Former US First Lady Jill Biden has revealed that she feared her husband, President Joe Biden, was suffering a stroke during his widely criticised debate performance against Donald Trump in 2024. Speaking in an interview with CBS News, she described the moment as deeply frightening and unlike anything she had witnessed during their decades together in public life.
“I was frightened, because I had never ever seen Joe like that before or since. Never,” Jill Biden said during the interview with CBS Sunday Morning. “I don’t know what happened. As I watched it, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, he’s having a stroke.’ And it scared me to death.”
The debate, held in June 2024 ahead of the US presidential election, became a turning point in Biden’s re-election campaign. During the televised confrontation with Republican candidate Donald Trump, Biden appeared unusually frail and struggled at times to maintain his train of thought. His voice was raspy throughout the event, which his campaign later attributed to illness. Viewers and political analysts quickly raised concerns about his health, stamina, and ability to continue serving as president.
At the time, Biden’s campaign strongly denied speculation that he might withdraw from the race. Officials insisted he remained fully committed to seeking a second term and even stated he would participate in another debate with Trump. However, the fallout from the performance intensified pressure from Democratic leaders, donors, and voters who feared his candidacy could hurt the party’s chances in the election.
Despite the criticism, Jill Biden publicly defended her husband immediately after the debate. Speaking at a rally in Atlanta later that evening, she praised his performance and sought to reassure supporters.
“Joe, you did such a great job. You answered every question. You knew all the facts,” she told the crowd.
Privately, however, the debate reportedly sparked serious concern within Democratic circles. Even then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who had generally avoided publicly criticising Biden, admitted afterward that the president had experienced a “slow start” during the debate.
Questions about Biden’s age and mental sharpness had already become major issues during the campaign. At 81 years old, he was the oldest sitting US president in history, and many voters worried about whether he could continue handling the demands of the office. The debate performance only intensified those concerns and led to intense media scrutiny in the weeks that followed.
Additional public appearances further damaged confidence in Biden’s campaign. Several verbal mistakes during a NATO summit and his increasingly frail appearance after a Covid diagnosis added to mounting doubts. Although replacing an incumbent president so close to an election was viewed as politically risky, pressure within the Democratic Party eventually became impossible to ignore.
Biden ultimately withdrew from the presidential race and endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. Harris entered the race just months before Election Day but was unable to defeat Donald Trump in the general election.
In the aftermath of the loss, Harris reflected critically on Biden’s decision to seek another term. In her memoir, she described the situation as one in which Democrats repeatedly deferred to “Joe and Jill’s decision” regarding the campaign. Looking back, Harris questioned whether remaining in the race for so long had been wise, ultimately calling the decision “recklessness.”
