Fresh off her husband's abysmal debate performance, first lady Jill Biden is on the cover of Vogue, telling the magazine that the Biden family will "continue to fight" and will "not let those 90 minutes define" President Joe Biden's four years in office.
Jill Biden posed for the magazine and conducted a sprawling interview ahead of the debate. On Sunday, as the Biden family huddled at Camp David, she again spoke to the magazine to address her husband's Thursday night performance. She fiercely defended the president.
The Biden family "will not let those 90 minutes define the four years he’s been president," she said. "We will continue to fight." "Whatever happens in the weeks and months between now and November," Vogue wrote in an editor's note, Jill Biden "will remain the president's closest confidant and advocate."
The first lady's comments come as some Democrats call on Joe Biden to leave the race against former president Donald Trump.
Immediately following Thursday night's debate, for example, CNN’s Van Jones said Biden’s performance was "painful."
"There's a lot of people who are going to want to see him consider taking a different course now," Jones said.
The "universal reaction" from "Obama-world people and Democrats," MSNBC's Joy Reid added, was "somewhere approaching panic."
The New York Times editorial board later called on Biden to leave the race in a Friday piece.
"At Thursday’s debate, the president needed to convince the American public that he was equal to the formidable demands of the office he is seeking to hold for another term," the board wrote. "Voters, however, cannot be expected to ignore what was instead plain to see: Mr. Biden is not the man he was four years ago."
Facing calls to leave the 2024 race, the Biden family spent Sunday at Camp David, discussing the future of the campaign. The family urged Joe Biden to remain in the race, a Biden source told Axios, saying the campaign is "charging ahead."
Jill and Hunter Biden, whom Joe has repeatedly gone to for advice, were the biggest proponents of the president staying in the race, according to the Associated Press.
The first lady has long covered for her husband's health.
Last month, Jill Biden told reporters that her husband is "healthy" and "wise" after he wandered away from G7 leaders at a summit in Italy.
After the debate, she told her husband, "Joe, you did such a great job! You answered every question, you knew all the facts!"