Wall Street Journal draws backlash over op-ed urging Jill Biden to drop ‘doctor’ title
Joseph Epstein #JosephEpstein
Several public figures and others on Twitter are condemning The Wall Street Journal for an op-ed piece published Friday that suggested incoming first lady Jill Biden should drop the “Dr.” title from her name, with some saying the piece was “trash” and “misogynistic.”
The op-ed, written by essayist and short-story writer Joseph Epstein, argues, “‘Dr. Jill Biden’ sounds and feels fraudulent, not to say a touch comic,” opening the piece by addressing President-elect Joe Biden’s wife as “Madame First Lady-Mrs. Biden-Jill-kiddo.”
“Your degree is, I believe, an Ed.D., a doctor of education, earned at the University of Delaware through a dissertation with the unpromising title ‘Student Retention at the Community College Level: Meeting Students’ Needs,'” Epstein writes. “A wise man once said that no one should call himself ‘Dr.’ unless he has delivered a child.”
“Think about it, Dr. Jill, and forthwith drop the doc,” the writer adds.
By Saturday afternoon, “Joseph Epstein” and “Dr. Biden” were the number one and number three top trending topics on Twitter in the U.S.
In the opinion piece, Epstein, who currently serves as an Emeritus Lecturer of English at Northwestern University, noted that he “taught at Northwestern University for 30 years without a doctorate or any advanced degree.”
“The Ph.D. may once have held prestige, but that has been diminished by the erosion of seriousness and the relaxation of standards in university education generally, at any rate outside the sciences,” Epstein argues.
“As for your Ed.D., Madame First Lady, hard-earned though it may have been, please consider stowing it, at least in public, at least for now,” Epstein concludes. “Forget the small thrill of being Dr. Jill, and settle for the larger thrill of living for the next four years in the best public housing in the world as First Lady Jill Biden.”
Several people, from medical doctors and PhD holders to political figures, took to Twitter to criticize Epstein’s argument.
Chasten Buttigieg, husband of former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, tweeted Saturday, “The author could’ve used fewer words to just say ‘ya know in my day we didn’t have to respect women.'”
Fellow education scholars also came to Biden’s defense, with Dr. Ebony Elizabeth Thomas of the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education writing, “President and Dr. Biden will be how they are addressed. Period.”
Multiple users holding medical degrees also vocalized their support for Biden to use the “Dr.” title, including Dr. Cathleen London, a family medicine physician from Maine.
“Dr. Biden can absolutely use her honorific,” London tweeted. “It was not bestowed upon her, she earned it. Those of us with MD will not suffer for her using it.”
The Hill has reached out to The Wall Street Journal for comment.
Biden, who has worked as an English professor at Northern Virginia Community College since 2009, has indicated that she plans to continue teaching even as first lady.
“If we get to the White House, I’m gonna continue to teach,” she told “CBS Sunday Morning” in August. “It’s important, and I want people to value teachers and know their contributions, and lift up the profession.”
Biden also reportedly plans to use her background in education to influence her platform as first lady, with a close source telling Yahoo News earlier this month that Biden plans to advocate for debt-free community college once she moves into the White House.