The now-former first lady wanted everyone to know that she couldn’t stay long at Donald Trump’s inauguration. Jill Biden made her entrance to the inauguration along with Doug Emhoff, Kamala Harris’ husband and fellow victim to Jill’s feud, and she did it wearing a certain accent that made it clear she told her driver to keep it running. While our eyes were largely pulled to her unflattering both-sides purple coat, Jill also made sure to keep her purse slung over her shoulder, a noticeable accent that every other woman in the U.S. Capitol rotunda did not add to their outfits.

Jill with the purse on her shoulder. One last bad fashion choice parting gift for us pic.twitter.com/mSDkDEfHgP

— Caroline Melear (@CarolineMelear) January 20, 2025

Users on social media were quick to pick apart the subtle messaging, with one user on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying, “Jill with the purse on her shoulder. One last bad fashion choice parting gift for us.” Others were a little more conspiratorial, with one user saying, “Why is ‘Dr’ Jill Biden carrying her purse? Seems strange.” Replies to the medically-inclined insinuation went off the deep end quickly, though one user offered, “I said the same thing. Maybe there’s a cash bar after the ceremony.” Another possible answer is that she just didn’t want to be there, especially given Jill’s history of fashionable contempt for the Trumps. But who knows, maybe she brought the purse so she could grab a couple of things on her way out. And let’s give her credit for showing up, unlike her fellow former first lady Michelle Obama, who chose not to join her husband at the inauguration, instead choosing to fan rumors of divorce.

The truth is that Jill Biden always dresses on brand because we know that deep down she is a diva who knows exactly what she is doing with every single outfit that she wears. And with a long-standing grudge against Kamala Harris, Jill has taken up the habit of donning Republican red a number of times since her husband, Joe Biden, stepped aside to let Harris run a losing campaign against Donald Trump. The treatment of her husband by Harris has manifested in Jill showing her contempt and twisting the knife in her Democratic colleagues by wearing all red to a Christmas lighting ceremony and even on Election Day.

Still, no matter the outfit, Jill always has a way of eliciting a reaction. Take her appearance on the cover of Vogue, where she appeared in a starkly neutral white dress, only for the striking ensemble to get MAGA die-hards in a huff over Jill gracing the magazine more times than Melania Trump. And sometimes Jill’s message is simply to dress however she wants, like the time she threw caution to the wind and wore that bright blue Carolina Herrera dress with lime green heels. Nonetheless, we will miss Jill’s fashion faux pas and can only hope Melania is ready to bring the diva in her second go-round as first lady. But then again, there are rumors she might be turning her nose up at staying in the White House…which would be a true diva power move.