[News] Jill Biden championed causes such as education, breast cancer prevention, and health and employment services for veterans and their families.

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"I would expect it to follow more the pattern of Michelle Obama, who was involved in political activities, but those that were more unifying than divisive, like focusing on veterans, child welfare, but not trying to get health insurance approved. for everyone or something that was more political, "says Johnson.

"And if we want to get something out of her from her speech at her Convention, it's that education is an important issue for her, so we'd expect her to focus on this during her tenure," she says as well.

Karen Kedrowski, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University, also believes that Jill Biden will dedicate herself to educational issues.

"She has a PhD in Education and has taught for a long time in community colleges so she is especially an advocate for these colleges and how they serve students who would not otherwise access higher education," the expert told BBC Mundo .

In the August interview with CBS, journalist Rita Braver asked Jill Biden if she believed she would continue teaching in the event of becoming first lady.

"I hope so," she replied."I would love to. If we make it to the White House, I'm going to continue teaching. It's important, and I want people to value teachers and know their contributions and elevate the profession," said Jill Biden.

But Professor Johnson believes that if he continued to teach, it would only be symbolic.

"If he really does it, it will be purely symbolic because it can have a more positive effect from her platform as first lady," the analyst said.

Kedrowski sees the logistics of Jill Biden continuing to teach difficult because of the time demands of her position in the White House and because if she taught in person, "secret service agents" would have to be at the school where she will work.

Furthermore, no first lady of the United States has held another job while she has been in the White House.

Joe Biden and Jill Biden
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Caption,
Jill Biden actively campaigned for her husband, Joe Biden.

As she demonstrated during her years as a "second lady", Jill Biden also has other areas of interest besides education.

"She is also very active in the prevention of breast cancer. I think it is also likely that she will continue with Michelle Obama's initiative to promote physical activity. She is a runner, so she is interested in those topics. I imagine that she will also continue working to provide services to family members of veterans, "Kedrowski said.

In an interview with CNN in September 2020, Jill Biden said that she "would relaunch 'Joining Forces.'"

"[When I was second lady] I asked Beau what Michelle and I should be working on and he said, 'In mental health.' So we need to expand mental health services for members of the military," she told CNN and He added that schools also need the same.

In Professor Johnson's opinion, Jill Biden would do well to continue promoting these causes as "they are issues that bring people together."

Previous experience
In addition to Jill Biden's areas of concern, Johnson highlights the advantage of having been second lady for eight years.

Jill Biden and Michelle Obama
IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES
Caption,
Jill Biden had a close relationship with Michelle Obama while they were second and first lady, respectively.

"After seeing Michelle Obama for eight years, she has a clear idea of the responsibilities and challenges of a first lady," says the expert.

"Obama was a very successful first lady and Jill Biden has the luxury of seeing her up close, so you would expect her to emulate many of the successful practices of her predecessor," he adds.

Unlike Melania Trump, who chose a more reserved style than other first ladies, Jill Biden is more used to being in the public eye, Kedrowski notes.

"She understands the power of a first lady to promote causes," says the expert.

Johnson believes that Biden "is better prepared than perhaps any other first lady apart from Barbara Bush [George W.H. Bush's wife and second lady during the Ronald Reagan administration]."

"And I think Jill Biden had a better, closer relationship with Obama than Barbara Bush with Nancy Reagan," he says.

"Along with Barbara Bush, Jill Biden will be the most experienced first lady we have ever had," concludes Johnson.