Journalist and podcaster Megyn Kelly has lashed out at the first lady on Twitter, mocking her for using her 'doctor' title.

It came after a game day announcer at the San Francisco 49-ers game introduced Doctor Jill Biden while she sat in a box overlooking the field.

But the former Fox News host believes Dr. Biden's use of the title is phony and nothing more than an ego boost.

'Announcers for this Eagles-49ers game just spotted the First Lady in a box and of course call her 'Dr. Jill Biden.' Wonder if she realizes what a wannabe she looks like insisting on this fake title. Get a real MD or just work on your self-esteem,' Kelly tweeted. 

The tweet received 4.3 million views within a matter of hours but only a fraction of likes at 30,000.

Some of those responding to Kelly agreed that Biden's was indeed self-aggrandizing.

'What do you mean she's not a doctor? Whoopi Goldberg thinks she is. 'I'm hoping Dr. Jill becomes the surgeon general. … [Y]eah, she's a hell of a doctor.' Goldberg, March 4, 2020' wrote Mark Hayman on Twitter.

'So my PhD is pretty cool then. I never thought of it that way, like owning it longer than all these MDs. I always thought they were the real Drs and I was kind of just posing when I mentioned that I had one,' suggested Seth Frantzman.

'I've never heard of any other politician with a PhD or similar degree in the US routinely being referred to as 'Dr'...but if it happens I'd be interested,' he continued. 

'As someone who has a PhD, and is also a strong conservative, just can't understand this battle. Don't care if it's a medical doctor, Doctor of Philosophy, doctor of theology, or what, the title has been earned through vigorous academic study. Find another rant,' argued Garrett McKinnon, Ph.D. 

Dr Biden holds two master's degrees and a doctorate in education from the University of Delaware.  

During President Biden's eight years serving as vice president she was a full-time English professor at Northern Virginia Community College. 

Prior to moving to Washington DC, she taught at a community college Delaware, at a public high school and at a psychiatric hospital for adolescents.  

Writing in her memoir, she wrote: 'Being a teacher is not what I do but who I am.' 

In April 2019, she took a break from teaching for the first time since 1981 in order to help her husband on the campaign trail. 

The majority of those responding to Kelly's tweet appeared to take her to task over the mean-spirited comment. 

'PhDs existed before MDs. You sound jealous and petty,' wrote one Twitter user.

'Do you realize that getting a PhD doesn't mean you're a medical doctor? Are you that ignorant or are you just treating your audience as if they are?' asked Bryan Tyler Cohen. 

'Dr. Jill Biden earned a doctoral degree in educational leadership at 55 after decades of serving as an educator and focusing on empowerment for community colleges, long before doing so was a trendy policy position. Correctly referring to her as Dr. Biden is the least we can do,' explained Charlotte Clymer.

'When the worst criticism you can muster of the First Lady is her use of a title she legitimately earned...' added Joyce Alene. 

The debate over whether the first lady should be using her doctorate title first emerged in 2020 when a Wall Street Journal article panned her. 

Columnist Joseph Epstein, 86, the first lady, 71, 'kiddo' in the piece in which he said she should 'think about it and forthwith drop the doc'.  

Epstein's op-ed titled 'Is There a Doctor in the White House? Not if You Need an M.D.' criticized her for using 'Dr.' as an honorific even though she's not a physician. 

He addressed Jill as 'kiddo' and wrote that the use of the honorific felt 'fraudulent' and 'comic' since the wife of Joe Biden doesn't have a medical background.

Jill Biden later stated on record: 'One of the things I'm most proud of is my doctorate. I mean I worked so hard for it.' 

Biden's critics say it is unconventional to invite people to call you doctor if you hold a Ed.D because this is ordinarily reserved for medical doctors – although its use might be more liberal in academic settings.

Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson agreed with Epstein, saying that Biden was 'a doctor of education, which means basically nothing.'

'Jill Biden is not a doctor, no. Maybe in the same sense Dr Pepper is,' Carlson added.

'In 2007, at the age of 55, she got a doctorate in education, so she's got the same degree as Dr Bill Cosby.'

Carlson pointed out that, in 2009, Jill Biden said she wanted to get a PhD because she was tired of letters to 'Senator and Mrs Biden'.

He accused her of having 'status anxiety,' saying she 'decided to cure that, as so many do in our country, with another pointless title'.

However, many have suggested that the argument has only been mounted because Biden is a woman. 

Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris and the country's first ever second husband, noted, 'This article would never have been written about a man.'

And Hillary Clinton, both a former first lady and former secretary of state, simply tweeted: 'Her name is Dr. Jill Biden. Get used to it.'