Jill Biden Salutes Betty Ford in a Speechless Moment
National First Ladies Conference highlights Ford’s courage and vulnerability and declares the field of first ladies studies is ‘flourishing.’
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F56adaee1-8f37-4204-8b17-8b41fedf5149_1456x1048.png)
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden was mostly speechless when she made a stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Friday during the Gerald R. Ford Foundation’s Annual First Ladies Luncheon to honor former First Lady Betty Ford for her barrier-breaking courage in publicly disclosing her experiences with breast cancer and substance use disorder.
Biden, who was reportedly under the weather, arrived at the event to speak about her Women’s Health Research Initiative. In an audibly raspy voice, Biden told a crowd of more than 300 that when she woke up that morning she realized she lost her voice. Before handing over the podium to Carolyn Mazure, chairwoman of the initiative, Biden told attendees she was uncertain how she would deliver her speech and asked herself, “What would Betty do?”
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffca901d0-dea5-465f-a7ca-a6e86b81cafa.heic)
She answered that question with her presence at the event. Mazure delivered the first lady’s remarks describing how Ford spoke out about her cancer diagnosis in 1974 and again in revealing her addiction to prescription medication and alcohol in 1978—both taboo to talk about at the time—helped move women’s health forward.
In the town where Betty Ford grew up, Biden saluted her predecessor and commemorated 50 years since Ford was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Brooke Clement, director of the Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum, called Biden’s visit historic since it was the first time a sitting first lady attended the annual luncheon.
“It was thrilling and a true honor,” Clement said. “She was not feeling well and she still came, so that is a testament to her, as well.”
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4106c8fc-33de-4908-85c7-25a867a76244.heic)
Biden departed, but the focus on first ladies continued on the day leading up to National First Ladies Day. The luncheon was followed by the first-ever First Ladies Association for Research and Education (FLARE) national conference on first ladies. The conference, “First Lady Betty Bord: 50th Anniversary Celebration,” was held in partnership with the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum, and American University’s School of Public Affairs.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fafbcf3f4-4ce9-415a-962c-145ccaf1723e.heic)
Attendees heard first-hand stories about Betty Ford and the evolution of the field of first ladies research from discussion panels that included her daughter, Susan Ford Bales; Lisa McCubbin Hill, author of Betty Ford: First Lady, Woman’s Advocate, Survivor, Trailblazer; Myra Gutin, professor emerita of communications at Rider University; Diana B. Carlin, professor emerita of communications at St.Louis University; Sheila Rabb Weidenfeld, Ford’s former press secretary; Nancy Kegan Smith, president of FLARE and former director of the Presidential Materials Division at the National Archives and Records Administration; and Stacy Cordery, professor of history at Iowa State University and biographer. The discussions were moderated by Clement and Anita McBride, a former chief of staff to former First Lady Laura Bush.
At the top of the discussion, Hill quoted Betty Ford, who said becoming first lady “can happen to anyone.” In 1973, Betty Ford was preparing for her husband, Gerald R. Ford’s retirement from Congress when Spiro Agnew, then vice president in the Richard Nixon administration, resigned when he pleaded no contest to a single felony charge of tax evasion. Nixon replaced him with House Republican leader Gerald Ford. Ten months later, Hill said, the Watergate scandal unraveled Nixon’s presidency and he resigned, elevating Gerald and Betty Ford into the White House.
“It was an extraordinary leap,” Hill said.
From the start of Betty Ford’s time as first lady she was faced with a devastating breast cancer diagnosis. Although, the story of how Betty Ford received that news in 1973 confounded the conference audience members. The former first lady was not told first by her doctors of the diagnosis, Hill said. President Ford was informed first of the breast cancer diagnosis and Betty Ford was later invited in and told what was found. Within days of a biopsy, Betty Ford went into surgery and wouldn’t know until she woke up whether a mastectomy was performed. The impact of her public disclosure, said Gutin, was revolutionary. And, the uncertainty about how the public would react to the news was quelled when the first lady reportedly received about 55,000 letters and gifts of support.
The conference went on to highlight other aspects of Betty Ford’s leadership and impact including another public disclosure of her addiction to pain medication and alcohol, and her advocacy for the Equal Rights Amendment.
One Betty Ford quote read out loud elicited a breakout applause from the audience:
“Being ladylike does not require silence.”
The second panel featured a series of rarely-seen film footage of Betty Ford and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter at the first-ever first ladies national conference “Modern First Ladies: Private Lives and Public Duties convened by Betty Ford and Carter at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in 1984. Former First Lady “Lady Bird” Johnson was scheduled to attend the historic conference, but had to back out due to bronchitis.
Some of the outtakes included Betty Ford saying, “I was a sounding board for my husband …that’s where I was valuable to my husband.”
Both first ladies agreed the hardest part of their position was reading the morning newspapers.
“The hardest part was trying to make the press understand what you are doing,” Betty Ford said in the film. She went on to say she was unhappy about the criticism she received in the press and would have liked “a little more patience.”
The conference wrapped up with tracking the arc of first ladies history by Professor Stacy A. Cordery who saluted her former professor—first ladies history pioneer Lewis L. Gould, EugeneC. Barker Centennial Professor Emeritus in American History at the University of Texas at Austin.
“The field of first ladies studies is flourishing today,” Cordery said.
Looking ahead, Smith and McBride agree the conference signals a pivotal moment for the field of first ladies history.
Betty Ford’s personal crises and vulnerability transformed women’s health, Smith said, adding it extends to how current First Lady Dr. Jill Biden is now carrying the baton in her Women’s Health Research initiative. “Betty Ford essentially changed that feeling overnight by saying the word ‘breast cancer,’” Smith said.
McBride noted that first ladies’ vulnerability gives people courage.
“That’s the trickle down effect of having a [high profile] person willing to expose challenges, difficulties and tragedies,” she said. “That can connect us. It’s relatable to people who are suffering.”
Weekly Wrap
Weekly Wrap is a collection of headlines from the past week. Some publications have paywalls.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe4d5f995-914c-426a-b791-f6d16b2ec8ec_600x473.png)
East Wing Magazine
A Day for First Ladies
April 24, 2024 — Scattered across the country, a little-known contingent of influential people are working diligently behind the scenes to help give America’s first ladies the recognition they say is long overdue. They are the descendants of first ladies, the Canton-Ohio based National First Ladies Library & Museum, historians, and community builders that make up the National First Ladies Day Commission (NFLDC), created in 2021. And, they are on a mission to help establish a federal holiday—National First Ladies Day. Read more
ABC News
Jill Biden Launches Bike Ride for Wounded Service Members, Stresses Need to Support Vets
April 24, 2024 — Jill Biden on Wednesday sounded a red horn to start the Wounded Warrior Project's annual Soldier Ride from the White House lawn, using the launch of the multiday bike ride to stress the importance of supporting service members. Read more
National Geographic
Séances at the White House? Why These First Ladies Turned to the Occult
April 24, 2024 — The White House has hosted its share of prominent people: politicians, writers, musicians, scientists––and mediums. Reflecting Americans’ belief in spirits unseen, some of the country’s first families held séances at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. They nursed their grief with the help of mediums, demonstrating that séances aren’t only about the deceased; they’re also about the living. Read more
Oprah Daily
What Happened When First Lady Michelle Obama Asked Me a Question I Wasn't Prepared For
April 23, 2024 — The First Lady had just finished a meeting, and I was up next. Her scheduler called me in. I stood waiting as the previous meeting-goers poured out, and once I was ushered in, I sat down. She asked first how I was doing, just as she had when she interviewed me for the deputy social secretary role I’d held for two years. I wanted to scream, I’m fighting for my life out here, ma’am, but instead I answered with a very polite “I’m doing great. Thank you so much for asking. How are you?” Like she was going to sit and tell me how she actually was doing, as if we were friends. “Oh, I can’t complain,” she said. Read more