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Jill Biden Opens Up About Joe Biden's 'Disastrous' 2024 Debate Against Donald Trump: 'I Thought He's Having A Stroke'

May 29, 2026 by Abigail Connolly
shefinds | Celebrity
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One of the most iconic moments in the 2024 U.S. presidential election was the first debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, where the former president did not perform as expected.

Now, Joe’s famous wife, Jill, is opening up about how she really felt during the viral “disaster” of a debate, where her husband gave what the public called one of his worst performances of all time, with stuttering speech and responses that were bulldozed by current President Trump. She explained how “scared” she was, even mentioning that she thought he was having a health incident. Read more about what she had to say below.

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Jill Biden Admits She Was 'Frightened' By Joe Biden's 2024 Debate Performance

Thousands of Americans were shocked when President Donald Trump was elected to serve a second term in 2024, but anyone who watched his first debate against former President Joe Biden was not so surprised.

 

The debate, which happened on June 28, 2024, in Atlanta, was highly anticipated, as the two men hadn't stepped on the debate stage together since 2020. It garnered a lot of attention beforehand, but also afterward, as the former Delaware senator put up a surprisingly poor fight. He seemingly struggled to keep up with Trump's quick jabs, stuttered during certain answers, and overall was dominated.

 

Though she supported him in the moment, now, in a new CBS Sunday Morning interview airing this weekend, his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, is opening up about how she really felt while watching it.

 

"I wasn't horrified, I was frightened, because I had never ever seen Joe like that before or since," she admitted in a preview for her interview. "Never."

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Jill Says She Thought Joe Was 'Having A Stroke' During The 2024 Debate

Not only did the presidential debate with Joe's poor performance worry his wife in terms of nerves or his future in the 2024 race, but it also raised health concerns.

 

After seeing him struggle to get certain statements out and visibly look flustered as he attempted to match the aggressive energy of his opponent, the former NYC real estate mogul, the previous first lady started panicking, as she believed he might have been in the middle of a health crisis.

 

"I don't know what happened," she recalled. "As I watched it, I thought, 'Oh, my God, he's having a stroke,' and it scared me to death."

 

During her Sunday Morning interview, Jill promotes her upcoming memoir, View From The East Wing, which will reportedly contain stories about her time in the White House, as well as what she's calling, "witnessing the abrupt end of her husband's bid for reelection."

Author:

Editorial Assistant

Abigail is a journalist based in Brooklyn, New York. As an Editorial Assistant for SheFinds, she covers topics ranging from celebrity news and fashion to wellness. She has written for other publications, including Chip Chick, Bandsintown, BroadwayWorld, and more. When she isn't writing, Abigail loves spending time in the city with her friends, being a 'dog mom' to her Chihuahua, and singing along to some of her favorite music.

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Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez at a public event.
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