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Jill Biden: ‘I was frightened’ by 2024 debate, thought husband was having a stroke

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▶ Watch Video: Jill Biden: “I was frightened” by Biden’s debate performance and thought he was having a stroke

Former first lady Jill Biden said she was “frightened” by her husband Joe Biden’s 2024 debate performance and thought he was having a stroke.

“I was frightened, because I had never ever seen Joe like that before or since. Never,” Jill Biden told CBS News Sunday Morning’s Rita Braver in an interview airing Sunday on CBS.

“I don’t know what happened,” she said. “As I watched it, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, he’s having a stroke.’ And it scared me to death.”

Biden was running for a second term when he stumbled through the June 2024 presidential debate against Donald Trump, prompting widespread calls for him to drop out of the race. He dropped out a month later, with 107 days to go until the general election, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. He became the first sitting president to pull out of a presidential race since President Lyndon B. Johnson stepped aside in March of 1968.

In a wide-ranging interview, Jill Biden talked about the election, her husband, and her new book, View from the East Wing: A Memoir, and more.

Watch more of Jill Biden’s interview on “Sunday Morning” on May 31 at 9 a.m. on CBS stations and streaming on Paramount+. 

‘Maybe we’ll never take it down’: Trump compares White House UFC arena to Eiffel Tower, says it could be permanent

Construction continues on a venue for the upcoming UFC match on the South Lawn of the White House on June 1, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump is floating the possibility of keeping the UFC arena on the White House South Lawn -- built for a series of fights on his birthday and Flag Day -- permanently.In a video posted to his official TikTok account Tuesday evening, Trump sat in the Oval Office and said that the Eiffel Tower in Paris was supposed to be a temporary structure, but that France kept it up -- suggesting that the UFC arena is "quite attractive to a lot of people" so "maybe we'll never ever take it down.""People don't know that in Paris, France, the Eiffel Tower, 1889 it was built. It was supposed to be taken down immediately after the world's fair, and then they said: 'leave it up a little bit longer, and then they said, 'let's leave it up longer and longer and longer,'" Trump said in the video."Well, they never took it down, and you know we're building something in front of the White House that's quite attractive to a lot of people. Really, it's going to have the big UFC fight on June 14, and I'm looking at it and maybe we'll never ever take it down," Trump added.The Eiffel Tower was constructed for the 1889 World Exhibition, and was only meant to stay up for 20 years -- until 1909, according to the Eiffel Tower's website. Yet the tower's architect Gustave Eiffel fought to keep the tower intact, according to the website.The "UFC Freedom Fights 250" will take place on June 14 and feature a lightweight title matchup between undisputed champion Ilia Topuria and interim title holder Justin Gaethje alongside four other fights.The arena is visible from the White House North Lawn, cresting over the historic West Wing and Executive Residence.The White House South Lawn, where the arena is located, is a place often utilized by presidents.Trump and past presidents depart and arrive on Marine One from the lawn ahead of any travel to Joint Base Andrews -- an opportunity for members of the media to shout questions to the president as he moves from the White House to his helicopter. These arrivals and departures have been closed to the press since the week of May 20, when construction on the arena began.Other events, including the White House Easter Egg Roll and the annual Congressional Picnic, which was just held in May, are traditionally hosted on the South Lawn, too.ABC News' Sarah Beth Hensley contributed to this report.Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
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