Jill Biden has said she thought Joe Biden was "having a stroke" during the 2024 debate with Donald Trump

Former US First Lady Jill Biden has said she thought her husband was having a stroke during his disastrous 2024 debate with Donald Trump. The remarks have revived scrutiny of Joe Biden's decline and the efforts by his inner circle to defend his fitness for office.

Speaking to CBS on Wednesday, Jill Biden said she was "frightened" as the then-81-year-old president stumbled through the televised debate in June 2024, appearing to lose his train of thought and struggling to respond coherently.

"I'd never seen Joe like that before," she said, adding that she thought at the time: "Oh, my God, he's having a stroke. And it scared me to death."

The debate triggered panic among Democrats and renewed allegations of mental decline, which were long denied by the Biden administration. It also prompted Democratic Party leaders to pressure Biden to step down as their presidential candidate in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump was also reportedly taken aback, with one adviser telling the Washington Post that "no one was more shocked at Biden's performance than Donald Trump."

Jill Biden's comments also cast new light on her own reaction immediately after the debate when she praised her husband, saying: "Joe, you did such a great job answering every question! You knew all the facts."

The moment was widely mocked in the media, with some accusing her of treating the president like a "toddler."

Critics also alleged that Jill was unwilling to acknowledge the scale of her husband's deterioration and that she maintained a tightly controlled environment around him.

Several explanations have since been offered for Biden's performance. His son Hunter Biden blamed sleeping pills, while others pointed to exhaustion, over-preparation, illness, or broader concerns over age-related impairment.

Conservative media seized on Jill Biden's new account. Breitbart mocked the contrast between her recent comments and praise in 2024, calling the interview acknowledgment that critics of Biden's fitness were right all along.

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The conservative New York Post called her remarks "a scandal of historic proportions," arguing that they reinforced accusations that the White House covered up Biden's decline.

Left-leaning coverage has been more sympathetic, with The Guardian presenting the statement as a traumatic personal moment during a brutal campaign collapse rather than proof of deliberate deception.