Jill Biden on life in, and after, the White House

Sunday Morning Jill Biden on life in, and after, the White House By Rita Braver Rita Braver National Correspondent, "CBS News Sunday Morning" Rita Braver is a national correspondent for "CBS News Sunday Morning," where she reports on everything from arts and culture to politics and foreign policy. Read Full Bio Rita Braver May 31, 2026 / 10:19 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google It's been nearly a year-and-a-half since President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden left the White House, for a quiet life in Delaware. "Well, it's not exactly a quiet life," Jill said, in her first interview since then. "We're still doing a lot of things – writing, traveling, speaking. But then we come home, and this is our peaceful place, let's put it that way. " But there has not been a lot of peace for the Bidens. Just four months after leaving office, President Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive form of stage IV prostate cancer that had traveled to his bones. "He's doing well, but it was a shock," Jill said. "Honestly, I can remember getting the diagnosis, and it was just shocking." Former first lady Dr. Jill Biden at home in Delaware, with correspondent Rita Braver.  CBS News Asked whether the cancer should have been discovered while he was still at the White House, Jill replied, "Well, you know the doctors said that, according to the American Urological Association, that men over 70 don't need a PSA, a blood test, any more because it's a slow-growing cancer. … I do feel we had amazing care in the White House, but somehow that was missed." I asked, "So, you are a little bit tense when it comes to his health?" "I don't know if the word is tense, but I think I'm vigilant," Jill replied. But there is another essential question that many Americans have about President Biden's mental health when he was in the White House. But Jill says she never saw any signs that he was falling into cognitive decline. "Oh, he was definitely aging; I mean, we were all aging," Jill said. "So, yes, he was slowing down." I said, "People were saying he wasn't the same Joe Biden." "Well, I don't think that's true," Jill stated. "He was the same, the essence of the same Joe Biden, but yeah, he was slowing down. He was getting older. It's a very intense job. I think it ages you, quickly. Look at the other presidents, I mean, in comparison when they started in office and got out of office. It was natural aging." "From the start of the administration, some polls were showing that many Americans were questioning the president's mental fitness," I said. "I asked you about it [in 2021], and you said there's nothing to it." "And I still say that," Jill replied. And now, Dr. Jill Biden has written a book about her time in the White House (to be published Tuesday) called "View From the East Wing" – the place where generations of first ladies had their offices, and where visitors came for White House tours. It has now been destroyed by President Donald Trump to make way for a ballroom. Gallery Books The former first lady writes in her book, "I felt a sense of loss and grief with every blow from the wrecking ball. The innards of the East Wing were spread out for everyone to see, like a rare and precious animals that had been hunted down and killed." "That's right," Jill said. "I mean, there was so much really institutional memory in that building. I loved the East Wing." She said she had no intention of changing the title of her book once the East Wing was demolished: "No. Then I thought, 'This is the perfect title for my book.'" Jill Biden only mentions President Trump's name once in her book, otherwise referring to him as "my husband's predecessor," or "my husband's successor." "Well, why would I talk about him when I'm writing about Joe's administration?" The January 6 insurrection It was an administration that was put in jeopardy before it began, when election deniers stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in a failed attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's presidential victory. "It was horrible," Jill said. "I mean, we couldn't believe what we were seeing on television." Asked what she thought of President Trump granting pardons to the rioters, Jill replied, "I don't think it's right." But from Inauguration Day on, Jill Biden set out to make the most of her time as first lady – the first to hold a regular job outside the White House, teaching at a community college. "And I can remember in a meeting when they said, 'Well, you're not thinking of continuing to teach?' And I said, 'Yes, I am!' It's always been my passion. I love my students, and I so honor teachers." [In fact, she cites a favorite state dinner as one honoring teachers.] Former first lady Jill Biden.  CBS News She also traveled the country on behalf of her husband's administration, for example, urging people to get COVID vaccinations: "I think most Americans, like, try to forget that chapter of America's life, because it was so hard to live through a pandemic," she said. "But Joe came in and he picked up the pieces, and he made sure that shots got in the arms and the vaccine got in the arms, and that schools reopened." There were also lots of foreign trips, including going back-and-forth to France for D-Day Commemorations during son Hunter's trial on federal gun charges linked to his drug use. "Even though I had a really busy schedule, I did what any other parent would do, and that is support their child," she said. After Hunter Biden was convicted on all three counts, the president had a decision to make. He said he would never pardon his son … and then, he did. "Joe said in the beginning, 'I won't pardon Hunter, I won't pardon Hunter,'" Jill said. "And then the Justice Department changed. And I think that the process was not fair to Hunter. But then when Trump was elected, things changed, and we knew that he would target Hunter. And we just could not let our son go to jail on a charge that no one would go – I mean, no one has ever gone to jail for." Asked if she urged the president to pardon Hunter, Jill said. "Oh, gosh, I truly supported it. I wanted him to pardon Hunter at that point, and I agreed with Joe." President Biden also pre-emptively pardoned other members of their family. "I suppose for the same reason that he felt that they would be targeted," Jill said. "Because you felt that the Trump Justice Department would target them, or the Trump administration would target them?" I asked. "Yes." "Are you worried, in publishing this book, that the Trump administration will come after you and your family, because you've just, you know, spoken out so much?" I asked. "Am I worried about it? No," Jill replied. "Look: Joe's attacked every day … by negative things that are said by this administration. So, I don't think it's gonna change." "But you're not worried that this is gonna, you know, precipitate an attack on your family?" "I hope not." The debateJill Biden proudly touts her husband's accomplishments: "He got legislation done," she said. "He created more jobs in his four-year term than any other president. Look at all he did. I mean, look at the infrastructure bill and the American Rescue Plan."  But when she arrived at the first Presidential Debate of 2024, she saw that President Biden wasn't feeling well: "But then, Joe, always, even if he was off a little bit, he would always rally. And I thought, OK, so he'll get in there in that debate and he'll be fine. He's gonna rally. But he got in there, he got into the debate, and he didn't." As it unfolded, and the president appeared confused, she said, "I was frightened, because I had never, ever seen Joe like that, before or since. Never. … I don't know what happened. I mean, as I watched it I thought, 'Oh my God, he's having a stroke.' And it scared me to death. And then he never seemed to … find himself after that. "As we were walking out, you know, he said (and I'm not gonna use the words because it's morning TV!), 'I really sort of messed up, didn't I?' And I said, 'Yes, you did.' And we left the stage area, and what people don't know, he had two events after that, and he was fine. I mean he was fine. It was inexplicable." "But what if that had happened during a meeting with foreign leaders or something like that?" I asked. "I don't know how to answer that," she replied. But Jill, and the rest of the Biden family, thought he should keep running, despite increasing calls for him to step aside: "He was still doing a great job as president. He was still doing the work every single day."   Jill said that when people couldn't convince her husband to quit the race, they began lobbying her. "Yes, they did, [they thought] that I should step in." But she believed he was fit to serve – and when Joe Biden considered not running, she told him, "I don't want you to have my opinion." "It couldn't be me; it had to be his decision, whether he stayed in or got out," she explained. "He had to live with that the rest of his life. It had to be his decision alone. And it was." Jill described it as "hurtful" to see many of the people that she thought were behind her husband come out against him. "I'm not going to give any specific names – like, what's the point of that? It's done, it's over," she said. "I mean, when you love somebody and you see people attacking them, I mean, it's hard." And so, believing that he had lost the backing of the Democratic Party, President Biden dropped out of the race. "He said, 'Jilly, I had no choice.' That's what his nickname is for me." The decision, she said, left her feeling "heartbroken." And even today, she still thinks her husband would have make a good president if he had stayed in the race: "Of course, he would have made a good president; he made a good president the four years he was there!" she said. "To me, he was the best president. Of course, I could be blinded by love – I hope that I am blinded by love! But you know, people say what a great president he was. You know, he was kind, he was empathetic, he was strong, he was steady. He did things for the good of the American people. And I mean, he was a leader on the world stage. And I think that will be Joe's legacy." WEB EXCLUSIVE: Watch an extended interview with Jill Biden Extended interview: Former first lady Jill Biden 19:25 READ AN EXCERPT: "View From the East Wing" by Jill Biden For more info:  "View from the East Wing: A Memoir" by Jill Biden (Gallery Books), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available June 2 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org      Story produced by Jon Carras. Editor: Lauren Barnello.  In: Jill Biden Joe Biden © 2026 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.