It Was Dr. Jill Biden’s First 100 Days, Too. How Did She Do?
Kate Bennett is a CNN White House correspondent whose full time job is to cover the East Wing (the office of the first lady) as well as the second family. In her role, she travels with the first lady and second gentleman as they make appearances in the U.S. and abroad to support their spouses’ policy agendas and to pursue their own initiatives.
Bennet is a fourth generation D.C. resident with deep roots in Beltway politics. Her parents, Mary and James Glassman, were once part owners of Roll Call, a newspaper and website that covers Congress and politics, and her father also worked as an editor at Washingtonian magazine and later in the administration of President George W. Bush.
Bennett started in her current role just as the Trump administration was taking office, and she covered Melania Trump’s often rocky stint as first lady. (Bennett’s 2019 book, Free, Melania: The Unauthorized Biography offered a funny, often sympathetic look at the enigmatic political newcomer.)
Since January 20, Bennet has turned her focus onto the new occupant of the East Wing. T&C asked her to describe highlights from the last three months.
Let’s start with the change in guard. Tell us how covering Jill Biden is different than covering Melania Trump?
Melania Trump had a very small staff. A lot of people were critical of that, but I loved it because everything was one or two degrees from the principal. Sometimes it made sourcing [stories] difficult. She could tell who you’d been talking to because her world, by design, was so small.
Jill Biden’s is a much more traditional East Wing. She has a larger staff, a policy agenda, and seemingly more traditional aspirations as first lady. She’s been a political spouse for four decades and so comes with a bit more savvy and knowledge about how the relationships between the administration and the media works. That’s a good thing and also maybe a bad thing.
The thing about Trump was she would feel something, or want to say something, and she would just either say it or her press secretary would say it. With Biden, I think there's more cultivated messaging. She's aware at all times that what she says or does is important and reflects on her husband and is really cognizant of that in every appearance.
The President is being assessed this week for his performance during his first 100 days in office. Does the first lady get a similar review?
It’s important to remember that “first lady” is really an undefined job. It doesn't come with a playbook. Biden has a more robust resume than many coming into this position. I’m not talking about her career as a teacher, but the roles she’s had as a senator's spouse, second lady, and a presidential candidate’s spouse.
She has been more visible and has had a busier schedule than some former first ladies during this early period. She hasn't outlined a specific initiative yet, but she has made it clear several things that she wants to accomplish. She wants to work with cancer awareness. She wants to work with military families, and of course, on getting the country going again after the pandemic. I’m eager to see how much time she devotes to each, what becomes a priority, and what that looks like.
Any clues from these first few months about how Biden will handle the role?
I've traveled with her several times and wherever she goes, whether it's a school classroom or a hospital, she says to people, ‘Call me Jill,’ or ‘Hi, I'm Jill.” She comes off as very authentic and people seem to like it.
I always say, I could see myself bumping into Jill Biden at Safeway, and falling into a conversation like, “Oh my God, tomatoes are on special!” I never felt in a million years like I’d run into Melania Trump in the produce aisle at my local grocer.
Biden’s a prankster. Flying back from a trip to California on April Fools Day, she pretended to be one of the flight attendants and passed out cookies. On Valentine’s Day, she put up those hearts on the White House lawn. Those are all things that are endearing and maybe also a little saccharine. I think the press corp appreciates it, but when it’s time to talk about her initiatives and whether she's following through, I don't think anyone's going to go easy on her just because she's been approachable.
Why is it important to cover the East Wing and the second family?
America has always been curious about first and second families, but in the past a lot of the focus has been on the first ladies in a way that could be grossly unfair. We have so many expectations: They can't be too smart. They can't be too domestic. They can't be too pretty. They have to wear this. It has been at times really terribly sexist and old fashioned.
So we try to ask, is there a way to show a more complete picture of life inside the White House? What’s going on with preparation for a state dinner? Can you talk to the chefs? How are the dog walkers handling two new pups? I try to approach this beat by asking myself, “What would I tell my friends about this day after work?” I would start with the event itself, but then I would also say, “I peeked my head into the China Room and saw X, W, or Z.” Or, “You know, the Rose Garden looked a little bare of leaves and I wonder what’s going on with that?”
What’s it been like covering the second family?
Sometimes political spouses—Louise Linton [former Treasury Secretary Stephen Munchin’s wife], for example—land on planet Washington and are like, “Oh my God! What do I do?” Then you get someone like a Doug Emhoff, and he's just like, “Let's do this!”
People wondered if it would be hard for him to be the first male in that role. It’s been the opposite. He's going around town and buying the candles that have Kamala Harris’s face on them and eating the salad that's named after her at a deli. His attitude has been, “This is the coolest! Yes, I am going to go take a picture of her mural!”
It's kind of, “Mr. Emhoff Goes to Washington.” But he’s also learned a lot very quickly. At the end of each appearance now, he looks into the camera, makes eye contact, and says, “Get your shot when it's your turn.” I mean, he's already got a tagline.
Will the public receive Jill Biden differently than it did Melania Trump?
Fans of Jill Biden are fans of Jill Biden because they think, “She's just like me. I take that Barre Three Class on 14th street [Biden was seen exiting the exercise studio last month], too!” The people who liked Melania Trump liked that she was just the opposite. She was a very aspirational sort of unicorn and that's what was—and is still—appealing to her fans. Her base thought, “She's so beautiful. She's so pretty.”
Being relatable and familiar might actually make it hard for Biden to make a mark, especially because she’s working inside an administration that seems to focus more on policy, and does not have as much, you know, As The World Turns going on as the previous administration. Biden will have to find a way to break through what’s just familiar for Americans to see her passions. How she does that will define what kind of legacy she will have.
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