Rewriting history: Her memoir comes a year and a half after the Bidens moved out of the White House and into a quieter life. At the time of the disastrous debate performance, she insisted “he did great.” Last week she revealed what everyone knew, but few would say: Joe Biden looked as if he were having a stroke or some other cognitive failure.
Former First Lady Jill Biden has been touring the country promoting her new book, “View from the East Wing: A Memoir,” and promoting a number of falsehoods in the process.
Following a tumultuous four years in the White House with near-constant criticism and suspicion of a president’s declining mental acuity, the wife of Joe Biden has made a number of comments during her multi-stop excursion that have raised eyebrows, covering everything from the president’s physical and cognitive condition, her relationship with former Vice President Kamala Harris, and his final pardons before departing 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
From debate stage to Waffle House instead of hospital
The most glaring whoppers pertain to the former president’s health, which the First Lady addressed on a number of occasions. In a CBS interview Sunday, Biden told interviewer Rita Braver, “I was frightened, because I had never ever seen Joe like that before or since. Never. I don’t know what happened. As I watched, I thought, ‘oh my God, he’s having a stroke.’ And it scared me to death.”
That statement would normally insinuate a spouse’s dire concern about her husband. When someone is suspected of having a stroke, they typically undergo a rapid FAST screening (Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, Time to call emergency services) followed by an urgent non-contrast CT scan of the brain in the hospital emergency department or radiology suite.
However, following the debate that night, instead of insisting he go to the hospital or undergo tests, the first couple went to an Atlanta Waffle House.
The debate Biden is referring to took place on June 27, 2024. Prior to the debate, there were already multiple instances that pointed to a sharp decline in the president’s health.
In June 2022, Biden fell off his bicycle while riding near his Delaware beach home, an event quickly attributed to a mechanical issue but fueling broader questions about his stability. A year later in 2023, Biden tripped and fell onstage at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in Colorado after catching his foot on a sandbag, requiring assistance to get up. He later joked about being “sandbagged,” but the video circulated widely.