Former First Lady Jill Biden has acknowledged that President Joe Biden was 'slowing down' towards the end of his presidency, but insisted she saw no signs of cognitive decline. In an interview with CBS News' Sunday Morning aired on May 31, she described his ageing as 'natural' given the intensity of the job.
When asked about concerns that Biden was not the same person, Jill Biden pushed back, stating: 'He was the same, the essence of the same Joe Biden, but yeah, he was slowing down. He was getting older.' She noted that all presidents age visibly during their time in office.
The interview also touched on Biden's recent diagnosis of an aggressive form of prostate cancer, discovered four months after leaving the White House. Jill Biden described the diagnosis as 'shocking' and expressed surprise that it was missed during his time in office, despite praising the quality of care he received.
In a previously released clip, Jill Biden revealed she feared her husband had suffered a stroke during his disastrous debate with Donald Trump in 2024. 'I was frightened, because I had never seen Joe like that before or since,' she said. 'I thought, Oh my God, he's having a stroke.'
The former first lady's comments come ahead of the release of her memoir, View From the East Wing, due out on Tuesday.
