Jill Biden described being frightened while watching Joe Biden’s faltering performance in the 2024 presidential debate. She said she thought he might be having a stroke and that the moment scared her deeply. The debate performance against Donald Trump in June 2024 triggered widespread alarm among Democrats and led to calls for Biden to withdraw from the race. Under pressure, Biden ended his re-election bid and endorsed Kamala Harris, who had 107 days to campaign before the November 2024 general election. During the debate, Biden repeatedly stumbled over words, paused for long stretches, and mumbled inaudibly at times. His misstatements and pivots, including a confusing line about Medicare and a shift away from reproductive rights, intensified concerns about his condition. Jill Biden had previously praised his performance at a rally shortly after the debate.
"I was frightened, because I had never, ever seen Joe like that before or since. Never, the former first lady said in an interview with CBS set to air on Sunday. As I watched it, I thought: Oh, my God, he's having a stroke,' she said. And it scared me to death."
"Throughout the 90-minute showdown in Atlanta, a raspy Biden, then 81 years old, repeatedly stumbled over his words, took long pauses and mumbled inaudibly and occasionally incoherently. At one point, his rambling response prompted Trump to quip: I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don't think he knows what he said either."
"Biden memorably tried to land a blow on Trump's policies on tax cuts and the national debt, but tangled the line and instead declared: We finally beat Medicare. His team later clarified that he had meant to say his administration had beat big pharma, but the misspeak crystalized longstanding concerns about the mental acuity and physical condition of the US's oldest president."
"Biden also veered away from a question on reproductive rights, shifting instead to references about women killed by immigrants a pivot into one of his weaker areas and a point frequently emphasized in Republican talking points. Jill Biden has remained a stalwart supporter of her husband throughout his decades-long political career."
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]