First Lady Jill Biden said that her husband Joe Biden’s age isn’t a problem and that it should not prevent Americans from re-electing him later this year — despite his numerous gaffes, constant struggles to deliver a coherent sentence, or polling showing worries among voters that he is too old to hold office.
MSNBC “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski asked Jill on Thursday: “To those who say, ‘I can’t vote for Joe Biden, he’s too old,’ what do you say?”
“I say his age is an asset. He’s wise, he has wisdom, he’s experienced. He knows every leader on the world stage. He’s lived history, he knows history, he’s thoughtful in his decisions. He is the right man, the right person, for the job at this moment in history,” she claimed.
“He can do it. I see Joe every day. I see him out, traveling around this country, I see his vigor, I see his energy, I see his passion every single day,” she added.
Nevertheless, majorities of Americans polled over the past year, at least, have said they think the president is too old to run for a second term.
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Michael LaRosa, who served as First Lady Jill Biden’s former press secretary, discussed her influence over her husband during an appearance on “Jesse Watters Primetime” Tuesday evening.
Jill Biden, known for making the Marine Corps Band play a personalized entrance theme akin to “Hail to the Chief,” reportedly wields significant influence over President Joe Biden’s decision regarding his reelection bid. On “Jesse Watters Primetime,” host Jesse Watters questioned Michael LaRosa, the first lady’s former press secretary, about Jill’s role in influencing the president to maintain his position on the Democratic ticket.
“Tell me a little bit about Dr. Jill. We don’t know her the way you know Dr. Jill. She apparently is telling Joe, ‘Stay in,’ and isn’t listening to the press or anyone at all. Why?” Watters asked.
LaRosa discussed Joe Biden’s 1988 presidential campaign, which he ended after it was revealed he had plagiarized a speech from Neil Kinnock, the British Opposition and Labour Party Leader. LaRosa described the plagiarism scandal as “scarring” and a “huge learning lesson” for the couple, highlighting the significant impact it had on their political lives and strategies moving forward.
“So, one thing that was so interesting about the George Stephanopoulos interview when he said that if, if we lose, he would have given it his all. And you’ve got a lot of flak for that, right? It reminded me so much what happened in 87’ because as soon as he dropped out that same day, he was going into a hearing to chair the board hearings. And this really was gonna be, like, the next step for political rehab for him. Well, Jill was with him in the anti-room and she heard him say something very similar like, ‘Well, at least I can go focus on this hearing now’ and she cut him off and took him by the shoulders and just kind of hold by the lapels and said, ‘No, you have to go f-ing win. And, uh, because she knew that was sort of the retaliation moment for him,” Larosa said.
“And, you know, they were driven from that campaign, and I think they learned a long time ago they were gonna let line quotes or polls or pundits really push them out ever again,” he continued. “And I think that, that moment was scarring for them, Jesse. You know, she had never had his character or his integrity attacked before. He had been groomed to run for president for 15 years. He was our next, he was a great rising hope, and the way that campaign ended was pretty devastating for them. But it was a huge learning lesson in sort of political combat. You know, she’s from Philly like you, so she likes to fight.”
“Yeah, we love to fight. We like to scrap. And we’ll just do it for fun. We don’t care,” Watters said. “Did you hear Michael Moore at the top accuse Dr. Jill Biden of elder abuse? What would Dr. Jill say to that?”
“What she would say is that she hates politics, but she loves him,” Larosa responded. “And he never got in the way of her career, she wasn’t gonna get in the way of his. They just never did that with their, both of their aspirations. It just wasn’t, it’s not a ‘Leave It to Beaver’ 1950s ro— you know, comedy for that. They’re pretty independent. They left, they lived independent professional lives outside of each other’s shadows.”
“So, she would never… she would probably not — this is his decision, you know? She, Jill and the advisors and his sister and his family are probably there and giving advice. But Jill alone won’t make this decision, and I don’t know if Democrats really want her to be making the decision for the party. And I don’t think she would want that decision. I don’t think she’s comfortable with it,” Larosa told Watters.
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