Journalists and other liberal activists who spend an unhealthy amount of time online expressed outrage this weekend over a Wall Street Journal op-ed urging Joe Biden‘s wife to stop referring to herself as Dr. Jill Biden.
Dr. Biden, who holds a doctorate degree in education (Ed.D.) from the University of Delaware, has long insisted on being identified as a doctor. Apart from being married to Joe Biden, it is perhaps her most defining feature as an individual.
Democrats immediately seized on the Journal op-ed, which was authored by celebrated essayist Joseph Epstein. A spokesman for Dr. Biden demanded an apologize for the “repugnant display of chauvinism.” Biden’s own spokeswoman denounced the op-ed as “patronizing, sexist, elitist drivel.”
Most journalists agreed and rallied to the doctor’s defense, as did the Merriam-Webster Twitter account: The word ‘doctor’ comes from the Latin word for “teacher.” https://t.co/wUihrn6Hyq — Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) December 12, 2020.
Dr. Sebastian Gorka, Ph.D., a prominent Trump adviser, was routinely mocked for demanding proper recognition for the political-science doctorate he earned at Corvinus University of Budapest.
A Washington Post analysis from 2017 found that mainstream media outlets refused to identify Gorka as a doctor and noted that journalists have long frowned on the notion of conferring the title on anyone who isn’t an actual physician.
