Jill Biden Trends on Twitter After Visiting Ukraine and Meeting the First Lady

First lady Jill Biden traveled to Ukraine on Sunday and met Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zolenska. Although the trip was announced, President Joe Biden has recently increased military aid to Ukraine against the war with Russia. Dr. Jill Biden met with the first lady at a school that had been converted for refugees and met with the wife of President Volodymyr Zelensky who has not been seen in public since February when the Russian invasion began. Dr. Biden felt that this was important to ” show the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop, and this war has been brutal.”

On this Mother’s Day, my heart is with you, First Lady Olena Zelenska, and all of the brave and resilient mothers of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/tCMXCXhgiY

— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) May 8, 2022

Online, she began to trend on Twitter after posting her visit to Twitter, writing that “On this Mother’s Day, my heart is with you, First Lady Olena Zelenska, and all of the brave and resilient mothers of Ukraine.” This is also an important moment as it is rare for first ladies to visit war zones, as the last first lady to do so was Laura Bush, who visited Afghanistan in 2008. Mike Sington, a reporter, and NBCUniversal senior executive wrote “First Lady Jill Biden meets with Ukrainian refugees. Everyone was in tears, including the First Lady,” online.

BREAKING: First lady Jill Biden crossed the border into Ukraine, making an unannounced visit to the country amid Russia’s ongoing invasion. She met with Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska, who had not appeared in public since the Feb. 24 Russian invasion. https://t.co/vTgDSilA8Z

— Tyler Pager (@tylerpager) May 8, 2022

The online response was mixed, as to be expected, but many compare this to former first lady Melania Trump, who was criticized after she wore a jacket that said “I really don’t care. Do U?” as she boarded a plane to visit a detention center with children separated from their parents. Although she claims she only wore the jacket to board the plane, and did not wear it to visit the children and it was a message for the media, many found this inappropriate.

Dr. Jill Biden really does care. Do you?

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) May 9, 2022

“This is how a real first lady acts” one person commented on Twitter. Although there was some pushback online, as Buzz Patterson tweets “Why is Jill Biden in Ukraine?” Some people agreed as the war divides many, with others saying that this was an act of compassion from Dr. Biden.