Jill Biden’s memoir tells the story of the night that ended Biden’s campaign
Jill Biden reveals her horror and shock during the 2024 debate in her new memoir, “View from the East Wing.”
Former first lady Jill Biden told ABC’s “The View” on June 2 that no one approached her because of concerns about former President Joe Biden’s health amid his dismal performance in the 2024 presidential debate.
Biden’s comments came during his media appearances as the former first lady’s new memoir, “A View from the East Wing,” hit stores.
Asked if she still believes her husband could have served four more years in the White House, Biden said he doubted it, especially given that his husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2025.
“Well, based on what I know now, that’s not the case,” she said. “God, who knew? I mean, being diagnosed with cancer was such a shock.”
During an appearance on “The View,” Biden was asked whether anyone in her husband’s inner circle had consulted her about her husband’s health before his debate appearance with then-Republican candidate Donald Trump, especially as Americans were increasingly concerned about the former president’s health.
“A lot of aides say they saw this. Not one person came up to me and said, ‘Jill, look, Joe has aged or something is wrong,'” she said. “When I saw that, when all of America saw that moment on TV at the debate, I mean, I was scared out of my mind because I thought, ‘Oh my God, he’s having a stroke.’
Book publication and cancer diagnosis
The release of Biden’s book comes a year after the former president announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and just days after she gave an update on her husband’s health.
In an interview on NBC’s “Today” on June 1 to promote her new memoir, she said that she is “doing well” despite her husband’s continued battle with prostate cancer.
“If he had just been diagnosed with prostate cancer, I think that would be a different matter, because it is curable,” the former first lady said. “But the fact that it metastasized to his bones makes it a completely different story.”
She added: “So I think Joe will be living with cancer ‘for the rest of his life.'”
USA TODAY’s Melina Khan contributed to this report.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Contact us at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow us at X @fern_cerv_.
