Dr. Jill Biden Will Restore Honor Back To The Title Of First Lady by Robert Covington Jr.
From 2008 to 2016, America was spoiled and blessed to have Michelle Obama as our First Lady. On the campaign trail and during her eight years as First Lady, we watched Michelle Obama carry herself with dignity, showed genuine compassion for others and honored past First Lady traditions of subtlety and support for their spouses while carving out their own space of influence. Given the gravity in the historic nature of Barack Obama’s presidency, Michelle Obama had to take on additional burdens of worry, safety precaution and racial attacks that was designed to have her question her sense of self, weaken the Obama’s collective resolve and to cause as much personal and familial insecurity as possible.
Michelle Obama responded by letting her humanity, self-confidence and higher sense of purpose to stay focused on supporting her family and representing the country with class, elegance and grace. Her intellectual brilliance was evident every time she spoke in public, regardless of it being in an official and unofficial capacity on behalf of the administration.
Michelle Obama used her enormous influence to start initiatives to address childhood obesity, establish nationwide healthy food programs for children and her admirable work on behalf of military culminated with an award for her advocacy of parents and children of wounded veterans. Unsurprisingly, a large majority of Americans continue to hold Michelle Obama in high esteem as she remains one of the most admired women in the world.
America went from the role model of Michelle Obama as a beautiful representation of honor and accomplishment of womanhood for little girls, young women and women…to…well…Melania Trump.
The baton from Michelle Obama to Melania Trump went from admiration to embarrassment. From authenticity to plagiarism, from high standards to low standards. From stature to irrelevance.
The tenure of Melania Trump has been a disaster for the image, majesty and perception of First Lady. Melania cosponsored Donald Trump’s racist propaganda of questioning Barack Obama’s citizenship and Americanness while Obama was President of the United States. As I’ve written before, Melania Trump’s Be Best campaign against bullying and the promotion of wellness is one big con and fraud, just like her husband Donald Trump’s Steaks and University. Her audacity is only possible due to her narcissism to start such a project knowing full well that Donald Trump is the antithesis of everything her initiative is supposed to stand for.
Her public appearances of mockery, ignorance and insensitivity deserved the scrutiny that it received and should have gotten more criticism. It is easy to believe Melania knew exactly what she was doing showing up in Africa wearing a Pith helmet, which historically is a representation of white colonial rule.
It’s easy to believe Melania knew exactly what she was doing when she showed up at a migrant facility of official child abuse with a jacket saying: “I really don’t care, do you” would likely be perceived by many observers as inappropriate and insensitive attire to wear, given the circumstances. And it is easy to believe the story written by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff in her tell all book: Melania & Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady — which has receipts, tapes, texts and documentation — when she wrote that Melania Trump did not want to go to the White House until the shower and toilet was renovated, in part, because she didn’t want to use the same bathroom that was previously used by former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Melania Trump has been her own agent of complicity in her union with Donald Trump. No one in their right mind would want their daughters, mothers, nieces and aunts to be married to, or stand by a man such as Donald Trump. Melania Trump has either tolerated or embraced his sexual assault history, racism, career of misogyny, countless acts of infidelity, cruelty and hatred of others. Melania Trump has been all in from the beginning and every little girl around the world must know that this isn’t a woman to ever, ever emulate, or aspire to be like.
As a nation, the idea of First Lady has been severely damaged with Melania Trump as a willful co-conspirator in a wretched presidency. Thankfully, a new chapter is about to begin on January 20th 2021 with Dr. Jill Biden as First Lady. An accomplished woman in her own right, she earned a PhD in Education, has been a lifelong educator and may be the first, First Lady to still actively work while in her new role. We can assume that she will use her platform to advance education in a substantive, healthy way. Dr. Jill Biden also worked with Michelle Obama when it came to military veterans.
As America and the world impatiently await the official swearing in of Joe Biden as the next President of the United States, we can take comfort in knowing when that day arrives, Dr. Jill Biden will also be working to restore honor, prestige and respect back to the title of First Lady.
Follow me on twitter: @robcovingtonjr
