Jill Biden’s low-key campaign style contrasts sharply with Melania Trump’s public absence

First lady Jill Biden is ramping up her campaigning for President Joe Biden‘s reelection bid, shining a light on Melania Trump‘s relative absence from the campaign trail.

The former first lady has actively avoided the public spotlight after former President Donald Trump left office and has rarely campaigned for her husband outside of events hosted at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s South Florida club, including an April fundraiser with the Log Cabin Republicans.

Melania Trump has also not appeared in New York during her husband’s criminal hush money trial, which surrounds a woman the former president allegedly had a sexual affair with after the birth of his and Melania’s son, Barron Trump.

Trumpworld insiders say the former first lady might still take a more active role in the campaign but that the decision is being left up to her. Melania Trump told reporters to “stay tuned” earlier this week when asked about ramping up her own campaign schedule.

On the other hand, Jill Biden, who continues to teach community college classes amid her East Wing duties, is hitting the campaign trail hard, which Democratic campaign operatives tell the Washington Examiner should prove an asset to the president’s reelection hopes.

One strategist said Jill Biden’s “soft” campaigning, in which she avoids discussing specific policies, not only draws a specific contrast to the relationship between the Trumps but also helps to humanize Joe Biden.

“Where’s Melania? Not out supporting her husband, who she clearly hates,” that person assessed. “Jill Biden’s presence is an asset to the campaign, but also a rock on which President Biden can rely for both personal and political advice. She’s the exact type of partner this nation needs in the White House.”

Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt suggested Jill Biden’s efforts will have little impact on the outcome of the 2024 election.

“Jill Biden should stop lying on behalf of her weak and incompetent husband on the campaign trail and start packing her corrupt family’s bags because they’ll be leaving the White House very soon,” Leavitt told the Washington Examiner.

The president, facing poor polling on the economy and his handling of Israel’s war in Gaza, has zeroed in his own campaigning on attacking his 2024 Republican opponent.

And with that increased scrutiny comes increased personal attacks, from both the president and many of his top campaign surrogates. Biden has even gone so far as repeatedly mocking Trump’s hair and age, a decidedly Trumpian turn for a president who has prided himself on decency.

On Tuesday, actor Robert De Niro joined Biden campaign officials and Jan. 6 Capitol Police officers outside Trump’s criminal hush money trial in New York City to castigate the former president and warn voters of the dangers of a second Trump term in the White House.

“I don’t mean to scare you. No, wait, maybe I do mean to scare you,” De Niro said at the impromptu press conference. “If Trump returns to the White House, you can kiss these freedoms goodbye that we all take for granted.”

Jill Biden, however, is taking a decidedly different approach when discussing the former president.

Though not specifically a campaign event, Jill Biden was featured Wednesday in a video from the Smithsonian announcing the return of two giant pandas to the National Zoo in Washington. Democratic strategists say it is critical for the first lady to continue these types of appearances before voters.

“First Lady Biden is an integral part of President Biden’s reelection pitch,” one strategist said. “The love they share for each other is immediately apparent whenever she’s on screen, and that type of relationship is critical to convey Biden’s sense of normalcy, compared to Trump, to voters.”

“Take notice of where the first lady is campaigning: community colleges, daytime talk shows, and community events,” a second operative said. “Jill Biden is not a politician, and there’s a hope that she can connect with suburban women and even demographics less politically inclined than the people tuning into President Biden’s own campaign events.”

Another operative went so far as to praise the first lady’s public demeanor and contrasted it with her husband’s apparent adversarial relationship with the media.

The first lady began a new combination of a children’s book tour and campaign junket Wednesday, which included multiple appearances on ABC. Her book focuses on Willow, the Bidens’ cat, and gives a slice-of-life view into the White House.

Jill Biden joined the hosts of The View for a lengthy interview, and while Trump was discussed, the first lady’s responses fell short of the increasingly personal attacks levied by her husband, instead opting to compliment the president in comparison to his predecessor.

“This election is not about age because, I mean, Donald Trump’s what, 78? Joe’s 81. They’re basically the same age, right? But it’s about character. This election is about character,” she responded when asked about Trump’s string of “brain farts.”

“You have two choices,” the first lady continued. “You have my husband, Joe, who you all know who has integrity. He’s strong. He’s steady. He’s a leader. He’s smart. He’s energetic. Or you have chaos.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Earlier in the day, the first lady gave a similar assessment of the election during an interview on Good Morning America.

“Everything is at stake, and I think especially for women this year, you know, women’s rights, our freedoms, and democracy is on the line, and we have a choice,” she said. “We have to decide: democracy or chaos.”