“It was really the tone of it,” Dr. Biden instructed Stephen Colbert
Last Friday, the Wall Street Journal — to everybody’s shock — ran a sexist, condescending op-ed about Dr. Jill Biden, the place the writer urged the First Lady-elect to drop her “Dr.” title. As anticipated, the piece was met with a tsunami of backlash, the place just about everybody got here to Biden’s protection, from former FLOTUS Michelle Obama to numerous ladies in academia. And practically one week because the op-ed was printed, Dr. Biden has lastly responded to the piece.
During an look on The Late Show on Thursday night time, Biden instructed host Stephen Colbert that the closely criticized op-ed was “such a surprise.”
“It was really the tone of it,” she stated. “He called me ‘kiddo.’ One of the things that I’m most proud of is my doctorate. I mean, I worked so hard for it.”
Dr. Jill Biden: “One of the things I’m most proud of is my doctorate. I worked so hard for it.” @colbertlateshow
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 18, 2020
Dr. Biden then addressed those that got here out in help of her and her hard-earned honorific.
“I am so grateful and I was just overwhelmed by how gracious people were,” she stated.
What are you able to say? Watching @JoeBiden and @DrBiden on @StephenAtHome and also you simply can’t discover two extra respectable individuals to heal our nation.
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) December 18, 2020
In the despicable WSJ-published piece titled “Is There a Doctor in the White House? Not if You Need an M.D.,” writer Joseph Epstein — who, it ought to be famous, doesn’t have an actual doctorate — not solely referred to Dr. Biden as “kiddo,” however he additionally urged her to drop the “Dr.” title as a result of her doctorate isn’t in medication.
“Madame First Lady—Mrs. Biden—Jill—kiddo: a bit of advice on what may seem like a small but I think is a not unimportant matter. Any chance you might drop the ‘Dr.’ before your name?” Epstein begins.
“‘Dr. Jill Biden’ sounds and feels fraudulent, not to say a touch comic. Your degree is, I believe, an Ed.D., a doctor of education, earned at the University of Delaware through a dissertation with the unpromising title ‘Student Retention at the Community College Level: Meeting Students’ Needs,’” he continued. “A wise man once said that no one should call himself ‘Dr.’ unless he has delivered a child. Think about it, Dr. Jill, and forthwith drop the doc.”
Michael LaRosa, a spokesman for Dr. Biden, addressed the op-ed, calling it a “disgusting and sexist attack.” He additionally urged WSJ to take away it and apologize to Dr. Biden. “If you had any respect for women at all you would remove this repugnant display of chauvinism from your paper and apologize to her,” LaRosa tweeted.
.@jamestaranto, you and the @WSJ ought to be embarrassed to print the disgusting and sexist assault on @DrBiden working on the @WSJopinion web page. If you had any respect for girls in any respect you’ll take away this repugnant show of chauvinism out of your paper and apologize to her.
— Michael LaRosa (@MichaelLaRosaDC) December 12, 2020
Dr. Biden, who additionally has two grasp’s levels, is a lifelong educator who has labored as an English professor at Northern Virginia Community College since 2009. And when she steps into the position of First Lady, she would be the first FLOTUS within the position’s 231-year historical past to maintain a paying job whereas dwelling within the White House and serving as First Lady.
