‘A little harder than I imagined’: Jill Biden reflects on role of first lady

The role of first lady is “a little harder” than she expected, Jill Biden said in a televised appearance that aired on Sunday.

President Joe Biden joined his wife for part of the “CBS Sunday Morning” segment that took a sympathetic look at the lives of the first couple.

“I think it’s a little harder than I imagined,” Jill Biden, 70, said of her position as first lady. “It’s not like a job that you do; it’s a lifestyle that you live. It’s 24 hours a day.”

The president grew emotional and appeared to tear up briefly as he described his wife’s practice of greeting him from the White House balcony whenever he returns from trips.

“Smile,” she told him, prompting the commander in chief to flash a grin.

“She says, ‘Joe, you’re too emotional. You get too emotional.’ She’s right,” the president said.

The first lady curtly dismissed questions about the 79-year-old president’s mental fitness, saying: “I think that’s ridiculous.”

She touted the country’s massive vaccination effort and the recently passed $1 trillion infrastructure deal, defended her husband’s record in office and downplayed his slumping approval rating, which is about 43%, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis of poll numbers.

Asked whether she thinks his ratings will improve once his accomplishments sink in with the public, she said: “I do.”

“He did come in and rescue America with the American Rescue Plan,” Jill Biden said in a reference to legislation in March that provided relief checks to many Americans and sent billions of dollars to localities.

The first lady, a community college teacher, gave a diplomatic response when asked about Democrats’ decision to remove a proposal for free community college from a massive social spending package under debate in Congress.

“I understand compromise and I knew this was not the right moment for it,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean it might not get passed somewhere down the future.”

———