‘We Are Going to Do This Together’: Jill Biden Calls For Unity, Touts Joe Biden’s Resilience in NC Visit

The potential First Lady had a busy day in NC Tuesday, speaking with veterans and holding rallies in Greenville and Fayetteville.

After a day packed with NC events Tuesday, Dr. Jill Biden wrapped a Fayetteville rally for her husband, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, with a call for unity.  

“We are going to build a better nation because we are going to do this together,” she said.

Her speech comes at a tumultuous time for the country, which is wracked by the novel coronavirus pandemic, a polarizing president, and images of police violence against Black Americans that stirred nationwide racial injustice protests. 

Jill Biden spoke in Greenville and Fayetteville Tuesday, fitting a meet with Fayetteville military families in between. Speaking to a socially distanced crowd at Fayetteville State University, she lamented the struggles of parents under the current administration.

“Over these last four years, so many parents have told me they have more questions than answers,” she said. “For instance: ‘How do I keep my family safe from this pandemic?’ ‘What happens if there’s a school shooting at my kid’s school?’ ‘What if I lose my job?’ ‘How do I tell my kids to be kind when our leaders don’t hold up that same standard?’”

Biden said the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the nation while also inspiring many to look within and appreciate relationships with friends, family and their communities.

“In this pandemic, we’re coming together and holding onto each other,” she said. “We’re finding mercy and grace in the moments we might have taken for granted.”

She went on to say the pandemic also has inspired many to step up to the challenges facing their communities.

“Even in the chaos of this moment, the magnitude of the loss that surrounds us, we keep going, we keep helping our neighbors and showing up for each other, we keep hoping for the better,” she said.

The virus has infected more than 221,000 North Carolinians and killed 3,670. It has seen some rise and fall in recent weeks, although the percentage of tests returning positive—a crucial measure for tracking the virus in the state—has surged to nearly 8% as of Tuesday.

Jill Biden spoke with coronavirus touching the highest offices in the land, between President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Sen. Thom Tillis and more.  

Biden on Tuesday praised her husband’s fortitude, referring to the death of their son, Beau, who passed away in 2015 of a brain tumor.

“Four days after our son Beau’s funeral, I watched Joe shave and put on his suit,” she said. “I watched him steel himself in front of the mirror, take a deep breath, put his shoulders back and walk into a world empty of our son. He went back to work because that’s just who he is.”

Biden said her husband’s resilience in that instance, as well as years before when his first wife and infant daughter were killed in a car accident, makes him uniquely equipped to mend a nation in disrepair.

“Over the years, Joe has faced unimaginable tragedies, and he’s learned how to heal a broken family,” she said. “And it’s the same way you heal a nation—with love and understanding, with small acts of kindness, with bravery and with unwavering faith.”

Biden’s campaign has been less active in North Carolina than the Trump campaign, although the campaign has been ramping up its schedule in the crucial swing state in recent weeks.