Body Language Expert Tells Us Jill Biden's Motive Behind Emhoff Snub At SOTU 2024
President Joe Biden's humiliating arrival for his 2024 State of the Union address provided Trump supporters with some cannon fodder to use against him before he even began speaking. But his tardiness wasn't the only pre-speech moment that had social media users buzzing. Some users on X, formerly known as Twitter, also noted that First Lady Jill Biden behaved far differently toward Vice President Kamala Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, than she did during Joe's 2023 SOTU.
While Jill and Emhoff's relationship is said to be warm and friendly, it still stunned a lot of Americans when the first lady greeted the second gentleman with a kiss on the lips ahead of her husband's 2023 SOTU address. The smooch even had "Celebrity Wife Swap" star Antonio Sabàto Jr., who counts himself among Donald Trump's celebrity supporters, asking his X followers to share their thoughts about it. But this year, it didn't escape some viewers' notice that Emhoff didn't receive an affectionate greeting from Jill. An X user observed, "Jill Biden didn't even LOOK at Doug Emhoff this time around!" Even one of Joe's biggest critics in Congress, Marjorie Taylor Greene, was acknowledged by him before he took the podium. (Her MAGA outfit left him visibly stunned.) But as communications executive Amy Prenner, CEO The Prenner Group, exclusively told Nicki Swift, it's likely there was no ill intent behind Jill's seeming snub.
Was Jill Biden hoping to keep Americans' focus elsewhere?
According to Amy Prenner, Dr. Jill Biden's lack of interaction with Doug Emhoff likely left some people questioning whether the pair's relationship has changed. "It seems that people are now paying closer attention, wondering if there's tension between the individuals involved or if it was a deliberate message," she said. Prenner believes that the latter scenario is more probable, noting that Jill was likely aware that every action she took during President Joe Biden's State of the Union address would be closely scrutinized. By giving observers nothing to gossip about (except for rehashing the previous year's peck), she kept their focus elsewhere. "Could this be a subtle reminder that everything is under the microscope and that it's time to prioritize national matters?" said Prenner. "With the nation divided on various issues, Jill Biden appears to be conveying a message that she wants the public to believe in a positive trajectory."
Jill didn't even dare distract viewers by sitting beside Emhoff this year — one of her guests, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, was seated between them. Joe's words were met with a standing ovation when he welcomed Sweden to NATO and asked Kristersson to stand up. By helping her husband highlight a step in a positive direction for the world, Jill expertly pulled off orchestrating one of the night's feel-good moments. "In the midst of an election, she seems intent on assuring the country that things are indeed looking up," Prenner observed.