Former first lady Jill Biden said she feared her husband, former President Joe Biden, was “having a stroke” during his June 27, 2024 presidential debate with Donald Trump. In a preview clip of a CBS Sunday Morning interview set to air on Sunday, May 31, Jill Biden said she was alarmed by his performance and had “never, ever seen Joe like that before or since.” She described watching the debate and thinking something serious was happening in front of a global audience.
Joe Biden’s widely criticized debate performance became a turning point in the 2024 election campaign and intensified pressure on him to end his re-election bid. In the weeks that followed, more than 30 congressional Democrats publicly urged him to step aside, while prominent figures including George Clooney, Rob Reiner and Stephen King also called for him to withdraw. Biden initially resisted, telling supporters at a rally in North Carolina that he was aware of his age and limitations but still knew how to do the job and believed in his ability to lead.
Despite his early defiance, Biden announced on July 21, 2024, that he would withdraw from the race and focus on serving out the remainder of his presidential term. He also endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him as the Democratic nominee in the November election. In his statement, Biden said he believed stepping aside was in the best interest of his party and the country, while praising his administration’s record on the economy, health care, prescription drug costs, and recovery from the pandemic and economic crisis.
Harris went on to face Trump in the general election but ultimately lost in November 2024. In May 2025, Biden’s office disclosed that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had spread to the bone. The statement said the disease was hormone-sensitive, which allowed for treatment options. Biden later thanked supporters for their messages, writing that cancer affects many families and that he and Jill Biden had learned they were strongest during difficult times.
