Extremely elderly readers of this blog may remember when former first lady Edith Wilson secretly played the role of president while her husband Woodrow lay abed, recovering from a stroke.
Now Tucker Carlson and many others in the right-wing media bubble are convinced — or at least pretending to be convinced — that Jill Biden is playing Edith Wilson to Joe’s Woodrow.
Their proof? A picture released by the White House showing Jill sitting at the president’s desk on Air Force One, surrounded by assorted documents. She was, the caption said, “Preparing for the G-7.”
Conservatives, already convinced that Joe is a doddering old fool unfit for his job, jumped on the picture as proof that it’s really Jill, not Joe, who’s running the show.
Carlson has this to say about the picture:
The White House publicity team released this action shot today of Dr. Jill, who we should tell you, by the way, is not actually a doctor, hitting the books, as she readies herself to represent America in the global family of nations. … She’s got her reading glasses on and a pen in hand. You can see her husband’s monogrammed jacket on the chair behind her. She’s sitting at Joe Biden’s own desk on Air Force One. So the point couldn’t be clearer: Dr. Jill’s in charge now.
Other right-wingers — on social media, and in the right-wing press itself — found themselves thinking similar thoughts about the picture.
“Photo of Jill Biden ‘Prepping for the G7’ Sparks Questions Over Who’s in Charge” blared a headline on Alex Jones’ InfoWars.
J.D. Rucker of The Liberty Daily sniffed,
That doesn’t look like a binder full of Japanese customs or light reading about Italian food. It appears to be a much more important series of documents that Dr. Jill needs in order to prepare. What exactly is she preparing for in her very limited role as the spouse of a world leader?
Or is she the world leader herself? …
The First Lady of the United States has absolutely zero power. Jill Biden has not been given any other official roles. It is not only inappropriate for her to be part of our nation’s representation at the summit. It has to make us wonder who’s really running the country.
Sophie O’Hara of WayneDupreee.com concurred:
It seems like at this point the Biden team is barely trying to hide the fact that Joe seems incapable of doing his job.
We all know that there’s someone pulling the strings for Joe and this new photo of Jill Biden might be a big giveaway of who it is.
Take a look – it’s “Doctor” Jill sitting behind the “president’s” desk doing G7 “work.” …
Seriously where is Joe in this photo?
Is he off in the corner eating an ice cream cone with his blankie?
Bonchie of RedState.com has a slightly less dramatic interpretation of the photo.
I’m not sure how it hasn’t dawned on me before, but I think I have the reason figured out behind this campaign to make Jill Biden seem so presidential – I think she’s going to run for president.
Really, just hear me out. We know that Jill Biden is nakedly ambitious at a level we haven’t seen since Hillary Clinton, whose presidential run we are all familiar with. She drug her husband through a deeply uncomfortable 2020 presidential campaign that he was clearly not physically and mentally up for. As president, things have only gotten worse for Joe Biden, yet Jill Biden’s ambition has hardly slowed down. Rather, she’s seemingly put herself ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris when it comes to assignments and publicity.
The right-wingers not only hate the idea of Jill Biden as president (officially or unofficially); they also hate her clothes, in particular the jacket she sported at the summit, with the word “LOVE” across the back in a not-very-subtle rebuke to Melania Trump’s infamous “I really don’t care, do u?” jacket.
David Kamiomer of LifeZette offered this fashion critique:
Joe Biden was clueless, wandering around on a stage like a dazed Methuselah. First Lady Jill Biden, doing her best Edith Wilson imitation, had to admonish him to focus and remember where he was. And this guy has his finger on the button.
But the worst faux pas, the worst injury to our national reputation, had to do with Jill Biden’s apparel. Like some 1970s teenager, she sported a jacket with the word “love” embroidered in sequins on the back. Her disco skank wardrobe likely did not go over well with discerning Brits of any stripe.
I don’t know about that; the Brits seem fairly accommodating when it comes to odd attire. I mean, this is the guy they sent to the G7 summit, who dresses like this
… when he’s not dressing like this:
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Rebecca Watson had a video back in January about safe weight loss (“Why 1,200 Calories IS Enough for Some People”). No great mystery, just counting calories and aiming for 1-2 lb per week of loss.
https://youtu.be/3B98OZnHyL8
@ Elaine the witch
If your husband listens to podcasts I recently discovered “The maintenance phase “
They have a whole episode dedicated to the Master Clense which is really a 2 weeks flavored water fast. They discuss the effects it has on people with humour and details. The two are great “Methodology Queens”
@allyourkatsrbelong2us:
Strangely, I don’t recall the right doing this about Dr Sebastian Gorka. Despite his Ph.D being very dubious.
https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/the-academic-fraud-of-trumps-terrorism-expert-1.5465216
All kidding aside, Jill Biden probably could do a good job in the chief executive’s position if given the opportunity.
Front door’s a wee bit more solid than it appears, and cutting a hole in it isn’t a very good idea. Besides, letting Larry in and out gives the cops either side something to do.
Hm, I’ve also sat at my boyfriend’s table to do work…but I wasn’t secretly doing his thesis for him. He’s not going to become a real doctor anyway, so why bother? 😛
Anyway, if Jill Biden didn’t come with Joe, there’d probably be Republicans making theories about how they were splitting up.
@Elaine the Witch – You could also ask him to talk with a doctor or other medical expert if he’s not listening to you about this. They’d hopefully be able to point him to a healthier plan.
@Threp – People in the military get fined if they gain a certain amount of weight?? That seems unnecessarily picky 🙁
@Epitome
Yep – here it were like that until about 1988 – changed during the recession we had after the Bank of England got a wee bit broken. Most things you’d only get extra duty or extra PT for, or loss of liberty to varying degrees, but going over your permitted weight according to the chart (which the noncoms treated as the third tablet of Moses) were a fining offence – plus extra PT to burn the fat off you.
I actually wouldn’t have a problem with this, if it was true. Ditto for Michelle running things instead of Barack.
RW are so anti-women that when a woman is cheered on and supported in her endeavors by her husband, they think it’s exactly the same as her being in charge of everything. They can’t see the difference. Wives are supposed to fix dinner, be quiet, raise the kids, and never ever go into the man-cave.
They are afraid of smart women, because smart women see through their bullshit.
As do cats. I like Larry just staring at the bobby, who’s all upright and strapped with gear including bullet proof vest, none of which is enough to faze a cat. “Get this door open, shaved monkey, chop chop.”
@Elaine: That is going to make him much less efficient as a soldier! He needs food! People have died from water poisoning, not enough electrolytes. And 15 lb. in 2 weeks is unreasonable even with no food. Plus it will all come right back, and then some. So he might end up even heavier.
@Elaine
As others have noted, there are precisely zero positive elements to your husband’s weight loss plan, and a significant possibility of permanent organ damage. Furthermore, the person or persons responsible for the US Marine Corps weight/bodyfat standards should face court-martial for malfeasance and gross dereliction of duty. As with a number of your husband’s other unfortunate behaviors, I’m afraid the only long-term solution is him not being a Marine anymore.
@Threp
Yes it is, but I can’t help to wonder if I had something to do with this as well. I lost a lot of weight dutrng covid and my muscle mass. my husband gained a lot more weight during covid and because he’s been given basically a desk job. So for over the last month or so I’ve been exercising like crazy and making sure I eat properly again. I’ve been improving physically well and I’ve been getting my abs back. My husband has been the gentle encouragement and motivator for me while I’ve been doing this so I’ve been documenting it while I do so for him. I send him lots of pictures of my body. I have a very high metabolism. I burn of basically whatever I eat very quickly. Even if it’s just junk. My husband has a low metabolism. He could work out twice as hard as I do and barely lose a pound. I’m worried I’ve made him a bit subconscious about his weight even though I tell him all the time I think he looks great.
@Dormousing_it
He told me he was going to work out hard, twice a day. Yet another reason why i am concern about what he’s doing to himself.
@epitome of incomrepehensibility
They do, and he has been under threat of the fine for being “overweight” for a while now. And I’m talking like 5 pounds over the weight he “should” be. He’s gained more then that now. he’s also been over threat that it would actually extend his active duty time in the marines if he doesn’t lose the weight. That is really what has him determine to do this and not listening to my concerns.
@Dalillama
I agree and I think it’s that drive that he has to be out of the marines which is actually going to cause him more harm then good in an ironic twist.
@ all
When I had my eating disorder it started out with small things similar to this. The water fasting makes me especially nervous cause when I was a teenager I use to drink water by the gallon to have the water weight before I had to weigh in with my doctor so It would look like I was eating when I wasn’t. He has been reassuring me that after this two weeks He will be trying to lose weight in healthier ways. he wants to get down to 150, But I don’t know if I by that or not. I’m worried about him developing an eating disorder as well.
OK – extending his time is a definite no.
He’s going to be in a generally very bad mood, with mood swings and some paranoia while doing this, so both of you be aware of that when you’re talking. Storms will blow up fast out of nowhere, but they’ll also blow over fast.
Tell him to make damned sure all the water he drinks has electrolytes in it – the powders for diarrhea are best. Multivitamins – at least 200% RDA of everything – will reduce the amount of damage he’ll be doing to his body by doing this. No fucking purging – ever. That shit gets spotted by even the most brain dead NCO and responded to badly.
And, most importantly – eat a small but normal meal at least 4 hours before the actual check-up or the piss test will tell them he’s crash dieted, and they will NOT look on that kindly. Comes under the heading “willful damage of government equipment.”
As far as him developing an eating disorder goes, he’ll probably always be very aware of and slightly worried about his weight, unless he goes to the opposite extreme when he comes out. Goes with the job, just one more unpleasant side effect of it that no one bothers to mention.
@Threp
I will send him a screenshot of your reply
No worries.
I strongly disapprove of it, mind, but yeah I can see the need to know in his case. Seem to recall you saying a while back that he were being encouraged to re-up, and we don’t really want to give any further leverage, right?
If he needs to talk shit over, David can hook you up with my email.
Hmm, did my other comment here get eaten because I asked about a diet thing?