While speaking with the families of National Guard members at the White House on December 4, First Lady Jill Biden was asked a question she seemed to want to avoid. In video footage of the final moments of the event, Dr. Biden is seen hugging the children in attendance while Christmas music plays. What should have been a joyous ending to a seasonal event quickly soured when a journalist in the room kept asking the same question, “Dr. Biden, do you support the pardon of Hunter?” referring to the controversial decision of President Joe Biden to give his son, Hunter Biden, a full pardon ahead of the two cases pending against him. The response given could turn out to be yet another controversial moment for Jill.
“Of course I support the pardon of my son.”
First lady Jill Biden reacted to Pres. Biden’s decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, who was convicted on tax evasion and federal gun charges and was due for sentencing in December. https://t.co/f3HiPV3QIz pic.twitter.com/wUwoQTyCFX
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) December 2, 2024
At first, Jill seems to ignore the question entirely, continuing to play the role of first lady, spreading cheer and giving warm embraces. But when she finally shouts the answer, “Of course I support the pardon of my son,” it becomes clear that there’s something going on beneath the surface. Possibly something only a professionally trained eye can catch. So, we at Nicki Swift asked our in-house body language expert and behavior analyst, Traci Brown, CSP, for her thoughts on the matter, and Brown had quite the revelations to share.
Jill Biden’s body language indicates a desire to avoid the question
Similar to Jill Biden’s feud with Kamala Harris, body language expert Traci Brown immediately noticed that Dr. Biden was doing her best to ice out the reporter, telling us, “Besides ignoring the question at first and continuing to hug the kids, when she gets to the mic, she barely gets over to it.” Instead of putting in the effort to go all the way to the microphone, Jill just leans toward the podium. This makes her answer almost inaudible, even though she appears to be shouting.
“So it’s something she really doesn’t want to address and wants to get out of there as quick as possible,” Brown continued. Which honestly makes sense, especially considering the pardon of Hunter Biden has been deeply unpopular with half of Americans, according to a YouGov poll. When President Joe Biden announced on December 1 that he would be issuing a full pardon to his son, many on both sides of the aisle were quick to point out that Joe had repeatedly promised he would not interfere with or commute his son’s sentence. As Joe circles around his last days in office, his final actions have come under scrutiny — and this could easily be spilling over into Jill’s life in a way she doesn’t want to discuss publicly. However, there does seem to be one part of this question that’s a sticky pain point for Jill and her answer regarding her stepson.
Jill Biden seems hung up on the word ‘pardon’
Even though Dr. Jill Biden has a history of being shady, there was a moment in her response to reporters that Traci Brown, CSP, took note of. “Of interest is when she says the word ‘pardon,’ she closes her eyes for an extended period and raises her eyebrows,” Brown said. This type of facial response can often indicate the subject is a tender one. Brown continued, “It’s typically because it’s something they don’t want to see.” The question was certainly a loaded one, especially since Trump has used Hunter Biden’s conviction to swipe at the entire Biden family.
“And of course there’s lots of negativity and controversy around the topic. Raised eyebrows show emphasis,” Brown said. Dr. Biden’s body language makes it clear she would rather not be discussing the actions of her stepson or husband at that exact moment. If anything, she appears to be incredibly over the whole debacle. Hopefully there will be time for rest and relaxation for Jill and her entire family once they finally exit the White House.
