Former First Lady Jill Biden shared new details Tuesday about the aftermath of the June 2024 presidential debate, confirming her husband was evaluated by medical staff immediately after the event.
Speaking on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on the day her White House memoir was released, she described the frightening moments surrounding the debate against now-President Donald Trump. Earlier in her book tour, she admitted she feared her husband might be having a stroke while on stage.
When asked Tuesday if she recommended he see a doctor that night, she explained that medical personnel were already present.
“I have a team of doctors around me as first lady. Joe had a team of doctors around him,” she said. “So, when I saw that, and I was frightened, I was, you know, scared to death to see that, and, but the doctors were there.”
She noted that the former president knew he had performed poorly as soon as he stepped off the stage.
“And then we got off the stage, and you know, I went to get my stuff. He was checked out by the doctors,” she continued. “They said he’s fine. We went on to do three more events that night and Joe was like he always was, and so to me, as I look back, I mean that was so inexplicable. I just to this day it’s just inexplicable.”
The debate performance led to widespread calls from Democrats for him to drop out of the race. Nearly a month later, while quarantining in Delaware with a COVID-19 diagnosis, he ended his campaign and endorsed Kamala Harris.
When questioned about rumors that close advisors and media members had protected him by hiding his condition from the public, the former first lady pushed back against the idea.
“Really, if we were hiding him behind the scenes, why did we ask the Trump team for the debate? I mean, we were the ones that proposed it, like, if we, if that were true, you know, why did we put him out there?” she asked, concluding, “No, I don’t think it was protected.”
During the interview, she also gave a brief update on the former president’s recent cancer diagnosis. She described the illness as tough but noted that he is still traveling by Amtrak and doing speaking engagements. “Cancer is really tough, and so I’ve … so I would say he’s doing okay,” she said.
Finally, she confirmed that her husband recently reconciled with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a longtime ally who notably did not stand by him following the 2024 debate. The two shared a brief moment at a recent funeral where they agreed to end the rift. According to the former first lady, they said to each other, “Peace, let’s be friends.”
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