Former aides to President Joe Biden are expressing skepticism regarding claims made by former First Lady Jill Biden about her reaction to her husband’s performance during the 2024 presidential debate. Dr. Biden, in a recent interview, shared her shocked response, suggesting she believed Joe Biden might have been having a stroke at that moment.
Dr. Biden is on the verge of releasing her memoir titled View From the East Wing, which delves into her experiences at the White House. Ahead of the book’s release, she sat down with CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Rita Braver, marking the beginning of her promotional tour across eight cities. The memoir is set to hit shelves on Tuesday.
During her CBS interview, Dr. Biden recounted the unsettling experience of watching her husband’s debate performance. “I was frightened because I had never seen Joe like that before or since,” she remarked. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, he’s having a stroke,’ and it scared me to death.”
In her memoir, she elaborates further on her concerns during that time. An excerpt obtained by The Atlantic reveals her pondering whether Joe Biden was experiencing a medical emergency. “Is this a stroke?” she writes. “I felt like we were watching an AI hologram of the man we knew, and the hologram was glitching. Has he been drugged?”
In the pages of her book, Dr Biden took it a step further.
‘Is this a stroke? I felt like we were watching an AI hologram of the man we knew, and the hologram was glitching. Has he been drugged?’ she wrote, according to an excerpt obtained by the Atlantic.
But sources who worked in that White House don’t think what Dr Biden claimed adds up.
‘If she felt he was having a stroke, she should have taken him to Walter Reed instead of directly to supporters to tell us all what a great job he did,’ one former Biden official said.
Another added: ‘I just do not believe it. It seems fake and rehearsed.’
First Lady Jill Biden (center) stands near her husband, President Joe Biden (right), during the June 2024 presidential debate co-moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper (left). Dr Biden now says she thought her husband was having a ‘stroke’ during his disastrous performance
President Joe Biden participated in one general election debate against President Donald Trump before dropping out of the race in July 2024. His wife now says she was concerned he was having a stroke or had accidentally been drugged ahead of the debate
A third former Biden White House official had a lot of questions.
‘I understand why someone watching on television might think that. I mean, I did when I saw him,’ the official said of the President’s poor performance. ‘For a lot of us, it was the first time seeing the President publicly in about a week.’
Like many aides, the official hadn’t traveled with Biden to Camp David, where he was holed up for about a week engaging in debate prep with only his inner circle.
The official floated that it was less likely Biden’s own wife would be surprised.
‘The idea that Jill Biden spent the day with him and then he somehow had a stroke mere seconds later just doesn’t make sense to me. All of his most senior advisers were there,’ the official said.
‘They didn’t see any signs of a stroke while he was getting mic’d up? During final touches? While wishing the boss luck,’ the former White House official continued.
The accidental drugging claims also didn’t make sense to the ex-official.
‘And even if I swap that out and think about the idea of being drugged, like taking a Benadryl or whatever – it still doesn’t click,’ the source said. ‘In his final moments before he took the stage, were no alarm bells ringing?’
After the debate, President Joe Biden (left) and First Lady Jill Biden (right) stopped by a watch party and addressed Atlanta-area supporters. At the time, Dr Biden commended her husband’s performance, despite now saying it was so bad she thought he had a ‘stroke’
President Joe Biden (center) and First Lady Jill Biden (right) then stopped by a Waffle House before departing Georgia for North Carolina, where the then President headlined another political rally in Raleigh the next day
The former First Lady also garnered criticism for her performance in the debate’s aftermath, as the 81-year-old President made not one but two campaign appearances directly following.
Joe and Jill headed to an Atlanta-area watch party to greet supporters.
‘Joe, you did such a great job. You answered every question. You knew all the facts,’ the first lady told her husband onstage.
‘What did Trump do?’ the First Lady asked.
‘Lied!’ the crowd yelled back.
She and the President then headed to a Waffle House to meet more voters.
The second White House official who spoke with the Daily Mail pushed that Dr Biden ‘knows he didn’t do [well] and I would assume had seen signs of aging long before this.’
The official also wasn’t impressed that Democrats were now having to relitigate this.
‘What’s the point?’ the second official mused.
‘I think if you wanted to sell books, take some swipes at Kamala [Harris] or [Nancy] Pelosi and move on,’ the source added.
