To the political strategy that might in the future be called “transparent efforts to change the narrative and repair the damage done to Joe Biden in the first presidential debate,” add the dress that Jill Biden wore to accompany her husband to his next-day rally in Raleigh, N.C.
As President Biden attempted to address some of the concerns about his age and energy on Friday, his wife, a political spouse who often seems to choose clothes that recede into the background, took her place by his side in a navy blue crepe dress plastered with one word over and over again: “Vote.”
Given the many post-debate reaction stories that focused on viewers’ anxious feelings about Mr. Biden’s shaky performance, that could not have been a coincidence.
Especially given the fact that Dr. Biden has often seemed reluctant to engage in the game known as first lady fashion diplomacy, largely wearing clothes by designers she feels comfortable with rather than ones with any obvious tactical connection to an event. For her to choose a dress so guaranteed to call attention to itself, and to do so at a time when any attention that is not about her husband’s age is probably good attention, is a statement in itself.
After all, there could be no doubting that all eyes would be on the president in his first rally after the debate, in part to judge whether his weak showing the night before would be repeated. Or that the pictures of that rally would be disseminated far and wide. And that, as a result, what his wife wore, as with every detail of his performance, would send a signal not just to the general audience, but also to the political pundit class that has been calling for Mr. Biden to step aside. The one that has noted that the key influencer would be his wife.
