Jill Biden travels to Paris Olympics as her husband passes the torch

CNN —

First lady Jill Biden watched on Wednesday night as President Joe Biden told the American people it was time to “pass the torch” on his political career. Then she got on a plane, flying nearly 4,000 miles to Paris, where another torch was being passed.

Jill Biden is arriving in Paris at a monumental time for her husband’s presidency. Stepping aboard her plane moments after the president addressed the nation from the Oval Office, the first lady’s role has rapidly shifted from that of an active and prolific surrogate to a leader racing the clock to the inauguration of a new administration.

Biden is now embarking on a tour of “lasts” in office, starting with her second and final trip to cheer on American athletes at the Olympic Games as first lady.

The trip, which has been in the works long before the president suspended his reelection campaign, will signal how her role may be remembered at home and on the world stage.

It’s a legacy she hinted at in 2021 when traveling with the president to the G7 summit. “I feel that I’m a partner on this journey of healing, bringing together, unity,” Biden told reporters.

That unity will be on display at the Olympic Games, a rare moment in intensely polarized times.

“The First Lady is excited to head to the Olympic Games, where we are all united as a country in support of one team: Team USA,” her spokesperson, Vanessa Valdivia, said in a statement.

Biden, whom her office described as a devoted sports fan, is expected to greet Olympic athletes and their families during the trip, and will represent the US at the opening ceremony. She will also cheer on Team USA at “various Olympic events,” her office said.

For the past three-and-a-half years, Biden has been the president’s