Jill Biden memoir reveals health concerns, debate fallout

Former First Lady Jill Biden has released a memoir detailing her time in the White House, offering new revelations about her husband's final months in office and the pivotal 2024 presidential debate that reshaped the political landscape. The book, "View From the East Wing," was published this week.

In the memoir and accompanying interviews, Jill Biden recounts the June 2024 debate against Donald Trump, describing a moment of profound personal fear. She writes that as she watched from backstage, she worried her husband was having a stroke, briefly wondering if he had been drugged or was suffering another medical emergency. She said the look on his face was one she had never seen before. Immediately after leaving the stage, the former president whispered to her that he had messed up, which she confirmed.

She said White House doctors examined him after the event and declared him fine, and the couple proceeded to three more campaign events that night. Publicly, however, she praised his performance at a rally shortly afterward, a contrast she now acknowledges. She maintained that her husband was slowing down due to the intensity of the presidency but saw no signs of cognitive decline.