Jill Biden feared Joe was 'having a STROKE' during disastrous Trump debate: 'It scared me to death'

By PHILLIP NIETO, US POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 21:52, 27 May 2026 | Updated: 21:57, 27 May 2026 Jill Biden feared her husband was 'having a stroke' on live television during the disastrous debate with Donald Trump that ultimately sank his reelection campaign. 'I was frightened, because I had never ever seen Joe like that before or since. Never,' the former First Lady told CBS News in a recent interview.   Biden famously appeared frail and stumbled over his words during his infamous June 2024 debate against Trump. His age and inability to communicate effectively sparked widespread health fears for Biden.  'I don't know what happened,' she continued. 'As I watched it, I thought, 'Oh, my God, he's having a stroke. And it scared me to death.' Within weeks of his catastrophic performance, the 83-year-old was forced to drop out of the race. Biden became the first incumbent president to abandon a re-election bid since Lyndon B Johnson in 1968.  Jill's stunning admission to CBS News comes just days before the release of her new book, View from the East Wing: A Memoir.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.