Jill Biden told CBS News she feared Joe Biden was having a stroke during the 2024 debate, though her public comments then praised his performance.
Former first lady Jill Biden says Joe Biden’s faltering 2024 debate performance against Donald Trump frightened her so much that she thought he might be having a stroke, offering a more alarmed account than the public support she showed in the immediate aftermath.
In an interview with CBS News “Sunday Morning” scheduled to air May 31, Jill Biden said she had never seen her husband appear that way before or since. “I was frightened,” she said, adding that as she watched, she thought, “Oh, my God, he’s having a stroke.”
The comments revisit one of the defining moments of the 2024 campaign: the June 27 debate in Atlanta that intensified Democratic concerns about Biden’s age, health and ability to continue as the party’s nominee. Biden, then 81, spoke with a raspy voice, struggled through portions of his answers and at one point appeared to lose his train of thought. His campaign said at the time that he had a cold.
Jill Biden’s new account stands in contrast to what she said publicly that night. Speaking to supporters after the debate, she praised him from the stage: “Joe, you did such a great job. You answered every question, you knew all the facts.” She then joined the crowd in chanting “four more years.”
The Bidens later stopped at a Waffle House, where Joe Biden told reporters he thought he had done well and said he had a sore throat, according to CBS News. In the days that followed, the Biden family gathered at Camp David, where CBS reported at the time that family members encouraged him to stay in the race and keep fighting.
Jill Biden also projected resolve in comments published days later in a Vogue cover story. An editor’s note said she told the magazine from Camp David that the president would not let the debate’s 90 minutes define his four years in office and that he would continue fighting while doing what was best for the country.
The debate rapidly became a turning point in the campaign. Democratic leaders, donors and voters had already been weighing concerns about Biden’s age and stamina, and the performance pushed those questions to the center of the race. Biden initially resisted calls to withdraw and his campaign said he would not step aside.
Less than a month later, on July 21, 2024, Biden ended his reelection campaign and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination. Harris ultimately became the nominee and lost to Trump. Months after Biden’s withdrawal, Jill Biden told ABC News that his decision to leave the race was the right call.
In the CBS interview, Jill Biden said her husband was “slowing down” during the reelection campaign but said she did not see signs that he was in cognitive decline. Her remarks are likely to renew scrutiny of what Biden’s family and advisers saw before and after the debate, and how they described his condition to the public at the time.
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