first lady Jill Biden said her husband “had so many hopes” when he took office, but there were “current issues” that needed to be addressed first – both at home and abroad.
Biden, 71, speaking at a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee in Nantucket, Massachusettson Saturday.
‘[The President] had so many hopes and plans for things he wanted to do, but every time you turned your head he had to address the issues of the moment,” she told donors at the event.
“He just got so many things thrown at him,” she added.
Joe Biden’s presidency was marked by Russia’s war in Ukraine, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, rising inflation and the fall of Roe v. Calf.
The first lady’s comments come after a recent New York Tims poll found that 64 percent of Democratic voters would prefer a candidate other than Biden in 2024.
First Lady Jill Biden speaks Friday during the American Federation of Teachers convention. The next day, she spoke about the challenges her husband faced during his presidency
The first lady’s comments come after a recent New York Tims poll found that 64 percent of Democratic voters would prefer a candidate other than Biden in 2024
“Who would have ever thought what happened [with the Supreme Court overturning] Deer vs calf? Well, maybe we saw it coming, but we still didn’t believe it,’ she said. “The gun violence in this country is absolutely appalling. We didn’t see the war coming in Ukraine.”
Biden’s approval rating was 33 percent, and just 13 percent of Americans thought the country was moving in the right direction, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday.
“I know there are so many naysayers who say we’re going to get slammed in the midterms. OK. Republicans work hard, they stick together, for better or for worse. So we just have to work harder,” Jill Biden said.
Biden, 71, spoke at a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee in Nantucket, Massachusetts on Saturday
Setbacks at home and abroad also affected Jill Biden’s own agenda.
“I said to myself, ‘Okay, I was second lady. I worked at community colleges. I worked on military families. I’ve been working on cancer.’ They should be my focus. But then when we came [in the White House,] I had to be the first lady of the moment for everything that happened.
Jill Biden was in Massachusetts on a three-day trip when she made the remarks.
Her husband returned early Sunday White House from his four-day Middle East tour
Joe Biden has accused a Saudi official of lying about the issues discussed at his private meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, while again downplaying his infamous fist bump with the prince.
The image of the friendly fist drew a sharp backlash from the editor of the Washington Post and the widow of Khashoggi, who was killed in a gruesome assassination that US intelligence officials say was ordered by Bin Salman.
President Joe Biden has accused a Saudi minister of lying about the issues discussed at his private meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
A handout photo of President Joe Biden (left) punching Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right) as he arrived for a meeting with the controversial king in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday night
Hours earlier, shortly after Air Force One took off from Jeddah, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir called FoxNews reporter and claimed he “didn’t hear” that Biden confronted bin Salman, known as MBS, over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Al-Jubeir’s claim appears to directly contradict Biden’s account of Friday’s meeting with MBS, according to which the president said he addressed the murder of Khashoggi “at the head of the meeting” and accused the crown prince of directing the plot.
On the South Lawn, when asked if al-Jubeir was telling the truth about the meeting, Biden bluntly replied “no.”
Saudi officials, in particular, have offered conflicting accounts of the conversation between Biden and MBS and whether the murder of Khashoggi was discussed.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir (above) claimed he “didn’t hear” Biden confronted MBS over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi
On Friday, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan appeared to be telling reporters that Biden addressed the murder of Khashoggi at the meeting.
Bin Farhan said MBS subsequently denounced the US for its own human rights abuses, including the notorious mistreatment of detainees by military personnel at Abu Ghraib, Iraq.
According to an American intelligence report, MBS orchestrated the assassination of Khashoggi, a Saudi-born critic of the kingdom who lived in the United States.
