Former First Lady Jill Biden said she was terrified and thought her husband — former President Joe Biden — was having a stroke during his debate with Donald Trump in June 2024.
In an interview with “CBS News Sunday Morning,” Jill Biden said:
“I was so scared because I had never seen Joe like that before or since. Never.”
“I didn't know what was happening. As I watched the debate, I thought, ‘Oh my God, he's having a stroke.’ It scared me to death.”
The interview is scheduled to air on Sunday, ahead of the release of her new memoir titled “View From the East Wing.”
During the 2024 debate, then-81-year-old Joe Biden appeared fatigued, often disoriented, and struggled to answer questions. Prior to the debate, he had already faced numerous doubts regarding his age and mental acuity.
A month later, Biden withdrew from the presidential race, becoming the first president to abandon a re-election campaign midway since President Lyndon Johnson in 1968. He subsequently endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to become the Democratic Party's candidate.
Immediately after the debate, Jill Biden publicly defended her husband. She and Biden visited a Waffle House in Atlanta and praised his performance.
“Joe, you did great. You answered every question and had all the facts,” she told supporters, according to the New York Post.
However, behind the scenes, according to former White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients before the House Oversight Committee in 2025, Jill Biden pressured Biden's aides to give him more rest and was deeply involved in arranging her husband's schedule.
The House investigation at the time focused on allegations of Biden's physical and mental decline, as well as suspicions of concealing this condition from the American public regarding issues within the Biden administration.
Jill Biden's new memoir, according to publisher Simon & Schuster, will reveal many behind-the-scenes stories from her time as First Lady, including the “abrupt end” of Biden's re-election campaign.
