Future first lady Jill Biden has a message for the world ― and probably most specifically Wall Street Journal columnist Joseph Epstein.
Biden on Sunday tweeted a simple and effective response to Epstein’s op-ed, published on Friday, that criticized her for using the title “Dr.” Biden holds a doctorate degree in education.
“Together, we will build a world where the accomplishments of our daughters will be celebrated, rather than diminished,” she wrote in her tweet.
Epstein, in his column, addressed Biden: “A bit of advice on what may seem like a small but I think is a not unimportant matter. Any chance you might drop the ‘Dr.’ before your name? ‘Dr. Jill Biden’ sounds and feels fraudulent, not to say a touch comic.”
The piece received a wave of backlash from those offended by its sexism, condescension and misogyny.
Prior to Biden’s tweet, her spokesperson, Michael LaRosa, fired off a tweet directed at James Taranto, the Journal editor who oversees the op-ed pages.
″[Y]ou and the @WSJ should be embarrassed to print the disgusting and sexist attack on @DrBiden running on the @WSJopinion page,” LaRosa tweeted. “If you had any respect for women at all you would remove this repugnant display of chauvinism from your paper and apologize to her.”
Former first lady Michelle Obama joined the criticism on Monday.
“For eight years, I saw Dr. Jill Biden do what a lot of professional women do—successfully manage more than one responsibility at a time, from her teaching duties to her official obligations in the White House to her roles as a mother, wife, and friend,” Obama wrote on Instagram.
She asked if Epstein’s words were “really the example we want to set for the next generation?”
Biden “will be a terrific role model not just for young girls but for all of us, wearing her accomplishments with grace, good humor, and yes, pride,” Obama wrote. “I’m thrilled that the world will see what I have come to know—a brilliant woman who has distinguished herself in her profession and with the life she lives every day, always seeking to lift others up, rather than tearing them down.”