Former US first lady Jill Biden said she was "frightened" by her husband Joe Biden's disastrous TV debate performance against Republican rival Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign.
"I was frightened because I had never, ever seen Joe like that before or since," the former first lady said in a pre-released excerpt of an interview with broadcaster CBS set to be aired on Sunday.
"I don't know what happened. I mean, when I, as I watched it, I thought, oh my god, he's having a stroke, and it scared me to death."
In June 2024, Joe Biden's train-wreck debate performance against Trump sent Democrats into a panic over his viability as a presidential candidate. During the testy 90-minute debate, the then-81-year-old repeatedly hesitated when giving answers, misspoke and did not always answer coherently.
In July, the then-US president eventually succumbed to weeks of pressure and withdrew from the presidential race. His vice president, Kamala Harris, took over as the Democratic nominee but lost the November election to Trump.
