WATCH: Jill Biden Recalls Private Fear During Biden-Trump Debate

Former first lady Jill Biden said she feared President Joe Biden was “having a stroke” during his disastrous 2024 debate performance against Donald Trump.

“I was frightened,” she told CBS News. “I had never, ever seen Joe like that before or since. When I watched it, I thought, ‘Oh my God, he’s having a stroke.’ And it scared me to death.”

CBS released a 30-second preview clip on Wednesday ahead of the full interview, which will be broadcast on Sunday.

Former first lady @DrBiden said she was “frightened” by her husband Joe Biden’s performance at the 2024 presidential debate.

“As I watched it, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, he’s having a stroke.’ And it scared me to death,” Biden told CBS News Sunday Morning’s Rita Braver in an… pic.twitter.com/1wS5oGDYyX

— CBS Sunday Morning ???? (@CBSSunday) May 27, 2026

Despite privately fearing something was seriously wrong, Jill Biden publicly praised the president after the debate.

“Joe, you did such a great job. You answered every question,” she told him on stage afterward. 

Biden’s performance sparked immediate concern from both Democrats and Republicans and intensified scrutiny over his mental and physical fitness for office.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper later co-authored a book about the “cover-up” of Biden’s cognitive decline, with many Democrats viewing the debate as a turning point of the 2024 campaign.

Weeks later, Biden ended his re-election bid, leaving Vice President Kamala Harris with just 107 days to run for the highest office. 

Since leaving the White House, the Bidens have kept a relatively low public profile. Earlier this year, Joe Biden disclosed that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer.