You may recall that perpetually annoying Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell managed to be not annoying for long enough to tweet this yesterday afternoon from Lincoln Financial Field at the 49ers-Eagles game:
Possibly last post. pic.twitter.com/8sKrzNynRw
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) January 29, 2023
We’ll admit it: we snickered.
We snickered at something else, too, but for a very different reason. See, First Lady Jill Biden was at the game, too. She was seated next to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. And, well, apparently her presence was pretty swoonworthy for the game’s announcers, who dutifully insisted on referring to her as “Dr. Jill Biden.”
And Megyn Kelly was among the viewers who found it really obnoxious. She said so, too:
Announcers for this Eagles-49ers game just spotted the First Lady in a box and of course call her “Dr. Jill Biden.” Wonder if she realizes what a wannabe she looks like insisting on this fake title. Get a real MD or just work on your self-esteem.
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) January 29, 2023
Well, as you can imagine, that didn’t go over terribly well with all the Jill Biden stans out there, and it didn’t take long for them to seize and pounce all over Kelly for her brazen show of disrespect for the good doctor.
Before we get into that, we should note that some people have called Kelly out for referring to Sebastian Gorka as “Dr. Sebastian Gorka” in the past (Gorka has a PhD in political science, which is something that Dr. Jill Biden definitely does not have):
You’ll be telling that to Dr. Seb Gorka?
— Matthew Cooper (@mattizcoop) January 29, 2023
i’m sure you feel the same, just need some quotes on these “dr sebastian gorkas” pic.twitter.com/sJ0C9CRrFm
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) January 29, 2023
this selective outrage seems a bit forced pic.twitter.com/sviIuNM0BW
— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) January 29, 2023
It’s true, she did refer to him as such, despite the fact that he is not a medical doctor. But one could argue that Kelly was just being respectful to a guest on her show. Also, as we mentioned above:
Jill Biden doesn’t have a PhD. https://t.co/OC2srfp9uo
— Luke Thompson (@ltthompso) January 30, 2023
It’s also worth noting that Gorka doesn’t have an army of white knights behind him ready to unleash hell on anyone who doesn’t call him “Dr. Gorka.” Like, Jill Biden’s white knights are something else:
Your pettiness is sad.
— Badd Company (@BaddCompani) January 29, 2023
Actresses gonna actress.
— David Garrett • DG! (@DGontheRadio) January 29, 2023
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) January 30, 2023
You sound bitter!
— Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) January 30, 2023
More desperate than somebody with a doctorate rather than an MD wanting to be called “Dr.”? Beating the dead horse of Jill Biden’s title for no particular reason two years after it briefly became a thing.
— Kurt Andersen (@KBAndersen) January 30, 2023
Yeah, but it’s still very much a thing, though. Conservatives who don’t feel like sticking a “Dr.” in front of Jill Biden’s name are branded disrespectful and misogynistic.
This is the strangest hill to die on. Like the strangest most bizarre thirsty trying to stay relevant but legit have nothing to hold onto hill to die on.
— Brooke Hammerling (@brooke) January 30, 2023
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1619873036697477122
You really are pathetic
— jim manley (@jamespmanley) January 30, 2023
You’re a disgrace to the journalism profession. Shame on you.
— Laith Alkhouri (@MENAanalyst) January 29, 2023
Whoa, dude. Take it easy!
PhDs existed before MDs. You sound jealous and petty.
— Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) January 29, 2023
Or maybe she’s just tired of watching people bend over backwards to puff up Jill Biden’s already-puffed-up ego and thinks it’s about damn time that Jill Biden just give it a rest with the “I’m a doctor” pretentiousness.
When the worst criticism you can muster of the First Lady is her use of a title she legitimately earned…
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) January 29, 2023
Uh-huh.
You know, all these throne-sniffing dweebs who are angry with Megyn Kelly think they’re angry at Megyn Kelly for insulting Jill Biden. But if they were being honest with themselves, they’d realize that the real reason they’re so mad at her is that she’s absolutely right.
Condoleezza Rice has an actual PhD and I've never heard her called Dr. Rice.
— Holden (@Holden114) January 30, 2023
https://t.co/pclV5JpAu8 pic.twitter.com/k0PpCpJzOb
— Nicholas Grossman (@NGrossman81) January 30, 2023
Doesn't quite disprove my point. If the press has this supposed respect for these titles it would have been commonplace to address her as such as much as Jill Biden.
— Holden (@Holden114) January 30, 2023
Finding an archived reference from 15 years ago is quite the sleuthing. Meanwhile, look at their respective Twitter accounts. The silliness comes from the idea promulgated by some that it is disrespectful *not* to call her "Dr. Biden." Tribalism is one helluva drug. pic.twitter.com/a5thLaBeJA
— Jay Caruso (@JayCaruso) January 30, 2023
Amazing.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) January 30, 2023
The Jill Biden stans are the pathetic ones, and “Dr.” Biden is only too eager to encourage them.
Insisting on the title "Dr." is pompous & entitled enough for Ph.Ds, but a doctorate in education is in no way more deserving of the honorific than my juris doctor. Everybody knows this, but partisans have to defend her out of sheer tribalism. https://t.co/Qq5Kk4L34K
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) January 30, 2023
Editor’s note: This post has been updated with additional text and tweets.
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