Jill Biden, the former US First Lady, renewed the controversy over the faltering performance of her husband, former President Joe Biden, in his debate against Donald Trump in 2024, after she said that she still did not know what happened to him that night, and did not categorically rule out the hypothesis put forward to her by her interlocutor regarding the possibility that someone had slipped a substance into his drink.
During her appearance on the second part of the “Jimmy Kern Lima Show,” which was published on August 20, Biden spoke about the moments that preceded and followed the debate, stressing that her husband was tired and did not feel at his best, but stressed that she did not have a decisive medical or factual explanation for what happened.
Jill Biden said, “There are all kinds of theories,” noting that Joe Biden had spent a while traveling and was tired, and that she noticed when she saw him on the day of the debate that he “did not feel well,” without there being a specific thing that she could rely on to explain his performance.
When host Jamie Kern Lima asked her if it was impossible for someone to have put something in their drink, Jill Biden replied: “Who knows?”, repeating the phrase again.
However, this response does not constitute a direct accusation by Jill Biden of drugging her husband, and according to what has been announced, there is no medical or criminal evidence proving that a substance was planted on him before the debate. The possibility of “anesthesia” was raised mainly in the program’s presenter’s question, while Biden’s response was limited to her not having a definitive explanation for what happened.
Jill Biden explained that she was busy on a tour that lasted about two weeks before the debate, and she was not constantly with her husband during the previous days, noting that she saw him about an hour before the confrontation began.
She also confirmed that doctors later ruled out the possibility of a stroke, a possibility she said she thought about herself while watching his performance on stage.
Jill Biden revealed for the first time last May that she felt very afraid during the debate, because she had never seen her husband in this condition before or after, and she said that she wondered while watching whether he was having a stroke. She later confirmed that the tests did not support this hypothesis.
The incident dates back to June 27, 2024, when Biden faced Trump in a presidential debate in Atlanta that turned into a turning point in the race for the White House. Biden, who was 81 years old at the time, appeared hesitant in a number of his answers and stopped speaking at different moments, which sparked a wave of doubts within the Democratic Party about his ability to run in the elections and remain in the presidency for an additional 4 years.
Days after the debate, Biden himself tried to explain what happened. He said in a television interview that his performance was not the result of a serious health condition, describing it as a “bad night,” noting that he was exhausted due to international travel and that he was suffering from a cold.
But the repercussions of the debate continued to escalate politically, with representatives, donors, and Democratic figures coming out to demand his withdrawal from the race, before he announced on July 21, 2024, that he was ending his electoral campaign and supporting his deputy, Kamala Harris, as a candidate for the Democratic Party.
The debate thus became one of the most influential events of the 2024 elections, as it was not just a poor television performance, but the spark that opened an unprecedented public debate within the party about Biden’s age, condition, and ability to continue.
Jill Biden is currently reopening this file as part of a media tour during which she is promoting her memoir, “A View from the East Wing,” which was released in June and includes her account of her years in the White House, including the final moments of her husband’s re-election campaign.
In her memoirs, Jill Biden describes the debate as an “abnormal” event from what she was accustomed to seeing from her husband, and confirms that even after two years had passed, she remained without a clear explanation of what happened that night, despite her being aware of his health condition and her constant follow-up of him.
But recalling the stage raised resentment within Democratic circles, as some party officials and former Biden supporters saw that returning to the details of the 2024 elections reopens a crisis that the party has sought to overcome since its loss to Trump. The Washington Post reported that the book tour had already revived differences within Biden’s circle and the party over the way the campaign was managed.
Jill Biden had denied in previous interviews that she had witnessed cognitive deterioration in her husband during his time in the White House, but she acknowledged that he was “slowing down” as he grew older, considering that the pressures of the presidency itself were severe on him.
The sensitivity of her recent statements lies in the fact that she moves from talking about fatigue, travel, or the possibility of contracting a health condition, to leaving the door open to an unproven theory about the intervention of another party. However, what she has said so far does not include providing evidence, naming a suspect, or referring to an official investigation in this regard.
Hence, what happened on the night of June 27, 2024 remains the subject of multiple narratives: Biden himself spoke of fatigue and a cold, and Jill Biden said that she initially feared a stroke before doctors ruled it out, while to date no announced medical explanation has emerged proving the presence of a narcotic substance or any intentional intervention.
As the US midterm elections approach, these statements bring one of the Democratic Party’s most painful moments back to the forefront, at a time when Biden’s family members and former officials continue to provide their own accounts of the weeks before his withdrawal from the presidential race.
