‘I Thought He Was Having A Stroke’: Jill Biden On Joe Biden’s 2024 Debate Performance

Last Updated:May 28, 2026, 12:24 IST

Jill Biden says Joe Bidens faltering June 2024 debate against Donald Trump "scared her to death" and she feared that "he is having a stroke."

Former first lady Jill Biden has revealed that she was deeply alarmed while watching Joe Biden’s faltering performance during the 2024 presidential debate against Donald Trump, saying she feared her husband might have suffered a stroke on stage.

“I was frightened, because I had never, ever seen Joe like that before or since. Never," Jill Biden said in a 30-second clip of an interview with CBS scheduled to air on Sunday.

“As I watched it, I thought: ‘Oh, my God, he’s having a stroke,’" she said. “And it scared me to death."

The remarks offer one of the most candid accounts yet from the Biden family about the dramatic June 2024 debate that ultimately reshaped the US presidential race. Biden’s shaky appearance during the nationally televised face-off triggered panic within the Democratic Party and intensified concerns over his age and fitness for office.

At the time, Biden was 81 years old and seeking re-election against Republican rival Donald Trump. Throughout the 90-minute debate in Atlanta, Biden repeatedly stumbled over his words and paused for extended moments. He was unable to articulate his thought at some moments.

The performance immediately sparked calls from Democratic strategists, donors and lawmakers for Biden to withdraw from the race.

Facing mounting pressure in the weeks that followed, Biden eventually ended his re-election campaign and endorsed Vice-President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. Harris was then left with just 107 days to mount a nationwide campaign ahead of the November 2024 election.

What Happened During Biden’s 2024 Debate?

The June 2024 debate was widely viewed as a turning point in the election cycle. Biden struggled to respond sharply to Trump’s attacks and frequently appeared fatigued and disoriented. Clips of his pauses and verbal stumbles quickly went viral online, fuelling concerns about his health and cognitive abilities.

The White House initially attributed Biden’s performance to a cold and exhaustion from an intense travel schedule, but criticism continued to grow in the days after the debate.

Trump and his allies repeatedly seized on the moment, arguing that Biden was unfit to serve another term. Trump mocked Biden’s debate struggles at campaign rallies and described the performance as proof that the president lacked the stamina required for office.

The debate fallout eventually became one of the defining political moments of the 2024 election, dramatically altering the course of the Democratic campaign.

News world ‘I Thought He Was Having A Stroke’: Jill Biden On Joe Biden’s 2024 Debate Performance

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