Jill Biden has responded after a male journalist advised her to drop the "Dr." part in her name, even going as far as to refer to the title as "fraudulent".
Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Joseph Epstein argued that despite the fact Dr. Biden has a doctorate in education from the University of Delaware, she should "drop the doc" as the title "feels fraudulent".
And his reasoning? Well, he says that a "wise man" once said that no one should "call himself Dr." unless "he has delivered a child".
Take a read of what the journalist wrote about the First Lady-elect's title:
"Madame First Lady—Mrs. Biden—Jill—kiddo: a bit of advice on what may seem like a small but I think is a not unimportant matter. Any chance you might drop the 'Dr.' before your name?
"Dr. Jill Biden sounds and feels fraudulent, not to say a touch comic. Your degree is, I believe, an Ed.D., a doctor of education, earned at the University of Delaware through a dissertation with the unpromising title 'Student Retention at the Community College Level: Meeting Students' Needs'.
"A wise man once said that no one should call himself 'Dr.' unless he has delivered a child. Think about it, Dr. Jill, and forthwith drop the doc."
Needless to say, the piece has led to backlash against the writer and the publication, referring to it as "sexist".
Michael LaRosa, the spokesperson for Jill Biden, took to Twitter to write: "@jamestaranto, you and the @WSJ should be embarrassed to print the disgusting and sexist attack on @DrBiden running on the @WSJopinion page.
"If you had any respect for women at all you would remove this repugnant display of chauvinism from your paper and apologize to her."
Historian Kevin Kruse shared: "It's weird -- I saw all of the Indiana Jones movies in theaters and I don't remember any guys yelling that he didn't deserve to be called 'Dr. Jones' in any of them."
Writer Eric Boehlert wrote: "Re: this WSJ/Jill Biden idiocy—you know how many liberal writers bit their tongue for four years and politely refrained from criticizing worst FLOTUS in history???? Biden’s haven’t even moved into WH and the right-wing garbage already being thrown."
Even Hillary Clinton weighed in, writing: "Her name is Dr. Jill Biden. Get used to it."
And on December 14, Dr. Biden herself took to Twitter to respond to the saga, albeit indirectly.
She wrote: "Together, we will build a world where the accomplishments of our daughters will be celebrated, rather than diminished."
As for Epstein, it has been reported that Epstein's profile has been taken off Northwestern University's website, where he was listed as an "emeritus lecturer of English".
The university also said in a statement that "Northwestern is firmly committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion, and strongly disagrees with Mr. Epstein’s misogynistic views.”
