{"id":1321,"date":"2026-05-28T22:41:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T22:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/2026\/05\/28\/former-us-first-lady-reignites-debate-over-alleged-biden-health-cover-up\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T22:41:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T22:41:14","slug":"former-us-first-lady-reignites-debate-over-alleged-biden-health-cover-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/?p=1321","title":{"rendered":"Former US first lady reignites debate over alleged Biden health cover-up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jill Biden has said she thought Joe Biden was \u201chaving a stroke\u201d during the 2024 debate with Donald Trump<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former US First Lady Jill Biden has said she thought her husband was having a stroke during his disastrous 2024 debate with Donald Trump. The remarks have revived scrutiny of Joe Biden\u2019s decline and the efforts by his inner circle to defend his fitness for office.<\/p>\n

Speaking to CBS on Wednesday, Jill Biden said she was \u201cfrightened\u201d<\/em> as the then-81-year-old president stumbled through the televised debate in June 2024, appearing to lose his train of thought and struggling to respond coherently.
<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d never seen Joe like that before,\u201d<\/em> she said, adding that she thought at the time: \u201cOh, my God, he\u2019s having a stroke. And it scared me to death.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The debate triggered panic among Democrats and renewed allegations of mental decline, which were long denied by the Biden administration. It also prompted Democratic Party leaders to pressure Biden to step down as their presidential candidate in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"Former
Joe Biden sues US government<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Trump was also reportedly taken aback, with one adviser telling the Washington Post that \u201cno one was more shocked at Biden\u2019s performance than Donald Trump.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Jill Biden\u2019s comments also cast new light on her own reaction immediately after the debate when she praised her husband, saying: \u201cJoe, you did such a great job answering every question! You knew all the facts.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The moment was widely mocked in the media, with some accusing her of treating the president like a \u201ctoddler.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Critics also alleged that Jill was unwilling to acknowledge the scale of her husband\u2019s deterioration and that she maintained a tightly controlled environment around him.<\/p>\n

Several explanations have since been offered for Biden\u2019s performance. His son Hunter Biden blamed sleeping pills, while others pointed to exhaustion, over-preparation, illness, or broader concerns over age-related impairment.<\/p>\n

Conservative media seized on Jill Biden\u2019s new account. Breitbart mocked the contrast between her recent comments and praise in 2024, calling the interview acknowledgment that critics of Biden\u2019s fitness were right all along.<\/p>\n

\n
\n READ MORE: <\/span>Hunter Biden challenges Trump\u2019s sons to a \u2018cage match\u2019 (VIDEO)
\n <\/a>\n <\/p>\n

The conservative New York Post called her remarks \u201ca scandal of historic proportions,\u201d<\/em> arguing that they reinforced accusations that the White House covered up Biden\u2019s decline.<\/p>\n

Left-leaning coverage has been more sympathetic, with The Guardian presenting the statement as a traumatic personal moment during a brutal campaign collapse rather than proof of deliberate deception.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jill Biden has said she thought Joe Biden was \u201chaving a stroke\u201d during the 2024…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}