President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Friday to mock former first lady Jill Biden after she revealed in an interview that she believed her husband was “having a stroke” during their June 2024 CNN debate. Trump, never one to miss a political opening, turned the remark into a fresh attack on the Bidens and the media, while offering his own theory about what really happened that night.
“She said that she thought he was having a ‘stroke,’ and various other really bad things, and yet never rushed onto the stage to help her troubled husband, as any good wife would do,” Trump wrote. He then pivoted to his own performance: “The only thing she failed to mention was how well I was doing prior to his near total collapse.”
Trump went further, suggesting his aggressive debate style may have caused Biden to “choke.” “In other words, as many have asked, did my strong performance in that debate cause him to plain and simple ‘choke,’ leading to his ignominious defeat, or were other reasons the cause? Nobody else knows the answer to that, BUT I DO!!!” he wrote.
The exchange stems from a clip of Jill Biden’s interview with CBS News, released Wednesday, where she described watching her husband on stage in Atlanta. “I was frightened, because I had never ever seen Joe like that before or since, never,” she said. “I mean, as I watched it, I thought, ‘Oh my god, he’s having a stroke.’”
That debate performance, widely seen as a disaster for the then-president, triggered a firestorm of political fallout over Biden’s age and health. It ultimately forced him to abandon his reelection bid, clearing the way for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the Democratic nominee.
Trump has repeatedly hammered the issue, accusing Biden’s inner circle and the media of covering up his declining condition while he was in office. Several Democrats and prominent journalists have since acknowledged they had concerns about Biden’s health, and the party’s scramble to replace him became a defining story of the 2024 campaign. The Bidens have denied any cover-up.
Jill Biden is currently promoting her new memoir, “View from the East Wing,” which offers her account of life in the White House and the events surrounding the debate. Trump’s latest broadside ensures the health debate remains a live political issue, even as he moves on to other matters like Iran negotiations and domestic policy fights.
The former president’s post also underscores his strategy of keeping Biden’s weaknesses front and center, a tactic that served him well in the 2024 election. By casting doubt on the official narrative and offering his own inside knowledge, Trump continues to frame the debate as a turning point that exposed what he calls a “rigged” system protecting an unfit leader.
