Former US First Lady Jill Biden says she thought her husband, President Joe Biden, was having a stroke during his infamously faltering presidential debate in 2024.
“I was frightened, because I had never ever seen Joe like that before or since. Never,” Jill Biden told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
“I don’t know what happened,” she said. “As I watched it, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, he’s having a stroke.’ And it scared me to death.”
President Biden faced intense pressure from fellow Democrats to step down as their candidate after a poor debate performance against then-Republican candidate Donald Trump. Biden ultimately dropped out of the race and endorsed then-Vice-President Kamala Harris.
The former first lady’s interview with CBS News Sunday Morning’s Rita Braver will air on Sunday.
Jill Biden has stood beside her husband throughout his decades-long career, from his time as a Delaware senator to his years as president.
She was considered to be one of his most influential advisers during his presidency, and among those who ultimately encouraged him to drop out of the 2024 race.
Following the June 2024 debate, months ahead of the presidential election, Democrats expressed unease at the president’s shaky debate performance.
Biden’s campaign at the time insisted the president would not step down as the Democratic candidate and that he would debate Donald Trump again.
During the debate in which both men sought a second term, Biden and Trump sparred on major topics including immigration, the economy and abortion rights.
Biden had a raspy voice, which his team said was because he was ill, and a moment where he seemed to lose his train of thought.
At a post-debate rally in Atlanta, Jill Biden introduced her husband on stage and praised his performance against Trump.
“Joe, you did such a great job. You answered every question. You knew all the facts,” she told the crowd.
But elsewhere, Democratic leaders and donors expressed concerns about the then-president’s performance. Kamala Harris, who rarely criticised Biden publicly, even admitted it was a “slow start” to the debate.
Voters’ concerns about Biden’s health, mental acuity and age – 81 at the time – already weighed heavily on the debate.
Analysts piled on the president across most major US media outlets, with concerns raised about Biden’s ability to do the job of president as well as his chances in the November 2024 election.
It was thought unlikely that Biden, the incumbent president, would be replaced as the Democratic Party’s nominee just a few months before the election. The difficult process of choosing another nominee was seen as having the potential to derail the party’s White House bid.
But his debate performance – along with gaffes during a Nato summit in the following weeks and a frail demeanour after a Covid diagnosis – ultimately led to him ending his candidacy.
Harris assumed the Democratic nomination about three months before the election and ultimately lost her bid to Trump.
In the aftermath of her election loss, Harris criticised her former boss, calling Biden’s decision to seek a second term “recklessness”.
“‘It’s Joe and Jill’s decision.’ We all said that, like a mantra, as if we’d all been hypnotized,” Harris wrote in her memoir. “Was it grace, or was it recklessness? In retrospect, I think it was recklessness.”
Biden Explains Poor Debate Performance, Says He Nearly Fell Asleep on Stage
U.S. President Joe Biden cited an excessive business travel schedule as the reason that impacted his performance during the debate with rival Donald Trump.
According to Reuters, on July 2 (local time), U.S. President Joe Biden shared thoughts regarding his poor performance during the June 27 debate with his opponent Donald Trump.
Nearly Falling Asleep on Stage
Speaking at a campaign event in the neighborhood of McLean, Virginia, Mr. Biden confided: “I didn’t have the best night. The truth is, as you know, I wasn’t very smart. I decided to travel around the world a couple of times, passing through about 100 time zones before the debate.”
“I didn’t listen to my staff, came back to debate, and nearly fell asleep on stage. This is not an excuse, but an explanation,” he asserted.
Mr. Biden had an extremely busy flight schedule in June. In just 10 days, he flew back and forth between Europe and the United States twice, with five successive destinations: France, his home state of Delaware (U.S.), Italy, the city of Los Angeles, and the capital of Washington, D.C.
Prior to the statement at the aforementioned fundraiser, White House officials had asserted that Mr. Biden’s poor performance was due to him having a cold.
However, the president made no mention of being sick throughout the campaign event in Virginia.
Democratic Lawmakers Urge Biden to Step Aside
Despite the explanations from the president’s side, voices calling for Mr. Biden to drop out of the race are becoming increasingly clear.
On July 2, Representative Lloyd Doggett became the first Democratic lawmaker to publicly call on the U.S. president to yield his candidate seat to someone else.
According to Reuters, Representative Lloyd Doggett issued a public statement requesting that U.S. President Joe Biden abandon his 2024 presidential reelection campaign.
In the statement, Mr. Doggett praised Mr. Biden’s “transformational” first term. However, he emphasized that it is time for Mr. Biden to cede to someone else the right to confront Mr. Trump in the upcoming November 5 election.
“On the basis of understanding that President Biden has always put his dedication to the country before himself, which is very different from Mr. Trump, I hope he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I sincerely urge him to do so,” Mr. Doggett shared.
Over the past several days, quite a few other lawmakers have suggested considering this decision.
Democratic Representative Mike Quigley shared on CNN on July 2: “He needs to be honest with himself. It’s his decision. At this moment, I want him to fully recognize the scope of the impact of that decision, not only on his race but on all the other races this November.”
Trump health scrutiny shaped by fallout from Biden decline
President Donald Trump is making another trip to the doctor’s office.
The White House announced earlier this month that Trump, who turns 80 on June 14, would undergo his annual, routine medical and dental examination on Tuesday at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center “as part of his regular preventive healthcare.”
“The president will also spend time with service members and staff at Walter Reed in recognition of their service, professionalism, and dedication to the nation,” the White House told reporters.
The trip prompts questions about Trump’s health amid memes of the president “sleeping” during public events and speculation regarding the bruising on his hands, both of which Trump and his aides dispute.
But after former President Joe Biden‘s aides covered up Biden’s physical and mental decline, even Democrats concede Trump and the White House are operating in a political environment where the bar for concern surrounding an aging president has been dramatically lowered.
“Yes, the Biden camp’s hiding or downplaying his alarming physical and mental decline has set a very bad precedent for transparency and honesty about a president’s health,” Democratic strategist Garry South told the Washington Examiner.
A second Democratic strategist, Jim Manley, acknowledged that “Team Biden — and the media — failed the American people when it came to Biden’s health,” with Manley reiterating that “the media coverage was miserable.”
At the same time, Democrats, including South and Manley, have implored Trump not to make Biden’s mistakes.
“To hear him tell it, he’s taken cognitive tests that put him at the same level as Einstein, and he’s in such tip-top shape he could probably compete in the UFC match on the White House lawn next month,” South said, alluding to the MMA event to mark Trump’s 80th birthday. “The American people will never hear the truth about Trump’s physical condition, until he drops over one day.”
Trump has quipped to the Wall Street Journal that he sometimes closes his eyes during meetings because “it’s very relaxing,” but he and his staff have repeated that photographers will “take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and they’ll catch me with the blink.”
“He was blinking, you absolute moron,” the White House wrote on X only this week in response to a Reuters reporter posting a photo of Trump with his eyes closed during an Oval Office event.
The White House has also pushed back regarding the bruising on Trump’s hands, which he routinely covers up with makeup. Staffers have attributed the bruising to Trump’s frequent handshaking and daily aspirin regimen, which can increase bruising.
“The president is a man of the people and he meets more Americans and shakes their hands on a daily basis than any other president in history,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said. “President Trump’s commitment is unwavering and he proves that every single day.”
The White House has proactively disclosed information about Trump’s health, such as in July regarding his diagnosis with chronic venous insufficiency, which has contributed to his swollen ankles that have also sparked speculation online.
Trump sparked more questions last October when he told reporters on Air Force One as he returned from Asia that he had a “perfect” MRI during that trip to Walter Reed when it was a cardiovascular and abdominal CT scan.
White House physician Sean Barbabella later wrote in a statement that “to make the most” of Trump’s time at Walter Reed after he “agreed to meet with the staff and soldiers,” “we recommended he undergo another routine physical evaluation to ensure continued optimal health.”
“As part of that examination, we asked the president if he would undergo advanced imaging — either an MRI or CT Scan — to definitively rule out any cardiovascular issues,” he wrote. “The president agreed, and our team of consultants performed a CT Scan.”
During an impromptu telephone call with the Wall Street Journal, the same interview in which he admitted to closing his eyes during meetings, Trump expressed regret for encouraging the speculation regarding the MRI.
“In retrospect, it’s too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition,” Trump said. “I would have been a lot better off if they didn’t, because the fact that I took it said, ‘Oh, gee, is something wrong?’ Well, nothing’s wrong.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt underscored Trump’s transparency regarding his health compared to Biden.
“Additional details on the imaging have been disclosed by the president himself because he continues to be the most transparent and open president in history and has nothing to hide, unlike his predecessor Joe Biden, who hid from the press and lied about his clear physical and mental decline,” Leavitt wrote in her own statement.
Against that background, Democratic strategist Christopher Hahn, tired of the conversation, urged Congress and the states to “amend the Constitution and place age limits for Congress, president, and the Supreme Court.”
“We need officials who are more concerned about the future and not tied to a distorted view of the past,” Hahn told the Washington Examiner.
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