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    At the Japan State Dinner, Jill Biden Turns to Oscar de la Renta

    The first lady was glittering in crystals — four days after Melania Trump stepped out in pink at a Palm Beach fund-raiser. Together, the pictures offer a harbinger of what is to come.There were cherry blossoms. There were silk and glass butterflies. There were toasts. There was an entree inspired by a California roll and a performance by Paul Simon. But before that, there was the photo op, and the fashion.On Wednesday evening, as the Bidens hosted Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan and his wife, Yuko Kishida, at the fifth state dinner of the Biden administration, Dr. Jill Biden, wearing an evening dress from Oscar de la Renta, stood with her husband to greet their guests of honor at the North Portico.Designed by Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim, the dress flowed in a watery fade from sapphire blue to light silver and was covered in hand-embroidered floral geometric beading.Why did it matter? It wasn’t as symbolically obvious as the cherry blossom print gown worn by Naomi Biden or Hillary Clinton’s heavy silk caftan, but in opting for de la Renta, the first lady was not simply supporting an American company that represents the melting pot myth of the country. She was connecting to a longstanding relationship: Oscar de la Renta has dressed almost every first lady since Jackie Kennedy; Dr. Biden first wore the label for her inaugural state dinner in 2022.On a night meant to underscore another powerful relationship — that of the United States and Japan — and reaffirm the strength of that mutual commitment through political stagecraft, the label was an apt choice.And it suggested that Dr. Biden, who has not always seemed interested in the game of fashion diplomacy, is gearing up with every means at her disposal to help amplify her husband’s message, not just as president but as the Democratic presidential nominee as he faces off against an opponent who revels in the reality TV nature of politics — complete with costumes.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Melania Trump to Attend Fund-Raiser for the Log Cabin Republicans

    Melania Trump, who has been mostly absent from public view while her husband, Donald J. Trump, campaigns for president this year, will appear at a fund-raiser at Mar-a-Lago on April 20 for the Log Cabin Republicans, the group’s president said.The event, which was first reported by Politico, is a return of sorts to the political arena for Mrs. Trump, who has consistently stayed away from campaign events.Mr. Trump has insisted for months that Mrs. Trump would join him on the trail. He invokes her often during his rallies, to cheers from the crowd, even as she has not traveled with him. And she did not join him at a Super Tuesday party at Mar-a-Lago, the couple’s home in Palm Beach, Fla.Last month, Mrs. Trump made a rare public appearance with Mr. Trump, accompanying him when he cast his ballot during Florida’s primary. When asked if she would appear more regularly this year, Mrs. Trump replied, “Stay tuned.”Mrs. Trump remains a popular surrogate for the former president, but she has shown little interest in hitting the campaign trail.The fund-raiser for the Log Cabin Republicans, a group of L.G.B.T. conservatives, will still keep her largely out of the public eye. The group’s president, Charles T. Moran, said that Richard Grenell, Mr. Trump’s former ambassador to Germany, was also set to appear.Mrs. Trump has maintained ties to the Log Cabin Republicans for years. In a financial disclosure last year, she reported receiving a $250,000 payment from the group in December 2022. On Twitter that month, the group posted a photo saying she was the special guest at a “private dinner” and thanking her for “continuing the projects she worked on while in the White House.”Mrs. Trump’s few public appearances over the last year have been largely disconnected to Mr. Trump’s campaign. Last month, she joined Mr. Trump as he hosted Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, at Mar-a-Lago.In January, she delivered a eulogy at the funeral for her mother, Amalija Knavs. And she gave a speech last December at a naturalization ceremony in Washington, where she told new American citizens that citizenship meant “actively participating in the democratic process and guarding our freedom.”In November, she joined Mr. Trump at a funeral for his older sister. And she attended a memorial service for Rosalynn Carter with other first ladies from both parties. It was the first occasion that all of the living first ladies had been in one place since George H.W. Bush’s funeral in 2018. More

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    ¿Dónde está Melania Trump y qué papel tendrá en la campaña de 2024?

    Mientras su marido busca regresar a la Casa Blanca y se enfrenta a un riesgo legal cada vez mayor, la ex primera dama ha decidido mantenerse fuera del ojo público.Desde que salió de la Casa Blanca, el mundo de Melania Trump se ha hecho más pequeño.Tal como a ella le gusta.Resguardada tras las puertas cerradas de sus tres casas, su mundo se limita a un pequeño círculo: su hijo, sus padres ya mayores y un puñado de viejos amigos. Visita a sus peluqueros, consulta a Hervé Pierre, su estilista de toda la vida, y a veces se reúne con su marido para cenar los viernes por la noche en sus clubes. Pero su objetivo máximo es una campaña personal: ayudar a su hijo Barron, de 17 años, en su búsqueda de universidad.Lo que no ha hecho, a pesar de las invitaciones de su marido, es aparecer en la campaña electoral. Tampoco ha estado a su lado en ninguna de sus comparecencias ante los tribunales.Así pasa los días Melania Trump, ex primera dama, actual cónyuge de un candidato en campaña y esposa de una de las figuras más divisorias de la vida pública estadounidense. A diferencia de sus predecesoras, no hay planes para una gira de conferencias, un libro o una gran expansión de sus actividades de beneficencia, la mayoría de las cuales, dicen personas cercanas a los Trump, no son del todo visibles para el público. En su vida después de ser primera dama, quiere lo que no pudo conseguir en la Casa Blanca: una sensación de privacidad.Esos intentos de retirarse de la vida pública se han visto obstaculizados por su marido, que la ha convertido de nuevo en la esposa de un candidato. Mientras Donald Trump se enfrenta a una posible tercera acusación formal, ella ha guardado un silencio inquebrantable sobre su creciente riesgo judicial.Aunque apoya su candidatura presidencial, Melania Trump no se ha dejado ver en público desde que Trump anunció su campaña en noviembre y no fue sino hasta mayo que habló de eso, cuando manifestó su apoyo en una entrevista con Fox News Digital.“Tiene mi apoyo y esperamos devolver la esperanza por el futuro y gobernar Estados Unidos con amor y fortaleza”, declaró.Su ausencia marca una notable diferencia con el inicio de la primera campaña de Trump, cuando Melania Trump, con un vestido blanco sin tirantes, descendió por la escalera mecánica dorada delante de su marido en el arranque de su campaña en la Torre Trump.Melania Trump mantiene el contacto y la amistad con un reducido grupo de personas de su época en la Casa Blanca, entre ellas la diseñadora Rachel Roy y Hilary Geary Ross, la destacada relacionista de Palm Beach y esposa de Wilbur L. Ross, ex secretario de Comercio de Trump. Sigue muy unida a sus padres, que tienen un apartamento en la Torre Trump de Manhattan y han sido vistos en eventos de Trump en Mar-a-Lago, el club privado y residencia de los Trump.“Desde su punto de vista y el de sus amigos, ha pasado por muchas cosas, que la han convertido en una mujer fuerte e independiente”, dijo R. Couri Hay, publicista que conoció a Melania Trump en Nueva York antes de que se fuera a Washington. “Ha aprendido a cerrar puertas y persianas y a permanecer en privado. No vemos mucho, no oímos mucho”.Melania Trump declinó una solicitud de entrevista. Este relato se basa en una decena de entrevistas con asociados, ayudantes de campaña y amigos, la mayoría de los cuales hablaron bajo condición de anonimato porque no estaban autorizados a discutir los detalles privados de su vida.Personas cercanas a la familia afirman que la falta de apoyo público de Melania Trump no debe confundirse con desaprobación o indiferencia. Ella sigue defendiendo a su marido y comparte su creencia de que su familia está siendo atacada injustamente. Desconfía mucho de los principales medios de comunicación y es una ávida lectora del Daily Mail en internet, en el que sigue la cobertura de Trump que hace el tabloide conservador británico.Melania Trump muestra un particular escepticismo ante el caso de E. Jean Carroll, quien obtuvo 5 millones de dólares por daños y perjuicios en un juicio en el que acusó a Trump de abusos sexuales en la década de 1990 y de difamación después de que dejara la Casa Blanca, según dos personas familiarizadas con sus declaraciones. Cuando Melania Trump vio la cobertura de la declaración de su marido en el caso, se enfureció con su equipo legal por no haber hecho más para plantear objeciones. También ha cuestionado en privado por qué Carroll no podía recordar la fecha exacta de la supuesta agresión.A pesar de ello, Melania Trump cree que, a pesar de los riesgos judiciales, Trump podría regresar a la Casa Blanca el año próximo. En privado, ha mostrado curiosidad por Casey DeSantis, la esposa de Ron DeSantis, el gobernador de Florida y principal rival de Trump. Casey DeSantis es una asesora cercana de su marido, una presencia habitual en sus eventos y ha empezado a aparecer por su cuenta en actos de campaña a favor de él. En una de sus escasas entrevistas, Melania Trump reflexionó en Fox News sobre la posibilidad de volver a ser primera dama y afirmó que, de tener una segunda oportunidad en el cargo, “priorizaría el bienestar y el desarrollo de los niños”.Melania Trump ha mostrado curiosidad en privado por Casey DeSantis, quien ha pasado tiempo haciendo campaña junto a su marido, Ron DeSantis.Rachel Mummey para The New York TimesPero aún no le ha dado prioridad a la campaña. Aunque se ha mostrado dispuesta a participar en eventos para su marido el año que viene, hasta ahora ha rechazado sus invitaciones a los actos de campaña.“No creo que vaya a ser nada parecido a lo que hemos visto con Casey DeSantis”, dijo Stephanie Grisham, una exasistente de Trump que renunció el 6 de enero. “No va a dejarse ver en jeans ni a caminar en desfiles”.Kellyanne Conway, asesora de Trump desde hace años y cercana a Melania Trump, dijo que la ex primera dama apoya “por completo” la candidatura de su marido y seguía siendo su “consejera de mayor confianza y más transparente”. Comentó que el matrimonio ha discutido en privado las “prioridades” de un segundo mandato.“Conozco pocas personas tan seguras de sí mismas como Melania Trump”, dijo Conway, quien no trabaja para la campaña. “Ella sabe quién es y mantiene sus prioridades bajo control. Melania los mantiene a la expectativa y siguen interpretándola mal”.Ese aire de misterio se extiende a las comunidades cerradas de los clubes de su esposo. En Palm Beach, Melania Trump no forma parte del circuito social, afirmó Lore Smith, una agente de bienes raíces de Palm Beach desde hace mucho tiempo, la cual visita con frecuencia el club.A diferencia de sus predecesoras modernas, que asistían a clases de gimnasia o de spinning, a Melania Trump no se le ve en el gimnasio y no se tiene información de que tenga un entrenador, según otros asiduos del club y exayudantes. Durante mucho tiempo ha sido fanática de los días que pasa en el spa, pero casi nunca se le ve afuera en la piscina en Mar-a-Lago o Bedminster, el campo de golf y resort de Trump en Nueva Jersey. De vez en cuando, hace breves apariciones en eventos de caridad en Mar-a-Lago junto a su esposo.“Son muy reservados detrás de los confines de Mar-a-Lago”, dijo Smith.Melania Trump no forma parte del circuito social en Mar-a-Lago, el club privado de su esposo. Se dice que prefiere Nueva York.Saul Martinez para The New York TimesMelania Trump sigue muy involucrada con la educación de Barron. Su hijo está inscrito en una escuela privada en West Palm Beach y está empezando a buscar universidades en Nueva York.Se dice que Melania Trump prefiere la ciudad a Mar-a-Lago o Bedminster. Se le ha visto yendo a su peluquero y entrando y saliendo de la Torre Trump, lo cual hace a través de una entrada lateral especial y un ascensor privado.Fuera de las residencias familiares, la agenda pública de Melania Trump ha sido limitada. Ha participado en un puñado de eventos, incluida la recaudación de 500.000 dólares en tarifas el año pasado de Log Cabin Republicans, un grupo conservador que apoya los derechos de la comunidad LGBT, y Fix California, una organización electoral fundada por Richard Grenell, ex alto funcionario del gobierno de Trump. Grenell se negó a comentar sobre la aparición de la ex primera dama en los eventos.En febrero de 2022, Melania Trump inició “Fostering the Future”, un programa de becas para niños de acogida que ya están a punto de cumplir la edad máxima para pertenecer al sistema. Una persona familiarizada con el programa, que habló bajo condición de anonimato, no ofreció detalles ni reveló cuántas becas se otorgaron, y solo afirmó que fueron “más de dos”. No existe ninguna organización benéfica con el nombre “Fostering the Future” o “Be Best” registrada en Florida o Nueva York.Michael Weitzman, el primer beneficiario de una de las becas, dijo que recibió financiación durante cuatro años en la Universidad Oral Roberts a través de un mentor, que conocía a un amigo relacionado con los Trump. “Me preguntó si ir a la universidad todavía era un sueño para mí”, contó Weitzman, quien pasó su infancia viviendo en 12 hogares de acogida. “Dijo que podría conocer a alguien realmente rico que podría querer pagar para que yo fuera”.Weitzman no llenó ningún tipo de solicitud, pero un día después de que el mentor le planteó la idea, recibió un correo electrónico del equipo de relaciones públicas de Melania Trump, preguntándole si estaba dispuesto a participar en una entrevista de Fox News con la ex primera dama, la primera desde que dejó la Casa Blanca. La beca se anunció durante la entrevista de mayo de 2022, con la participación de Weitzman a través de Zoom. Weitzman, de 26 años, dijo que no había tenido ninguna interacción con Melania Trump desde entonces.“No la he conocido en persona. A menudo me preguntaba si lo haría y me encantaría”, dijo. “Estoy más que agradecido. No hay ninguna razón por la que alguien tendría que haber hecho esto por mí”.Los asistentes de Melania Trump se negaron a discutir los detalles de sus planes de campaña, sus emprendimientos benéficos y comerciales y sus puntos de vista sobre los problemas legales de su esposo. Los voceros de la campaña de Donald Trump se negaron a comentar.Melania Trump y Barron Trump asistieron al lanzamiento de la campaña de Donald Trump en noviembre. Desde entonces, la ex primera dama ha dicho poco sobre la campaña de su esposo para la Casa Blanca.Andrew Harnik/Associated PressEn muchos sentidos, la vida de Melania Trump posterior a la Casa Blanca es una extensión de su estilo como primera dama.Desde el comienzo del mandato de su esposo, cuando no se mudó de inmediato a la Casa Blanca, Melania Trump constantemente vaciló entre dos extremos: aceptar de lleno su papel o desafiar todas las expectativas asociadas con él.Uno de sus momentos más memorables se realizó a través de una declaración de moda. Cuando regresaba de una visita a un pueblo fronterizo de Texas para encontrarse con niños migrantes detenidos, vistió una chaqueta estampada con la frase: “Realmente no me importa. ¿Y a ti?Gran parte de su experiencia en la Casa Blanca estuvo marcada por lo que personas cercanas a ella describieron como decepción y traición por parte de amigos, ayudantes e incluso miembros de la familia Trump. En ocasiones, su relación con Ivanka Trump y Jared Kushner, la hija y el yerno de Trump, fue tensa, según exasesores. Desde entonces, su exsecretaria de prensa, Grisham, y una exayudante y amiga, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, han escrito libros reveladores que la describen como fría y desconectada de su cargo.Esas experiencias empujaron a Melania Trump a ocultarse aún más del ojo público, aseguraron personas vinculadas con la familia.Melania Trump es “la primera dama más francamente desconocida”, dijo la autora de un libro sobre el tema. “Hay algo radical en ello”.Doug Mills/The New York TimesPero esa privacidad puede ser difícil de mantener bajo el escrutinio de unas contenciosas primarias presidenciales y las investigaciones legales.Recientemente, Chris Christie criticó a ambos Trump por un pago de 155.000 dólares a Melania Trump de parte de un comité de acción política alineado con la campaña de su esposo. Un representante del comité dijo que Melania Trump fue contratada en 2021 para “consultoría de diseño”, incluida la elección de vajillas, distribución de asientos y arreglos florales.“Existe la estafa y luego existe la estafa al estilo de los Trump”, escribió Christie, el exgobernador de Nueva Jersey y el crítico más abierto de Trump en el campo de las primarias republicanas de 2024, en Twitter. “Son los campeones indiscutibles”.La mayor parte de su perfil público, realizado casi siempre a través de sus cuentas de redes sociales, se centra en la venta de una variedad de cromos virtuales. Sus NFT, o tokens no fungibles, incluyen dibujos digitales de sus ojos, un sombrero de ala ancha que usó durante una visita de estado, adornos navideños de la Casa Blanca y una rosa azul destinada a conmemorar el Mes Nacional del Programa de Acogida.La mayoría de sus tuits y publicaciones de Instagram promocionan directamente los NFT o una empresa llamada USA Memorabilia, que los vende. Un día después de que su esposo anunciara en su red social, Truth Social, que había recibido una notificación de la investigación federal sobre sus esfuerzos para frustrar la transferencia de poder en 2020, el único comentario público de Melania Trump fue el anuncio de una nueva colección de NFT: “Hombre en la Luna”.Una parte de sus ganancias se destina a donaciones, aunque sus asistentes no proporcionaron detalles sobre la cantidad ni especificaron a qué organización benéfica.Si bien las primeras damas a menudo sacan provecho de la fama que viene con el cargo, la empresa lucrativa de Trump es diferente de la de sus predecesores, dijo Kate Andersen Brower, autora del libro First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies.Según los informes, a Michelle Obama se le pagó más de 60 millones de dólares en un acuerdo de libro conjunto con su esposo, además de recibir cientos de miles de dólares por discursos y firmar un lucrativo acuerdo de producción con Netflix. Laura Bush y Hillary Clinton también vendieron sus memorias por millones. Sus memorias y discursos pagados requerían que las ex primeras damas compartieran algunos detalles sobre sí mismas, sus puntos de vista y sus vidas en la Casa Blanca.Simplemente vendiendo imágenes, Melania Trump no tiene que revelar nada.Eso es exactamente lo que prefiere, dijo Brower.“Ella es la primera dama más francamente desconocida”, dijo sobre la personalidad pública de Melania Trump. “Hay algo radical al respecto. Se espera que las primeras damas quieran complacer a la gente y no estoy seguro de que eso a ella realmente le importe”.Maggie Haberman More

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    Beneath Joe Biden’s Folksy Demeanor, a Short Fuse and an Obsession With Details

    As Mr. Biden settles into the office he has chased for more than three decades, aides say he demands hours of debate from scores of policy experts.WASHINGTON — The commander in chief was taking his time, as usual.It was late March, and President Biden was under increasing pressure to penalize President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia for election interference and the biggest cyberattack ever on American government and industry. “I have to do it relatively soon,” he said to Jake Sullivan, his national security adviser. More

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    In Lady Bird Johnson’s Secret Diaries, a Despairing President and a Crucial Spouse

    AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyWhite House MemoIn Lady Bird Johnson’s Secret Diaries, a Despairing President and a Crucial SpouseA new book reveals how the former first lady not only provided a spouse’s emotional ballast but also served as an unrivaled counselor who helped persuade Lyndon B. Johnson to stay in office.Lady Bird Johnson in 1961. The first lady kept a diary, but she ordered that a part of it be kept secret for years after her death.Credit…Associated PressMarch 11, 2021Updated 9:51 p.m. ETWASHINGTON — He had been president for only two years, but that night in fall 1965 he had had enough. Lyndon B. Johnson had spiraled into depression, and from his hospital bed after gallbladder surgery, he talked of throwing it all away and retreating into seclusion back home in Texas.To a visiting Supreme Court justice, he dictated thoughts for a statement announcing he was indefinitely turning over his duties to Vice President Hubert Humphrey while recovering from fatigue. “I want to go to the ranch. I don’t want even Hubert to be able to call me,” he told his wife, Lady Bird Johnson. “They may demand that I resign. They may even want to impeach me.”Eventually, Mrs. Johnson coaxed him through that period of doubt and despair, enabling him to complete the final three years of his term. The episode was hidden from the public, and although Mrs. Johnson documented it in her diary, she ordered the entry kept secret for years after her death. But a new book reveals the full scope of those once-shrouded diaries as never before, shedding fresh light on the former first lady and her partnership with the 36th president.The diaries reveal how central Mrs. Johnson was to her husband’s presidency. She not only provided a spouse’s emotional ballast but also served as an unrivaled counselor who helped persuade him to stay in office at critical junctures, advised him on how to use the office to achieve their mutual goals, guided him during the most arduous moments and helped chart his decision to give up power years later.While she is remembered largely as a political wife and businesswoman with impeccable manners, an easy laugh, a soft Texas lilt and a quintessentially first-lady-like White House portfolio promoting “beautification” efforts, the diaries make clear that Mrs. Johnson behind the scenes was also a canny political operator and shrewd judge of people.“The pre-existing image is one of two-dimensionality and stiff-upper-lipness and not a hair out of place,” said Julia Sweig, who spent five years researching the diaries for the biography “Lady Bird Johnson: Hiding in Plain Sight,” set to be published on Tuesday. “But when you get into this material, you see what a rounded, multidimensional human being she is.”Mrs. Johnson began her diary shortly after the assassination of John F. Kennedy vaulted her husband to the presidency in November 1963, and she dutifully kept it up through the end of their time in the White House in January 1969. She released carefully edited excerpts in a 1970 book titled “A White House Diary,” but some portions remained sealed until long after her death in 2007 at age 94.Ms. Sweig, a longtime Washington scholar, learned about the diaries from a friend and became captivated when she visited the Johnson presidential museum in Austin, Texas, and stepped into an exhibit that featured Mrs. Johnson’s voice from the taped diaries describing the day of the Kennedy assassination. The first lady’s voice was activated by a motion detector, so Ms. Sweig repeatedly stepped in and out of the museum room to hear the diary entry over and over.She then embarked on a project examining all 123 hours of tapes and transcripts, the last of which were not released until 2017, combined with other research to produce the biography and an accompanying eight-part podcast, “In Plain Sight: Lady Bird Johnson,” produced by ABC News, that features Mrs. Johnson’s voice narrating her time in the White House. (The fourth episode airs on Monday.)“It’s very unusual to find such an unexcavated and contemporary record of such a recent period of history that we thought we knew and understood about a presidency that we thought we knew and understood,” Ms. Sweig said.President Lyndon B. Johnson with Mrs. Johnson in 1963. She advised her husband through the civil rights movement, the enactment of the Great Society program and the Vietnam War.Credit…Associated PressJohnson scholars said Ms. Sweig’s examination of the diaries flesh out the popular understanding of that era. “She fills out this picture now that we have of the Johnson presidency,” said the historian Robert Dallek, who spent 14 years researching two books on Lyndon Johnson.Born Claudia Alta Taylor in a small East Texas town, Mrs. Johnson was a force in her husband’s political career from Congress to the White House. She advised him through the civil rights movement, the enactment of the Great Society program and the Vietnam War, and she helped figure out how to handle the arrest of a close aide and used her beautification program to promote an environmental and social justice agenda.Perhaps most consequentially, she steered her husband through his inner turmoil. As early as May 1964, six months after taking office, he contemplated his departure by not running for election in his own right that fall. Mrs. Johnson drew up a seven-page strategy memo as well as a draft letter forgoing election to show him what it would look like. But she told her diary, “I hope he won’t use it,” and encouraged him to stay the course, which he did.At the same time, her strategy memo presciently outlined his eventual course, suggesting he run for election but serve just one full term, then announce in March 1968 that he would not run again.There were moments when he almost upended the plan, as in October 1965, after his gallbladder surgery. There was no particular precipitating event, and he was arguably at the height of his presidency, having passed major civil rights legislation while not yet mired in the worst of the Vietnam War. Indeed, he signed 13 domestic policy bills from his bed during a two-week convalescence at Bethesda Naval Hospital.Yet for whatever reason, he became overwhelmed with the stress of the job one night as Abe Fortas, the longtime ally he had just appointed to the Supreme Court, sat at his bedside. The beleaguered president told his wife and the justice that he could handle “not one more piece of paper, not one more problem,” and he dictated thoughts about how he could escape the burdens of the presidency to Fortas, who wrote them out longhand.“He was like a man on whom an avalanche had suddenly fallen,” Mrs. Johnson recorded. She knew his drastic mood swings better than anyone but had missed this one coming. “So here is the black beast of depression back in our lives,” she told her diary in a section she marked “close for 10 years, and review then.”The diary entry reinforced how important she was to keeping her husband centered. “L.B.J. often let his demons roam with her, knowing that she would quietly ward them off by appealing to his better angels,” said Mark K. Updegrove, the president of the Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation and the author of “Indomitable Will” about the Johnson presidency. “He used her not only as a sounding board but revealed his subconscious to her, including expressing his darkest thoughts that he was trying to work through. She helped to work them out — or exorcise them.”Mrs. Johnson helped exorcise them that fall, but by 1968, she, too, thought it might be time for him to move on. He had a secret ending drafted for his State of the Union address in January announcing that he would not run for re-election, but he was uncertain whether he would deliver it. Before he left for the Capitol, Mrs. Johnson noticed that he had left the secret draft behind, so she rushed over to tuck it in his suit pocket.She then watched from the House gallery as he delivered his speech, not knowing herself whether he would use the secret ending or not. He did not. But then, when it came time for an address to the nation announcing a de-escalation in bombing North Vietnam, he finally issued the surprise declaration. That was in March 1968 — exactly according to the timetable Mrs. Johnson had outlined four years earlier.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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    Who Designed Jill Biden’s Inauguration Outfit?

    AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyWho Designed Jill Biden’s Inauguration Outfit?A brief guide to how Alexandra O’Neill’s young label Markarian landed in a rare spotlight.Dr. Jill Biden arrives for the inauguration ceremony at the Capitol on Wednesday.Credit…Amr Alfiky/The New York TimesJan. 20, 2021, 4:13 p.m. ETJust like any first lady stepping into the White House before her, Dr. Jill Biden’s Inauguration Day outfit was bound to draw attention.Guesses were made about which American designer she would choose: Brandon Maxwell or Christian Siriano, whose dresses she had chosen for the Democratic National Convention? Tory Burch? Oscar de la Renta?Few — or none, perhaps — would have predicted that Dr. Biden would walk out into the cold Washington morning on Wednesday in a matching blue coat and dress by Markarian, a small New York City brand whose typical aesthetic signatures include feather trims and full-body sequins. Here’s why:Alexandra O’Neill working on Dr. Biden’s dress.A sketch of the full ensemble proposed by the designer.What is Markarian?Founded in 2017 by Alexandra O’Neill, Markarian is best known for V.I.P. party dresses. With statement sleeves and slim silhouettes, the brand has outfitted celebrities like Laura Dern, Kerry Washington, Millie Bobby Brown and Anna Kendrick on red carpets and talk-show couches.But much of Markarian’s business is designing custom pieces for special events and weddings. The line is carried at Bergdorf Goodman and on Moda Operandi, among other retailers. Most ready-to-wear dresses are priced between $1,000 and $4,000.Ms. O’Neill, who has said she produces everything in New York City, often describes her work as romantic and ethereal. Before starting Markarian, she founded the label Porter Grey, with her sister Kristen, while she was still in college. That brand also had famous fans, like Blake Lively and Jessica Biel.Why does it matter?It’s tradition for first ladies to wear American designers throughout the inaugural celebrations. Melania Trump wore Ralph Lauren during her husband’s swearing-in ceremony; Michelle Obama wore Thom Browne and, four years earlier, Isabel Toledo. These outfits are seen by millions, dissected by the fashion press and become part of history.In choosing Markarian, a relatively unknown-outside-fashion brand, for this high exposure moment, Dr. Biden is drawing an unrivaled amount of attention to a young designer.It’s not the first time this has happened. In 2009, when Mrs. Obama wore an inaugural gown from Jason Wu (to his surprise), it was a career-making moment for the then emerging designer. That was during the Great Recession; 12 years later, the country is again facing financial crisis, and it is again a precarious time to be an independent designer.In a phone interview on Wednesday (conducted at the very moment the Bidens walked onto the inaugural platform), an “excited and humbled” Ms. O’Neill, 34, said that Dr. Biden “recognizes the impact that a choice like this can have on an emerging designer.”The neckline was embellished with Swarovski pearls and crystals.How was Markarian selected?In December, Ms. O’Neill was approached by a stylist for Dr. Biden, who asked for concepts and sketches for “something classic and something feminine for Dr. Biden, but something that was special and appropriate for this momentous day,” Ms. O’Neill said. “They were really open to any ideas that we had.”But she also knew that Dr. Biden’s team was commissioning looks from multiple designers. She didn’t know her ensemble — mostly wool tweed, but accented and embellished with velvet, chiffon, crystals and pearls — had been selected until this morning, when Dr. Biden was seen leaving her home for the traditional inauguration morning church service.What about that shade of blue?Blue is not a surprising choice for the wife of a Democratic president. But there are hundreds of shades of blue. Mrs. Trump’s matching set on Inauguration Day in 2013, for example, was a very different kind of blue — a Jacqueline Kennedy-channeling powder blueWhen Ms. O’Neill came across the base fabric for this dress, a rich (and sparkling) teal tweed, she thought it stood for “trust and loyalty.”“That was important for us, to get that information across,” she said.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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    Jill Biden Is a Teacher. And She’s Not About to Change That.

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    State Certified Vote Totals

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