[News Figures] First Lady Becomes 'Lady Mac-Biden' After US Presidential Debate

"Desperately Clinging to Power as Her Husband Collapses Before Her Eyes"
Compared to Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare's Four Great Tragedies 'Macbeth'

Amid ongoing aftershocks following the first U.S. presidential debate, including calls for a candidate replacement within and outside the Democratic Party, criticism toward First Lady Jill Biden, wife of President Joe Biden, is also growing.

Despite the internal unrest, President Biden and his family and close associates have maintained their determination to complete the race. However, there is a critical view directed at Jill Biden, suggesting that although she is someone who could persuade the president to resign, she is instead encouraging him to continue.

U.S. President Joe Biden walking with First Lady Jill Biden and his second son Hunter.
[Photo by AP/ Yonhap News]

Three days after the TV debate, on the 30th of last month, First Lady Biden conveyed a message of "no resignation" in the fashion magazine Vogue regarding the widespread resignation pressures, including from within the Democratic Party, saying, "Our family will not let that 90-minute debate define President Biden’s four years in office. We will keep fighting."

The American conservative news site Daily Caller mockingly referred to First Lady Biden as "Lady Mac-Biden," likening her to Lady Macbeth from Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, saying, "She is desperately clinging to power as her husband collapses before her eyes."

Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s four great tragedies, depicting the life of Macbeth, King of Scotland, and portraying how a person gradually falls into corruption and crosses moral boundaries due to desire, ultimately leading to ruin.

Macbeth, a Scottish royal and valiant general, meets three witches on his way back with his friend and lieutenant Banquo after winning a war against rebels. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will become king and that Banquo’s descendants will also be kings. Upon hearing this, Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth to murder the king.

Jill Biden, wife of U.S. President Joe Biden, appeared as the cover model for Vogue.
[Photo by Vogue cover]

After becoming king, Macbeth becomes a tyrant, ruthlessly eliminating all threats to his power and wiping out Banquo’s family, who were also targets of prophecy. However, Macbeth suffers from guilt, haunted by visions of the dead and fear. Meanwhile, those who lost family members to Macbeth unite to rebel, and Lady Macbeth, tormented by guilt, suffers from sleepwalking and eventually commits suicide. Left alone, Macbeth laments being manipulated by the witches and is killed on the battlefield.

The American daily newspaper The New York Times (NYT) noted on the 2nd (local time) that the message First Lady Biden sent to President Biden after the TV debate was that they would remain in the presidential race.

According to the NYT, negative comments continued on Vogue’s Instagram account, which featured First Lady Biden on its cover at this critical moment. Some comments came from supporters of Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, but many critical remarks appeared to come from Democratic supporters. One commenter accused First Lady Biden of "pursuing her and her husband’s ambitions at the expense of the safety and happiness of the American people."

Bill Ackman, a U.S. hedge fund magnate, wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "I no longer blame President Biden for not stepping down. He no longer has the mental acuity to make important judgments about himself," adding, "It is becoming increasingly clear that the fault lies with First Lady Jill Biden."

Having been married to President Biden for over 40 years through his time as senator, vice president, presidential candidate, and now president, Jill Biden is widely regarded as not only his partner but also his advisor and protector. Following the TV debate on the 27th, which intensified suspicions about the 81-year-old President Biden’s health and cognitive decline, the role of First Lady Biden has come under renewed scrutiny.