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Former First Lady Jill Biden admitted that her husband, Joe Biden, was “slowing down” toward the end of his presidency, but continued to defend his mental fitness.
Jill Biden told CBS News’ Sunday Morning in an interview that aired May 31 that she never saw any signs that her husband was in cognitive or mental decline during his presidency.
“Oh, he was definitely aging; I mean, we were all aging,” Jill Biden said. “So yes, he was slowing down.”
The former first lady pushed back when CBS correspondent Rita Braver noted: “People were saying he wasn’t the same Joe Biden.”
“Well, I don’t think that’s true,” she said. “He was the same, the essence of the same Joe Biden, but yeah, he was slowing down. He was getting older. It’s a very intense job. I think it ages you, quickly. Look at the other presidents, I mean in comparison when they started in office and got out of office. It was natural aging.”
Braver recalled an interview with Jill Biden in 2021 about a poll that showed many Americans questioned her husband’s mental fitness.
“I said, ‘I asked you about it [in 2021]’ and you said there’s nothing to it,” Braver said.
“And I still say that,” Jill Biden said Sunday.
The former first lady was also asked about her husband being diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer just four months after leaving office.
“He’s doing well, but it was a shock,” Jill Biden said. “Honestly, I can remember getting the diagnosis, and it was just shocking.”
When asked if the cancer should’ve been discovered when he was still in the White House, Jill Biden replied, “Well, you know the doctors said that, according to the American Urological Association, that men over 70 don’t need a PSA, a blood test, any more because it’s a slow-growing cancer…”
She added: “I do feel like we had amazing care in the White House, but somehow that was missed.”
When asked if she was “tense” when it comes to her husband’s health, the former first lady replied: “I don’t know if the word is tense, but I think I’m vigilant.”
A clip of the interview that aired as a teaser made headlines Wednesday, as Jill Biden revealed she was worried her husband was having a stroke during his disastrous debate with President Donald Trump during the 2024 election cycle.
“I was frightened, because I had never seen Joe like that before or since. Never,” she said. “I don’t know what happened. As I watched it, I thought, ‘Oh my God, he’s having a stroke.’ And it scared me to death.”
The former first lady’s interview comes ahead of the release of her upcoming memoir, View From the East Wing, which will be released Tuesday.
