Jill Biden Has No Words For Joe's Election Dropout Announcement (Literally)

In an unprecedented turn of events, President Joe Biden announced on July 21 that he would not be continuing his bid for the presidency with a letter posted to his social media channels. Not long after the surprise announcement — apparently many of his aides found out a minute before the rest of the world did — Joe confirmed he's endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris via social media.

Dr. Jill Biden reposted her husband's social media posts, but she included no public comment at the time. The only thing she did say (if emojis count as saying something) was an emoji of two red hearts with the post that confirmed he was no longer running for reelection. Jill included no additional comment or emoji on her repost of Joe's endorsement of Harris. The comments on Jill's X simple heart post were the predictable mix of gratitude for Joe's life of service from supporters, sadness to hear that he was dropping out, and derisive remarks from others.

Despite the posts on her page confirming Joe is no longer running to be president, Jill's X page, at the time of writing, still has the phrase "Let's finish the job" as the header picture. That phrase was one of the rallying cries for Joe's reelection campaign. Joe's X page header now reads, "Harris for President."

Others in the Biden family have given more of an online response to Joe Biden's stunning statement that he would be dropping out of the race. Naomi Biden, Joe's granddaughter, posted on X, "I'm nothing but proud today of my Pop, our President, Joe Biden, who has served our country with every bit of his soul and with unmatched distinction." She also posted a picture of a statement from her father Hunter Biden, which read, in part, "For my entire life, I've looked at my dad in awe. How could he suffer so much heartache and yet give so much of whatever remained of his heart to others? ... Thank you, Mr. President. I love you, Dad."

It could be that Jill is waiting to say something more until the president addresses the nation directly, as he'd said he will, to give more context for the bombshell announcement. But we don't really know when or if Jill will be giving any comment on her husband's choice.

What we do know is that Jill was an important sounding board for Joe as he contemplated whether or not to step out of the presidential race. The decision came while Joe was at home in Delaware, recovering from COVID. According to reports, his wife and a few other close advisers were there with him as he worked through his decision.

While Jill Biden hasn't said anything publicly about Joe Biden's choice, Elizabeth Alexander, the first lady's communications director, explained how Jill was there for her husband, "down to the last hours of the decision only he could make, she was supportive of whatever road he chose," as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

It's a role she's played for many years. Jill has been one of Joe's most steadfast confidantes, and she had been a vocal advocate of her husband's presidential campaign — in stark contrast to Melania Trump's eyebrow raising absences from Donald Trump's 2024 campaign. Even after Joe's disastrous debate performance against Trump in late June 2024 (Jill escorting Joe off the debate stage didn't help questions about his health), she was publicly backing her husband's reelection as others began calling for him to drop out.

Jill is in a unique position; the only other person in recent(ish) history to face such a situation was Lady Bird Johnson, wife of former President Lyndon B. Johnson. Like Jill, Lady Bird was close with her husband, and her opinion meant a great deal to him. Lyndon announced he wasn't going to be running for a second term at the end of a televised address in 1968. Lady Bird is said to have referred to it as "his best speech, nobly done," per Time. A bit more eloquent than some hearts on a social media post, but it may be similar to how Jill feels behind the scenes.