November 30, 2021

Melania was cold. Jill is warm.

Ugh. I should have steeled myself against this offensive goo. It's so very predictable. But I wasn't ready — it's still November — and this caught me before I'd prepared myself to simply laugh cynically, which is what it deserves: 

"Jill Biden’s first White House Christmas brings back a warmer, simpler vibe/The first lady chose 'Gifts From the Heart' as this year’s theme, filling rooms with shooting stars and peace doves" (WaPo).

A taste of the holiday fare:
The light, sound and smell of wood fires burning in the Green and Red rooms were just the first sign of the intimacy Jill Biden sought.... Gone are Melania Trump’s imposing — and some said, scary — blood red trees in the East Colonnade, from 2018, which late-night TV host Jimmy Fallon likened to Christmas in hell. Gone are the dozens of life-size “snow people,” wearing scarves and hats, in the first lady’s garden, installed by Michelle Obama in 2015, and moved inside in 2016.... “There’s a whole kind of Chucky element to them,” [Barack Obama] said. “They’re a little creepy.” Instead, Jill Biden’s Colonnade is a lower-key presentation, with shooting stars and peace doves hanging from the ceiling.... Biden’s first foray into holiday decorating at the White House was not glitzy or opulent, but rather an enhanced version of how many American families decorate their own homes, with lots of candles and twinkling lights....

So "some said" Melania's Christmas decorations were "scary." Why not cherry-pick the meanest things "some" are saying about Jill's decorations? I'll just read between the lines and flip the descriptions of Jill's stuff into the negative: It's so thudding uncreative. No grandeur, no awe, just the rich and powerful serving up their idea of what ordinary Americans supposedly do with their own home. 

Now, I must admit that WaPo isn't completely partisan, because — did you notice? — it takes a shot at Michelle Obama too, though the insult is a quote from her husband, who thought her snowmen and -women were "creepy" and Chucky-like. 

Ugh. The competition assigned to first ladies. Who's warm? Who's genuine? Who's got the best taste in clothes and interior decoration? Why is this still going on?

98 comments:

Joe Smith said...

It's too bad DOCTOR Jill doesn't have a cock for the WaPo to suck.

I've never understood the Melania hatred from the left.

Sure, I get the age gap between her and Trump, and the 'she married him for his money' sentiment.

But isn't that true throughout history? The biggest, strongest, richest caveman got the hot cavewoman. Tale as old as time.

They don't even try to hide the propaganda anymore...they just shove it in your face.

Sebastian said...

"Why is this still going on?"

1. Because women like it. 2. Because it helps progs.

tdocer said...

Melania was classy. Jill is childish.

FIFWaPo

BarrySanders20 said...

Who's warm? Who's genuine? Who's got the best taste in clothes and interior decoration? Why is this still going on?

I'm stumnped. If you can't Annsplain it, nobody can.

Big Mike said...

Who's warm?

Melania.

Who's genuine?

Melania.

Who's got the best taste in clothes and interior decoration?

Melania. No contest.

Why is this still going on?

The disgusting type of women who infest the modern Democrat Party.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

Jill won't be doing it like ordinary Americans until she gets one of those holiday projector lights and aims it at the White House.

Ice Nine said...

>Michelle Obama, Jill Biden, Melania Trump.
The competition assigned to first ladies. Who's warm? Who's genuine? Who's got the best taste in clothes?<

Has that last question actually been asked by anyone, anywhere on the planet...outside of the Perkins School for the Blind?

Wince said...

"Jill Biden’s first White House Christmas brings back a warmer, simpler vibe/The first lady chose 'Gifts From the Heart' as this year’s theme, filling rooms with shooting stars and peace doves" (WaPo).

Symbolically,

"Gifts from the heart" ...because of supply chain disruptions.

"shooting stars and peace doves" ...hypersonic missiles and surrender.

tim maguire said...

I know a former journalist who is for the most part is decent and intelligent. But she has a weird tick--she actually believes that her word choice doesn't just paint a picture of realty, it can actually control reality. She can make things worse by describing them as worse, better by describing them as better.

When I read things like this, I don't think it's pure BS. They don't realize that their descriptions are so often irrelevant to what they are describing, that it's determined by and reflective of nothing but the narrative they want to promote. My experience is that they really do believe what they say, that Melania is cold and Jill is warm. If Michelle is creepy, well, she wasn't 10 years ago and is today only because Jill is warm.

rehajm said...

Why is this still going on?

Because it works on women?

rehajm said...

They apparently Jourolisted the propaganda here with mentions, of simpler = better and Melania's blood red trees on all the leftie platforms. Verbatim, it is...

Robert Roy said...

Anytime I'm tempted to think that feminism won, I read crap like this and realize there's still a long, long way to go. Sad when it comes from the supposed champions of women themselves.

Clyde said...

I just want to know if all of the red presents surrounding the East Wing entrance are from China or Russia.

Mike Sylwester said...

Democracy Dies in Darkness!

n.n said...

Lady, one step forward.

WaPooo... All I want for Christmas is sex and gender trolling, two steps backward.

rhhardin said...

It's going on because women will click on it.

wildswan said...

The look is close to Xmas normal. But that just makes it more evident that it is carefully avoiding any reference to the reason for the season. That is (I'll just say it once) incredibly offensive to Christians and it's also unlikable because sneaky. You don't believe, so, OK, don't believe. But don't call evicting Christ from Christmas "enhanced" normalcy. Though, come to think of it, that driving away of Christ is a part of the Christmas story - the part where there was no room at the inn. Yes, if we just think of the White House as the inn and our own little place as the stable, it'll all work.

Mr Wibble said...

Jill Biden's decorations look like the HR ladies hired the guy who does Christmas decorations for mall stores, and gave him a budget that only allowed him to shop at Target.

Even if I didn't always like Melania's choices, at least she had a much better aesthetic sense. Jill... doesn't.

Howard said...

It still goes on because the MSM/DNC cabal is barely holding on to their power. They are in many ways like you deplorables bitterly clinging to the old crumbling structure that for so many decades enabled their unsustainable lifestyle.

Michael K said...

They have to attack Melania because Trump !

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

But no stocking for Hunter's baby in Arkansas? How mean does the Fake Doctor have to be to get bad press?

Scot said...

Heh. I misread "Melania" for "Malia" & briefly pondered if this was something about differences in female hormones.

During the "energy crisis", President Carter ordered an adjustment to the White House thermostat to set an example. Turned out, the WH heat & aircon systems both worked 24/7/365, cycling between each other, to make the temperature match the thermostat precisely.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

we are all so shocked to see the dutiful writers at Wapo(D) spread the Christmas propaganda about the warmth of Jill.

Narr said...

Poliporn.

And why only snow-men and snow-women? (That snow lady, that's my wife!)

Elliott A said...

The left still can't stand the thought that Melania was a success long before she met Donald Trump, English is not her first language and after growing up with communism really loves America. Her upbringing in another country and culture gave her a different sense of esthetics; hence her different Christmas display. After reading Jill Biden's absurd PhD dissertation, it is obvious that Melania has a better command of English.

Freeman Hunt said...

"Christmas decorations are one of the first projects that first ladies tend to after they move in."

Is every First Lady supposed to pretend to be a decorator?

henge2243 said...

I think what they're trying to convey at the Washington Post is that dr. Jill is a dullard with little imagination and even with the help of a staff of assistants, those facts are blindingly obvious. However, she is not Melania so even if she was feeding us homeless-guy shit, we would eat it and love it.

Kai Akker said...

---Who's warm? Who's genuine? Who

cares?

Witness said...

"Why is this still going on?"

Because it gets the clicks, the shares, the likes, the dislikes, the "engagement" that advertisers pay for.

BG said...

I looked at the photos on the official site. I tried to keep an open mind...but the decorating scheme did nothing for me. Purple trees?? The "diversity" tree? Way too busy and crowded! Obama's china...but of course. And lose those big boxes in front of the entrance. Geesh. Reminded me of tempting kids to walk into a trap. What will pop out?

I wonder where they put the Trump's photo on the presidential families tree. In the back under the lowest branch, perhaps? I'd laugh if someone kept putting it front and center.

I remember looking at Melania's Christmas decor and thinking how beautiful it was. I don't remember if there was a theme and I don't care.

Kai Akker said...

---Why is this still going on?

Because it is a physical manifestation of personality. We are interested in knowing about the nation's leaders, at least up to a point. Yes, it's DrJ the First Lady, not UncaJoe the Resident, but they are a couple and it says something about her, and them, both. And the day we stop being interested in personalities, we will all be cyborgs.

Eleanor said...

When I saw all of the blue cutouts hanging in front of the windows, I was reminded of the windows at an elementary school. Like kids had done the decorations with construction paper. The entrance to the West Wing looks like it belongs at the mall. Jill, herself, looks like she shops at Forever 21. If someone showed me pictures of the White House at Christmas as decorated by the most current First Ladies, I could easily pick out which ones are from the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations because the personalities of the three ladies shine through. If that's the goal, all three women succeeded.

LA_Bob said...

Goo is right.

Mostly, the First Lady is only as prized in the press as her husband.

Gerda Sprinchorn said...

File under #zzzzzzzz and #utterly-predictable-self-serving-narrative.

Bilwick said...

Forget the Democide statistics: not thing says "warm" and "welcoming" like statism!

Original Mike said...

"Biden’s first foray into holiday decorating at the White House was not glitzy or opulent, but rather an enhanced version of how many American families decorate their own homes,…"

So they can't find what they want either, eh?

We're having problems finding replacement bulbs for the tree. Tree may be dark this year.

Achilles said...

Ugh. I should have steeled myself against this offensive goo. It's so very predictable.

It is interesting that you pretend this isn't targeted to you or that it hasn't worked on you in the past.

You didn't vote for Trump because of the media attacks on him. You supported Obama because of garbage just like this.

They know what they are doing and they know who it works on.

But part of a preference cascade is allowing people who desperately seek approval to follow the cascade.

Aggie said...

Jill Biden is as plain as pig tracks.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

I really have zero desire to bitch about any of the decorations. They are decorations.
Decadent decorations.

You know what would be cool? decorate the white house with decorations made by the children of our veterans. or something along those lines.

The nation is swirling down the economic toilet and - DECORATIONS! FIRST LADIES! WaPOO cat fight.

Does the pedo Lincoln Project- Antifa white left Nazi arsonists have anything to give?
LOL - nah. nothing but psychopathic destruction.

Gospace said...

Oh, so warm. With pictures of all but one of the grandchildren- so warm, not recognizing the bastard offspring of her wayward child.

Curious George said...

Christmas decorations...pffft. Let's play who would you want to bang.

hombre said...

I’m not inclined to click on WaPo links so I’m just speculating. Is it possible that this fatuous, shallow drivel was written by a woman? Just askin’.

hombre said...

I’m not inclined to click on WaPo links so I’m just speculating. Is it possible that this fatuous, shallow drivel was written by a woman? Just askin’.

Skeptical Voter said...

Well Melania was smart enough not to try to grow vegetables on an old septic tank leach field. Of course if you decide to grow vegetables in such a place, you just might have a couple of Ivy League degrees.

lgv said...

"Why is this still going on?"

My first thought reading the very first sentence.

Besides, the whole thing should be non-religious and include gender neutral snow-people. Must also avoid the torture and exploitation of reindeer, doves, and slave labor (elfin people). Nor, should would acknowledge Santa Clause in any positive manor since he stole the land from the indigenous people of the North Pole. Burning the wood is unnecessary and contributes to the de-forestation that makes global warming even worse.

Maybe the whole thing should be avoided to conserve electricity generated via fossil fuels.

Gahrie said...

The competition assigned to first ladies. Who's warm? Who's genuine? Who's got the best taste in clothes and interior decoration? Why is this still going on?

Well, let's put it this way....99% of men don't give a shit about any of it.

Chris Lopes said...

Joe's been known to get really warm if there's a prepubescent girl around.

Iman said...

I defer to my lovely, interior designer/decorator wife who reviewed Jill B.’s holiday decorations and advised that “Jill Biden’s taste is in her ass.”

PB said...

The costly excess given to White House Christmas decorations is obscene. How about a wreath on the door, a big tree in one room, and a small tree in the private quarters?

Tom Grey said...

Melania's decorations were fabulous. Every one of her four years.
Fabulous.*

If Jill is warm, that would be nice. Fine. OK (but don't use the OK sign).
I doubt that they will be called fabulous by most, or even many news articles. Any?

EAB said...

“Why is this still going on?” Exactly. I saw some article yesterday discussing the criticism of the decorations this year. I couldn’t read it. All I could feel was irritation and sympathy for First Ladies. Having to pretend to care about holiday decorating and facing the petty criticisms each year. I look forward to the day when the First Gentleman deals with this crap. I hope he humorously does some stereotypical male decor…faux hunting cabin, fishing or football theme.

Rollo said...

"Warmth" is something Joe has learned how to fake, and turn on and off.

Jill is not "warm." She's ditzy and attention-hungry.

Melania was "cool" or "cold" if you like, but adults don't need a mommy in the Whie House.

Contrary to the stereotypes, Jill is probably more "high maintenance" than Melania, in the same way that a Yugo needs more attention than a Mercedes.

chickelit said...

Why not cherry-pick the meanest things "some" are saying about Jill's decorations?

Get with the pogram, Althouse: Trumps bad, Bidens good. It doesn't matter how much time passes. This is all so yawningly predictable.

BG said...

How could I forget those blue things hanging with those gold things. No...just no.

Melania's set of decorations with the white trees and ornaments, etc., reminded me of a quiet Wisconsin winter night, everything covered with pristine snow and large snowflakes softly floating down from the sky. Cold? Warm memories.

Just saw an article on the presidential photos tree. Yes, the Trumps were found at the back of the tree. The photo? The couple walking to greet the arrival of the national Christmas tree, with said tree on wagon taking up much of the picture with the Trumps more in the background. A ribbon from the tree is covering most of Melania.

typingtalker said...

Ann Althouse asked, "Why is this still going on?"

Because there are people who like it and pay to read it -- possibly including the owner.

Ceciliahere said...

Doctor Jill Biden’s Xmas decor is unimaginative and so last century (20th). But then the whole Biden Administration is out of style and out of step with 21st C America. The White House looks like Bloomingdale’s 40 years ago. The doctor’s taste is passé in clothing style, decor, etc. Melania was glamorous and gorgeous. Her Xmas decor was modern and reflective of today’s style. And who would you rather have a cocktail with?

ndspinelli said...

One of the authors, Jura Koncius, was just @ my high school 50th reunion in CT. She's written for the Post for a long time.

Kathryn51 said...

My first thought when I saw some of the photos? "Garish". Certainly not cozy or warm.

Of course, my most liberal of FB friends posted their praise w/the predictable "refreshing change".

I thought the Melania's first Christmas (2017) was beautiful and magical with forests of twinkling trees throughout the White House.

madAsHell said...

until she gets one of those holiday projector lights and aims it

What's wrong with having a holiday light projector? Mine has a remote control!!

Chris Lopes said...

"It's too bad DOCTOR Jill doesn't have a cock for the WaPo to suck."

The gender equivalent is called "journalistic cunnilingus."

Robert Marshall said...

"The competition assigned to first ladies. Who's warm? Who's genuine? Who's got the best taste in clothes and interior decoration?"

And, who cares?

First ladies are the baggage that goes along with the men elected president. Shut up and keep the man happy. (I say we dodged a bullet with Clinton suffering from DSB; better Monica taking the incoming, than launching a thermonuclear war.)

I expect it will get especially nauseating if Mayor Pete makes it past Kamala, and then whoever the GOP runs in 2024. What in the world will they say about Chasten? And, what will they call him ... First [what]? Submit your entries in 25 words or less, to the Althouse blog.

Amadeus 48 said...

Dr. Jill is a heavy lift. She got nothing going for her other than leading Dopey Joe around the landscape. Where was she when Senator Gropey Sniffs was taking those daddy/daughter showers with little Ashley?

We have a problem. Someone call the Department of Family Services.

jim5301 said...

Democrats hate Republicans and everything they do. Republicans hate Democrats and everything they do. Yawn. Merry Christmas everyone.

Gunner said...

The last "traditional" mother First Lady was Laura Bush and the media either ignored her or fiendishly blamed her for a car accident 40 years beforehand.

Greg The Class Traitor said...

So, I just looked at "Dr Jill's" decorations.

What pathetic shit.

Blue balloons? WTF?

Christmas is red and green, so this moron goes with orange and blue? Does she have some sort of sever vision problem?

Big Mike said...

Christmas is red and green, so this moron goes with orange and blue?

Go Illini! Go Auburn! Go Gators! Go Cavaliers!

Tommy Duncan said...

Melania is hot, Jill is not.

Melania is cool, Jill's a tool.

Jim at said...

"Hey. I know. Let's incessantly attack a woman, her husband and her child for the better part of four years. And then later? Let's ponder why she comes across as cold. Deal?"

Those snarling bitches are lucky Melania didn't come after them and physically rip out their throats.

Maynard said...

Where is Jackie Kennedy when we need a classy model-type POTUS wife with a European background?

jim5301 said...

Just curious Greg, which of the decorations shown here do you find so objectionable:

https://www.zawya.com/mena/en/multimedia/gallery/211130075329ONIU/

Michael K said...

This is at the top of my list of predictable stories in the leftist press.

rcocean said...

"I've never understood the Melanie hate."

Really? She's married to Trump. That's it. They've taken the contempt they showed toward nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush (remember all the jokes that she was his mother?) and times it by x10 for Melanie.

They took the most NON-political, classy, beautiful, First Lady since Jackie Kennedy, and trashed her taste, her kid, her interior designs, her wardrobe, her love for her husand, and everything else they could sneer snark and jeer at. All because they hate Donald Trump.

Example no. 1,234 of what contempible swine the Entertainment INDUSTRY and the Regime media are.

RoseAnne said...

These comments inspired me to look up the actual White House pictures. Some comments in no particular order. My response to most designs anywhere is they would be improved by taking away 10% and it is true with the White House pictures as well. Some were not bad but were just "too much".

I didn't get the "warm versus cold" vibe of the First Ladies from it. Some of Melania's were hauntingly beautiful while some were odd. Her designs showed me something new; Jill's were more familiar. If I were tasked with setting up White House guidelines for decorations, they would probably be closer to Jill's for sake of tradition but they would not be new or innovative as were Melania's.

The stockings for the "6" grandchildren was an unforced error; they have 7 so it raised questions of course. The boxes surrounding the entrance was another. It did look a mall decoration and, given supply chain issues, somewhat crass. My biggest complaint was the White House "thanking" the "heroes of the pandemic" while they are simultaneously pushing policies leading to those same people being fired.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The corrupt collective left never tire of shitting on the Trumps.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Definitely a Zappa inspired decor.

Lucien said...

I don’t really care, do U?

gilbar said...

Jill?
wasn't she a teen aged cocktail waitress on the Jersey Shore?
wasn't she a twenty something babysitter? That was having an affair with the kid's father?
When the mom committed suicide, didn't the baby sitter MARRY the guy she was having the affair with?

i'm Not sure that's "warm" unless "warm" means Sleazy

Butkus51 said...

Floozies gotta flooz.

Narr said...

I followed the link and found about what I expected in a quick look. What trashy people the Bidens are, and trust me, I know trash.

Farther down, there's a header of an opinion column: The Republicans' plan to sabotage Biden's presidency. Can you imagine?

Hahaha and heeheehee.

Greg The Class Traitor said...

jim5301 said...
Just curious Greg, which of the decorations shown here do you find so objectionable:

https://www.zawya.com/mena/en/multimedia/gallery/211130075329ONIU/


The 3rd one looks like something from the Six Million Dollar Man./ Universal Studios tour

The Orange Present Arch behind purple columns is hideous

The 3rd to last, the blue hanging shit, is mindlessly stupid, and has nothing to do with Christmas.

The picture the WH put out (not on that slide show, but http://ace.mu.nu/ has it) if "Dr. Jill" in that hallway, in fishnet stockings, was particularly classless

KellyM said...

I looked at the picture of all the red boxes piled up around the doors and thought of a mid-market store’s décor – giving some encouragement to shop but also realistic that the goods are probably meh.

On the other hand, Melania’s White House displays always made me think of the massive ones done by the three main department stores in Paris. The windows are all beautifully decorated; each store chooses a theme and goes crazy competing with the others. The interiors are glitzy and exciting, and you walk around just staring at it all.

The other thing I noticed this year was the US Postal Service is offering the “Official Biden White House” tree ornament for purchase at the counter. I don’t recall ever seeing ones peddled during the Trump Administration – was there ones for previous administrations?

Paul Mac said...

It would be easy to say it is because the folks at writers & editors NYT are shallow partisan hacks, but it would be even easier to say that it is because they are sexist immigrant hating bigots.

Chris N said...

I look at a color, then a photo of someone I might disagree with politically, then BOOM.

Moral judgments all day, baby.

And they fuckin' pay me to be a member of some group with relative moral worth measured against other groups.





Chris Lopes said...

"Christmas is red and green, so this moron goes with orange and blue?

Go Illini! Go Auburn! Go Gators! Go Cavaliers!"



GO BRONCOS!!!!!!!

Aurora said...

Divorced non-Catholics have to get an annulment of their previous marriages in order to marry a Catholic validly. It appears that Dr Jill did not get an annulment. If so, then she and Joe are living in adultery. Another reason Joe should not present himself for communion in the Catholic Church.

gpm said...

A conundrum.

Does Howard's "you deplorables" equate to "you people," giving us a trifecta today for the insults that show why everyone should just ignore Howard's posts?

--gpm

Tom Grey said...

I didn't read the article, so don't know, but guess that WaPa fails to include the true fact that the Bidens have 7, not 6, grandkids.
Not giving a shit about your bastard grandchild is not very warm of Doc Jill.

Trump getting divorced twice from lovely women, to sleep with and then marry some younger woman, is his biggest flaw. It's also an alpha male kind of cad-slut behavior that most feminists say they're against. ("cad" is a weak male version of "slut" - probably because so many men dream of being a successful womanizer)

Christmas is a Christian holiday. Glad it's being celebrated with "Merry Christmas".

Big Mike said...

My maternal grandfather came from the corner of Europe where Melania's family is from. So all I have to say to the Melania haters is Jebi se in umri.

JAORE said...

Hey! Lighten up on Dr. Jill.

Do you know how many hours she volunteers aiding a dementia patient?

Kindly ol' Doc Jill is right up there with Mother Theresa.

Gojuplyr831@gmail.com said...

"Jill's taste is in her ass" Gotta disagree, Joe is tasteless

Big Mike said...

@Chris Lopes, and da Bears. Don’t forget da Bears.

Mr. Forward said...

Jebi se in umbra. Google translator. Let's go Brandon.

rwnutjob said...

Completely tone deaf. the White House gingerbread house display has a tiny gas station right next to the White House minus price of course.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Inspired by John Wayne Gacy?

eLocke said...

@BG

A ribbon from the tree is covering most of Melania

Thanks for the visual.

tolkein said...

Short summary - Democrat First Lady good, Republican First Lady bad.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

I hope Jill decorates the tree with ornaments with images of

these guys
on them.

Bunkypotatohead said...

They didn't hang a stocking for the seventh grandchild because they're still hoping for a late term abortion of that one.