Let’s just get this out of the way. According to people on social media, the dress Jill Biden wore as she toured a program funded by PEPFAR in Namibia looked like it was a Minecraft drawing. For those of us who don’t play Minecraft, the dress just looked like another one of the first lady’s odd wardrobe choices.
Catturd spoke for many on Twitter:
WTF I'm I looking at? 😂 pic.twitter.com/srDkJu4ayr
— Catturd ™ (@catturd2) February 24, 2023
Our colleague at Twitchy delivered an answer embraced by lots of commenters.
Why is she wearing Minecraft? lol
— The🐰FOO (@PolitiBunny) February 24, 2023
Just as cringeworthy to me was Jill’s choice of socks and sneakers. I know she’s touring Africa on her winter break from teaching community college English courses and no doubt making wardrobe choices with comfort in mind, but, c’mon. Try just a little harder, Jill. The first lady often makes the mistake of dressing too young. The socks and sneakers with a dress would be more appropriate for her 29-year-old granddaughter who is traveling with her than America’s first lady.
Maybe nothing matters anymore and I’m being too fussy. In Biden’s America, anything goes.
As we mark the 20th year of @PEPFAR, it’s amazing to see the success of the programs like the Hope Initiative.
With our strong partnership, Namibia has slowed the spread of HIV and is helping young women and girls reach their full potential. pic.twitter.com/nYjnCYcje6
— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) February 24, 2023
It’s fair game to put a focus on Jill’s wardrobe as she visits Africa, right? The media went nuts over Melania Trump’s outfits when she visited the continent, and not in a good way. The media will love whatever Jill Biden wears or does overseas but Melania was mocked and belittled. Melania’s trip to Africa included stops in Ghana, Malawi, Kenya, and Egypt. She partnered with the United States Agency for International Development. It was her first solo trip overseas as First Lady.
.@FLOTUS looks towards the zebra's as she visits the Safari at Nairobi National Park in Kenya. #FLOTUSinAfrica2018 pic.twitter.com/mKTD7giKHD
— Doug Mills (@dougmillsnyt) October 5, 2018
There was a lot of sniping about that pith helmet. Suddenly America’s first immigrant first lady was wearing a symbol of imperialism. It was crazy. But that kind of press coverage certainly opened the door to future first ladies being fair game, including Jill Biden. Just playing by the left’s rules.
Biden is doing first lady-ish kind of things in Namibia and Kenya. Professor Jill spoke to more than a thousand students at the Namibia University of Science and Technology. She didn’t get a standing ovation, as Namibia’s first lady did, but the press coverage was very favorable. She told the young Namibians that “you are the keepers of democracy.”
The Friday morning speech on an outdoor stage at Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) was the keystone moment of Jill Biden’s two-country, five-day trip to Africa.
Students wearing pinstriped school uniforms, soccer jerseys for British squads and T-shirts with slogans like “Free Namibia” crowded onto ledges and in a few instances on each others’ shoulders to get a better look. Although not greeted with a standing ovation — unlike Namibia’s first lady, Monica Geingos, who got the kind of reception usually reserved the likes of Beyoncé — the crowd rose to its feet after Biden’s impassioned, 11-minute speech.
Biden told the crowd that even in the United States, a country that is hundreds of years older than the Republic of Namibia, Americans still have to work to defend and strengthen democracy. “We often tell young people that you’re the future. And it’s true,” she said from the stage. “But sometimes, that message can sound like: ‘Wait.’ Wait for some far-off finish line that makes you wiser or more powerful. Wait for your communities to listen to what you have to say. Wait, while others build the future for you. I know, however, that there are things you want to change now. There are problems that you can solve now. And you have gifts to offer the world now.” With each “now,” her delivery got more forceful.
Jill Biden raised eyebrows with her response to a question from a reporter in Nairobi. A reporter for The Associated Press asked if it is still Joe Biden’s intention to run for reelection and Jill became rather exasperated over the question. She answered, “How many times does he have to say it for you to believe it?” She said that there was “pretty much” nothing left to do but figure out the time and place for the announcement. So, while Sleepy Joe struggles to respond to questions about his advanced age and ability to serve a second term, Jill is going full steam ahead. It’s clear who is running the show, isn’t it? Jill has ambition and wants power whether her husband can do the job or not. There are some real Edith Wilson vibes coming from her. Granddaughter Naomi replied on Twitter, cheering on her grandmother.
She added, “He says he’s not done. He’s not finished what he’s started. And that’s what’s important.”
Granddaughter Naomi Biden, who is on the trip, cheered the first lady’s comments after the interview.
“Preach nana,” she said on Twitter.
Jill will continue to get the question, whether or not she likes it until Joe makes a formal announcement about his decision on reelection. No one wants Joe Biden to run again, not even Democrats. And, as for “he’s not done”? That’s what we’re afraid of. He’s done more than enough damage as it is now.
Thank you for welcoming me back to Kenya, @FirstLadyKenya!
I’m excited to build on the friendship we began at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, and see the ways you are giving a voice to those who have too often gone unheard. pic.twitter.com/94VZmGKlVo
— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) February 24, 2023
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