As she prepares to speak Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention, those who have worked closely with Jill Biden say her warmth will appeal to Americans confronting tough times of their own.
"She has a very good sense of, especially in these times, that bringing a little smile, some joy, some levity into moments is important," said Courtney O'Donnell, who served as Jill Biden's communications director during her husband's first term as vice-president.
Along the way, former coworkers say, Jill Biden, 69, became one of her husband's most valuable political advisers, someone whose opinion was paramount in most of his biggest decisions, both political and personal. She was skeptical of his 1988 presidential campaign, but pushed him to run again in 2008, according to her memoir.
Jill Biden does remain one of her husband's closest confidantes -- particularly now, at a time when both Bidens are largely confined to their Wilmington home due to the coronavirus pandemic. Aides say the Bidens often pass each other in the halls during the day as they head from a briefing to a virtual event to a fundraiser.
But after eight years as the vice-president's wife and then giving speeches and appearing at events after her husband left office, Jill Biden has become one of her husband's most prominent surrogates. She has appeared in virtual events in more than 17 cities since May, and is one one of the campaign's primary surrogates to Latino voters, headlining town halls and holding frequent calls with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
But the resistance to being called an "adviser" on Biden's team reflects Jill Biden's persistent and successful efforts to carve out her own career and identity independent of her husband's political ambitions, something she prioritized even during his time in the Senate. "Being a teacher is not what I do but who I am," she wrote in her memoir, and described "scrambling into a cocktail dress and heels" in the bathroom at her school to make it to a White House reception, or grading papers on Air Force Two, with relish.As longtime friend and teaching colleague Mary Doody described it, the classroom offers Jill Biden a bit of an escape.
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