Former first lady JilL Biden appears on ABC’s The View, on June 2, 2026.ABC News
Former first lady Jill Biden, speaking on ABC’s “The View” on Tuesday, reiterated her defense of then-President Joe Biden’s approach to his 2024 reelection campaign and characterized his widely criticized debate performance as an atypical occurrence, stating that no one had approached her with concerns regarding her husband’s well-being.
When questioned about whether she still believes Joe Biden was in a suitable state to serve as president for an additional four years, Jill Biden expressed uncertainty, referencing his prostate cancer diagnosis in 2025.
“Well, not based on what I know now,” she stated. “I mean, heavens, who could have predicted? It was quite a shock to receive that cancer diagnosis.”
Jill Biden discussed her recently published memoir, “View from the East Wing,” which chronicles her tenure as first lady. The book, in part, delves into the challenging period during the summer of 2024 following Joe Biden’s debate with Donald Trump and the pressure he faced to withdraw from the presidential race.
The former first lady informed CBS News in an interview preceding the book’s launch that she had concerns Joe Biden might have been experiencing a stroke during the June 2024 debate, where the then-president appeared to falter at times and struggled to address the moderator’s questions.
On “The View” on Tuesday, she mentioned that she and the then-president had spoken immediately after the debate about how he had “made a mistake” — despite her public commendation of his performance in the immediate aftermath.
Former first lady JilL Biden appears on ABC’s The View, on June 2, 2026.ABC News
When asked if it was possible she had a “blind spot” in failing to notice what White House aides later described as lapses in Joe Biden’s performance or what polls indicated about Americans’ concerns regarding the president’s age, Jill Biden countered, stating that no aides had approached her to discuss such matters.
“You’re suggesting many aides observed this. No one ever approached me to say, ‘Jill, you know, Joe’s getting older or something is amiss.’ … When I witnessed that moment on TV during the debate, as did all Americans, I was terrified to my core because I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, he’s having a stroke,'” she recounted.
She further added, “We had three subsequent events that night, three where he took the stage and delivered speeches, and so forth. And to this day, I still cannot articulate precisely what occurred in that moment. What transpired? I’m uncertain.”
Earlier, when queried about the former president’s current condition following his prostate cancer diagnosis last year, Jill Biden stated he is “doing adequately” and continues to maintain a demanding schedule with speaking engagements, but acknowledged that cancer has presented significant challenges for him and their family.
“Here I was, I was browsing through travel magazines, thinking, ‘Oh, where shall we journey to? What shall we do?’ And then we received this cancer diagnosis, and I pondered, what am I doing? Our entire existence has changed,” she expressed.
Joe Biden has participated in limited media engagements since concluding his term, though he has made appearances at public functions and delivered keynote addresses. In April, he attended a portrait unveiling ceremony at Syracuse University, where he conveyed to the attendees his hope that his legacy would be defined by his “unwavering pursuit of the cause of democracy.”
Sourse: abcnews.go.com