign for Kamala Harris this fall – above Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at a Diwali ceremony at the White House
Jill Biden has not spoken publicly about Joe Biden’s decision to step down as the Democratic nominee, but she will have the opportunity to honor his service to the country when she addresses the convention on Monday night.
“Until the final hours of the decision that only he could make, she supported whatever path he chose. She is his biggest believer, his defender and always on his side, in that kind of trust that only a wife of almost 50 years can have,” said his communications director, Elizabeth Alexander.
Jill Biden has always been one of Joe Biden’s most ardent supporters and wants to ensure his legacy is protected.
And she is a constant presence at his side.
On the night she delivered her address to the nation from the Oval Office, Jill Biden sat quietly on the sidelines with other family members.
When he finished speaking, she was the first at his side, running to the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office to take his hand.
After Monday night’s speeches, the Bidens will head to Santa Ynez, California, where the couple will stay out of the spotlight as Harris secures the Democratic nomination.
Jill Biden will return to teaching and focus on her initiatives, including the Cancer Moonshot (above). She and President Biden visited Tulane University to discuss cancer research.
This fall, Jill Biden will return to teaching English at Northern Virginia Community College, as she has for years.
She will also focus on initiatives she initiated as First Lady, including her work Joining Forces and Cancer Moonshot.
‘Last week, he traveled to New Orleans with the president to discuss Biden’s campaign. Cancer Moonshot, and is finishing up her lesson plans for her fall teaching semester, where she will continue to teach English and Writing at NOVA Community College, as she has done during her years at the ‘White House,’ Alexander said.