MRC Rages At Jill Biden For Being On Vogue Cover

The Media Research Center is looking for any reason, no matter how lame, to attack Jill Biden. Before the election, for instance, the MRC tried to make a huge deal out of her breaking up her first marriage nearly 50 years ago to be with Joe Biden — while never disapproving of Donald Trump’s multiple marriages and infidelities.

The MRC seems to be weirdly offended that the Bidens actually love each other, something there was little evidence of with Donald and Melania Trump (whom the MRC can’t stop defending). In February, Tim Graham whined that the Bidens got a “puffball” interview from People for Valentine’s Day (does Graham think People does any other kind?), and P.J. Gladnick complained that Politico “presented a politically weaponized Valentine to Jill and Joe Biden, appropriately on Valentine’s Day” that “went full gush over the couple’s “PDA” (Public Displays of Affection) that many would object to.” Only the MRC would complain that it’s offensive for a non-conservative couple to demonstrate affection for each other in public (not like we saw any of that from the Trumps). 

Tierin-Rose Mandelburg raged against Jill wearing a scrunchie in her hair while picking up a Valentine’s gift for her husband and was offended that anyone would think of her as relatable: “She’s the First Lady of the United States. She is probably the least relatable person unless you’ve been a First Lady yourself. Her and Joe’s net worth is like $9 million. #relatable.” The rant continued: “Does a normal/relatable person casually spend over $100 on cupcakes and macaroons? Does a normal person have a Secret Service squad accompany them to a bakery? Does a relatable person have a quality camera man follow them around to take pictures of them picking up pastries?” A couple days later, Duncan Schroeder picked up the scrunchie-hating baton, huffing that “While the liberal media nastily smeared Melania Trump by reducing her to being “arm candy” and a “trophy wife,” it has nothing but praise for Jill Biden.” 

And Graham returned to complain: “The Bidens may be great lovers. But everything at White House level has a large degree of calculation in it. Everyone should know the gushing liberal newspapers and magazines are aggressively engaged in the politics of humanization.” He also tried for a calculated defense of Melania, insisting that she “began her tenure as First Lady behind the Eight ball. First, the liberal media always adores First Ladies who are Ivy League-educated lawyers or career educators, not just – ick – wives. Second, Melania Trump’s beauty was deployed against her: she was seen as ‘arm candy,’ a ‘trophy wife.’ She resisted any attempt at public affection for the cameras.”

So when Vogue did a cover story on Jill Biden at the end of June, it was a full-on knives-out event for the MRC. Scott Whitlock ranted:

If you’re a Democratic First Lady, you can expect lots of puff pieces from outlets like ABC’s Good Morning America andVoguemagazine. If you’re a Republican? Not as much. GMA journalists on Tuesday gushed over Jill Biden appearing on Vogue for the first time, hailing the “inspiration.”

ABC reporter Janai Norman sounded like she was a PR rep for the Democrat, fawning, “Dr. Jill Biden, the First Lady who is also a former second lady, a current professor who is sometimes called Dr. B. But according to Vogue, in informal settings she’ll say to call her Jill.”

[…]

Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour is a long-time Democratic donor, so we can consider this a donation.

Just like we can consider Whitlock’s hit job a Republican donation? 

Because a Biden could be trashed, Graham trotted out another column:

The cover story comes with a bunch of pretty, posed pictures — of Jill Biden, and Jill with Joe, and Jill with precious Biden grandchildren — all by star photographer Annie Leibovitz. Some have designer captions: “Dr. Biden wears a Michael Kors Collection sweater and skirt.”

Troubling family topics – like Hunter Biden and his infernal laptop – are all airbrushed out.

[…]

There was no Vogue cover story for Melania Trump. Three years ago, Vogue instead was celebrating porn star Stormy Daniels (complete with posed, pretty Annie Leibovitz portraits) as a “catalyst of historic proportions,” destined to ruin the Trumps.

These sticky valentines underline that overall, journalists shouldn’t boast it’s their job to ask tough questions and hold powerful people accountable. Because they seem to do that about half the time. That’s the spin when the Democrats they supported didn’t win.  

Graham didn’t mention that Melania already appeared on the cover of Vogue — in 2005, when she married Donald Trump, and it gushed over her ostentatious $100,000 wedding dress. Ane we see once again Graham denigrating a woman for having an affair with Trump, another utter hypocrisy at the MRC. 

A July 3 column by Jeffrey Lord rehashed all the right-wing talking points — Wintour likes Democrats, Melania wasn’t on the cover — bizarrely called Vogue “corrupt,” then whined: “Under the guise of being a so-called “women’s magazine” Vogue  is not about “women” or style or beauty or anything else. It is, like so many other  American institutions that pretend to be about one thing, in fact about something else entirely. In reality Vogue is about a celebration of all things progressive. … The Vogue< cover of Jill Biden is nothing if not a reminder of the game being played. And millions of Americans are now onto the game. The Devil may indeed wear Prada. But it is also very safe to say the Devil wears Liberalism on her sleeve — and her magazine covers.”

UPDATE: We forgot to note that in March, Graham tried to revive the Jill-cheated story — but he too apparently has no problem with Trump’s multiple marriages and infidelities, so he looks like a hypocrite in doing so.