Megyn Kelly shares chilling theory about why Jill Biden now claims she thought Joe was having stroke during career-ending debate disaster

By STEPHEN M. LEPORE, US SENIOR REPORTER Published: 01:08, 30 May 2026 | Updated: 01:27, 30 May 2026 Megyn Kelly questioned Jill Biden's claims she thought Joe Biden was having a stroke during his disastrous debate with Donald Trump. The podcast host suggested that the former First Lady fabricated anecdote to avoid blame for covering up her husband's alleged mental decline. Kelly's comments came after Jill made the claim ahead of the release of her new memoir on Tuesday, in which she addressed her shock and horror over tussle with Trump that effectively ended her husband's political career. On her SiriusXM show, Kelly posited that Jill Biden is trying to make herself seem less like a puppet-master amid her husband's failing health.   'She had seen him many, many times, and she did not think he was having a stroke. She knew this was par for the course. This is revisionist history to make her look less culpable on the cover-up,' Kelly said. Kelly suggested that First Lady Biden did her husband a disservice by keeping him in the limelight.   'You're supposed to be very gentle in handling this issue. You really shouldn't make them President of the United States, where millions of people and hundreds of press members are going to write about how you keep forgetting every night and day, or shove him out on a debate stage where he sounds like this,' she said. Kelly hammered home that she believes Jill Biden is trying to protect herself.   Megyn Kelly believes Jill Biden pushed her theory that she thought Joe Biden was having a stroke during his Georgia debate disaster to avoid blame for covering up her husband's 'dementia' The former First Lady spoke ahead of her new memoir, which releases Tuesday, about her shock and horror of the tussle with Donald Trump that effectively ended her husband's political career 'This wife, who shoved him up there and wants to pretend she never saw anything like that in private, is a liar. It's an obvious lie,' she added.  Her comments come while both Biden staffers and Democrats at large would like the Biden family to stop making media appearances so the party can move on ahead of the midterms.  Jill is on the cusp of releasing her White House memoir, View From the East Wing.  She kicked off the press tour by doing an interview with CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Rita Braver.  The book comes out on Tuesday, with Jill then embarking on an eight-city tour. To CBS, she suggested that she was shocked by her husband's debate performance, along with everyone else.  'I was frightened, because I had never ever seen Joe like that before or since. Never,' the former First Lady said. 'I don't know what happened. As I watched it, I thought, "Oh, my God, he's having a stroke." And it scared me to death.'  The former First Lady also attracted criticism for her performance in the debate's aftermath, as her husband, 81, made two further campaign appearances directly following the event. On her SiriusXM show, Kelly posited that Jill Biden is trying to make herself seem less like a puppet-master amid her husband's allegedly failing health  Age and inability to communicate effectively sparked widespread health fears for Biden Sources who worked under the Biden administration also queried Jill's claims. '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.' Democrats outside the Biden orbit, who want to follow the positive results in special elections earlier this year, are furious with the Bidens for reemerging.  'Why are we talking about this? Why are we talking about Hunter Biden? Why is Hunter Biden talking about Hunter Biden?' Democrat strategist Pete Giangreco told Politico.  'Nobody wants to relitigate the worst debate performance since the Greek Republic,' he added.  Former White House special assistant Meghan Hays said the situation was 'not welcome from Democrats' going into the midterms.  'We have a lot of momentum in our favor and when we get pulled back into conversations about age and the election in '24,' she told CSPAN. 'It's never gonna be a good place for Democrats. I think it's a tough place to be.'  Her comments come while both Biden staffers and Democrats at large would like the Biden family to stop making media appearances so the party can move on ahead of the midterms  Hays believes that Jill Biden's reappearance is out of a 'need to sell books' and the First Lady wanting 'her story out there.'  An anonymous former Biden administration official was much less sparing toward Jill.   'My reaction was basically: "Welcome to the club,"' the source said about Joe Biden's disaster debate performance.  'Every person across America and in your administration wondered the same thing, and instead of acknowledging that, we were told for days to ignore it — that it was just a bad night, just an anomaly.'  Democrat New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said Thursday that none of this matters in the larger scheme of things.  'What I need to do is to focus on making a difference in the lives of people,' Lujan Grisham said. 'And that’s what I think they’re getting really frustrated about, is all this nonsense. I don’t think the average Democratic voter, honestly, particularly in New Mexico, gives a damn about that book or the debate anymore.' Giangreco added that Democrats everywhere should be ignoring the Bidens and focus on their political enemies.  'Your time has passed, move on,' he said. 'The Republicans and all their super PACs are going to outspend us three-to-one, four-to-one — that's what we need to be focused on.'  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. 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? 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