Former US President Joe Biden debated Trump in 2024 and repeatedly froze on camera, fumbled for answers and appeared dazed and confused, but his wife Jill publicly praised him for his performance at the time04:20, 28 May 2026Updated 04:28, 28 May 2026Jill Biden has opened up on the "frightening moment" that she thought her husband was "having a stroke" during his infamous 2024 debate against Donald Trump.‌Former US President Joe Biden debated Trump on June 27, 2024, ahead of the election in November. Biden repeatedly froze on camera, fumbled for answers and appeared dazed and confused during the debate.‌The former first lady told CBS News in an interview set to air in full on Sunday ahead of her June 2 memoir release: "I was frightened, because I had never, ever seen Joe like that before or since. Never.‌"I don't know what happened."Jill went on to say that she thought "he's having a stroke".‌She was supportive in the aftermath of the debate and publicly praised him for the job he had done."Joe, you did such a great job," she said during an event."You answered every question, you knew all the facts."‌In the weeks after the debate, supporters and critics alike raised concerns over Biden's mental capabilities. But Jill defended her husband.At the time, the White House offered excuses for Biden's performance, initially blaming a cold before pivoting to jet lag from an overseas trip taken two weeks earlier, before finally claiming that he had prepped so hard for the debate that he got facts jumbled in his head.Biden's health had been an issue since he announced that he would seek a second term in April 2023. He was 81-years-old and the oldest person ever elected president at the time.‌Biden dropped out of the presidential race on July 21, 2024, under pressure from his own party. He endorsed then-Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place.Jill campaigned for Harris, who was defeated by Trump in the Electoral College vote and became the first Democrat in 20 years to lose the popular vote.‌A former White House staffer told The New York Post, Jill's candour is too late."Unfortunately, when you wait this long to tell your own story in your own words, it's extremely hard to put the toothpaste back in the tube," said Michael LaRosa, who served as the then-first lady’s communications director during her first year in the East Wing."She owed it to herself to be candid and transparent in the moment or the days after.‌"The cake is already baked when it comes to shaping public perception about that time and about her. Penning books doesn't cut it anymore."Neither Jill nor publisher Gallery Books have said how much she has been paid for her memoir, "View from the East Wing".The Bidens are believed to need the funds from her book as well as a memoir the former president is writing.Article continues belowThe couple left the White House as one of the poorest in presidential history, with financial disclosures showing cash assets worth between $632,000 and $1.38 million.