After Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, it wasn't just his campaign that came to a halt — the illusion that he was running the country evaporated as well. Instead of governing, he spent more time at the beach than in the White House. The façade that Joe Biden is still in charge took another blow on Friday during the first cabinet meeting in nearly a year, where a visibly exhausted Biden made brief remarks before passing control of the meeting to his wife, Jill Biden.

NOW - Biden at first full cabinet meeting in 11 months: "I'd like to turn it over to Jill for any comments she has."pic.twitter.com/2jyO6FWVa7

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 20, 2024

Joe Biden, knowing that this was unusual, tried to say it wasn't. "And, uhhh, here across previous administrations, First Ladies have attended these meetings for specific reasons," he said. "This is the first time Jill has joined us, and it goes to show how important the issue is when she's about to speak to the both of us."

I'm sorry, but this isn't normal.

It’s one thing for a First Lady to use her platform to champion personal causes. Michelle Obama focused on child nutrition, Laura Bush prioritized child literacy, and Hillary Clinton pushed healthcare reform. But leading a cabinet meeting as if she holds actual governmental power is a different story. It doesn’t matter what Jill Biden was there to comment on — what matters is that she was there at all. 

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She’s neither an elected nor appointed official. No one voted for her, and she has no political power, which makes her input on policy completely symbolic and essentially an extension of her husband. But when she shows up to a cabinet meeting, it sends the message that she is the one in charge and that her husband is an extension of her.

What's even more bizarre is how the liberal media acted like there was nothing strange about this at all.

BREAKING: The White House just held its first cabinet meeting in 11 months

Jill Biden sat at the head of the table pic.twitter.com/kwLl0x4mkV

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 20, 2024

According to CNN, this is all normal.

At Friday’s meeting, first lady Dr. Jill Biden will share an update on a White House women’s health research initiative, the first time she’s participated in a such a session. Previous first ladies have attended their husband’s Cabinet meetings. 

“The president will direct his Cabinet to get to work and make the next four months as productive as any other period in our administration,” the official said. “Much of the Cabinet has been with President Biden since Day One and this meeting will be an opportunity for all of them to assess the enormous progress they have made together and game out how they will continue to make history in the remaining months of the Biden-Harris administration.” 

While it may be true that past first ladies have participated in Cabinet meetings, the optics of Jill Biden at this meeting at the head of the table, looking and acting like she's running the show, are horrible. I'm sure Biden's handlers in the White House knew that.