WASHINGTON (NewsNation Now) — First lady Dr. Jill Biden is Vogue’s newest cover star.
The first lady graces the August issue of the fashion magazine, where she discusses the state of the country, her marriage and teaching in the accompanying feature story. Biden told writer Jonathan Van Meter she is overwhelmed by all the initiatives she wants to undertake during her time as first lady.
“When I became second lady—and there was so much I wanted to do—I always said, ‘I will never waste this platform,” Biden said. “And now I have a bigger platform and I feel every day, like….what could I give up? That I would want to give up? Nothing. If anything, I feel like adding more things, but I know it’s not possible because you want to stay centered. Because you want to do things well and there’s so much to do. There is so much to do.”
The first lady, who turned 70 earlier this month, pledged to keep teaching if she became first lady, as she did when Joe Biden was the vice president
“I heard that all the time during the campaign,” Jill Biden said. “Like, ‘no. You’re not going to be able to teach as first lady.’ And I said, ‘Why not? You make things happen, right?’”
President Biden often talks about how proud he is of his wife of nearly 44 years, for balancing family, teaching and politics.
“Teaching is not what Jill does. Teaching is who she is,” Biden said in June, echoing his wife’s own description of herself. “And she’s done it her whole adult life, and she’s still doing it.”
One photo from Vogue and Anne Leibovitz shows Jill Biden sitting in the East Sitting Hall of the White House, typing on her laptop with a pencil between her teeth.
Another shows her and Joe Biden in an embrace on a patio off the Oval Office.
Despite the ever-present affection, Joe Biden said the presidency has affected their marriage.
“I miss her. I’m really proud of her. But it’s not like we can just go off like we used to,” Joe Biden said. “When we were living in Delaware and married, once a month we’d just go up to a local bed-and-breakfast by ourselves, to make sure we had a romantic time to just get away and hang out with each other.”
This marks the resumption of the tradition of first ladies as cover stars of the magazine. Former first lady Melania Trump was not ever on the cover of Vogue during her four years as first lady. Former first lady Michelle Obama graced the cover a record third times during her tenure as first lady.
This was Jill Biden’s first cover but she has been photographed and featured in other past Vogue stories.
Vogue’s August 2021 issue is available on newsstands nationwide on JuIy 20.
You can read the full story online.