Former first lady Jill Biden has revealed that she feared her husband, President Joe Biden, might have been having a stroke during his disastrous 2024 debate against Donald Trump, but felt compelled to support him publicly. In an interview with NBC on Monday, she acknowledged her private concerns while defending her public insistence that he was capable of serving another term.
Jill Biden's account of the debate
During the interview, Jill Biden described watching the debate in horror, saying she was 'scared to death' and wondering 'What is going on?' After the debate, she said Joe Biden admitted he had 'messed up,' and she agreed. However, at a post-debate event, she told him, 'Joe, you did such a great job. You answered every question. You knew all the facts.'
Explaining her reasoning, Jill Biden said, 'What do I say to him? I'm his wife. I've got to lift him up.' She added that she wanted to say something true that would encourage him, so she focused on the fact that he answered every question. 'I had to sort of lift him up. I'm his wife. I'm not going to get out on the stage there and say, Joe, you really screwed that up.'
Withdrawal from the race
Less than four weeks after the debate, with the Democratic Party in panic, Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. Jill Biden was asked about Harris's criticism that leaving the reelection decision to the president and first lady alone was 'recklessness.' She responded, 'That is her point of view, and if she felt that way, she should have said it.'
Acknowledging aging
Jill Biden acknowledged that Joe Biden had aged in office, saying, 'He got older, and we all saw him aging. There were words that he would forget.' However, she noted that doctors assured them he was healthy, and she witnessed him working long hours. 'Yes, did I see him slowing down a little bit? When he got tired, did he stutter a little bit at night? Yeah, sure. But he was still doing the job, and he was doing a good job,' she said.
Health and cancer diagnosis
Jill Biden also addressed her husband's 2025 prostate cancer diagnosis, which his office revealed had spread to his bones. She said he is 'doing OK' but added, 'If he had just been diagnosed with prostate cancer, that's one thing, because that can be cured. But the fact that it metastasized to his bones — that makes it a whole different story. So I think Joe will live with cancer for the rest of his life.'
