前第一夫人吉尔·拜登说，当她看到她的丈夫、前总统乔·拜登在2024年总统大选中的第一次也是唯一一次辩论表演时，她感到“害怕”，并认为他在台上中风了。
“我并不害怕，我很害怕，因为我从来没有见过乔那样，从来没有，”拜登在接受哥伦比亚广播公司周日早间新闻的丽塔·布雷默采访时说。
广播公司发布了采访的摘录。
“我不知道发生了什么事。我的意思是，当我看的时候，我想，'哦，我的上帝，他中风了，'这吓死我了，”这位前第一夫人后来在视频中说。
拜登在2024年6月的辩论中表现出色后，民主党内许多人呼吁他退出总统选举——他在大约三周后退出了总统选举，支持副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯。
在他表现平平之后，拜登和他的妻子立即试图让支持者放心，他能够胜任再担任四年总统的任务。
在辩论第二天的一次集会上，拜登承认了自己不稳定的表现。
“乡亲们，我走路不像以前那么容易了。我说话不像以前那么流畅了。我不像以前那样辩论了，但是...我知道如何说出真相。我知道什么是对什么是错，我知道如何做好这份工作，”他告诉人群。
辩论结束后，这位前第一夫人在纽约市格林威治村的一场筹款活动中，也谈到了他在辩论中的表现。
“那么，让我们谈谈昨晚的辩论，因为我知道这是你的想法，”据报道，她说。“正如乔今天早些时候说的，他不是一个年轻人。你知道，在昨晚的辩论后，他说，'你知道，吉尔，我不知道发生了什么。我感觉没那么好。我说，‘听着，乔，我们不会让90分钟决定你当总统的四年。"
辩论一周后，在接受美国广播公司新闻频道的乔治·斯特凡诺普洛斯采访时，拜登表示，他的糟糕表现不是任何严重疾病的结果，而是“糟糕的一段时间”，他说最近的国际旅行和重感冒让他筋疲力尽。
“没有任何严重情况的迹象。我筋疲力尽。我没有听从自己的直觉去做准备，这是一个糟糕的夜晚，”他说。
哥伦比亚广播公司新闻的采访是在这位前第一夫人的书《东翼视角:回忆录》之前进行的，该书将于6月2日发行。
Jill Biden says she thought Joe Biden was having a stroke during 2024 debate
Former first lady Jill Biden said she was "frightened" when watching her husband, former President Joe Biden, in his first and only debate performance during the 2024 presidential election and thought he was having a stroke on stage.
"I wasn't horrified, I was frightened, because I had never ever seen Joe like that before or since, never,"Biden said toCBS News Sunday Morning's Rita Braver in an interview airing Sunday on CBS.
The broadcaster has released an excerpt of the interview.
"I don't know what happened. I mean, when I,as I watched it, I thought, 'Oh my God,he's having a stroke,' and it scared me to death,"the former first lady said later on in the clip.
After Biden'shalting performanceduring the June 2024 debate, many in the Democratic Party called on him to drop out of the presidential election -- which he didabout three weeks later, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.
Immediately following his lackluster performance, Biden and his wife sought to reassure supporters that he was up to the task of serving as president for four more years.
At a rally the day after the debate, Bidenacknowledged his shaky performance.
"Folks, I don’t walk as easy as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to, but ... I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong, and I know how to do this job," he told the crowd.
At a fundraiser in New York City’s Greenwich Village following the debate, the former first lady also addressed his debate performance.
"So, let's talk about last night's debate, because I know it's on your minds," she reportedly said. "As Joe said earlier today, he's not a young man. And you know, after last night's debate, he said, 'You know, Jill, I don't know what happened. I didn't feel that great.' And I said, 'Look, Joe, we are not going to let 90 minutes define the four years that you've been president.'"
In aninterview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulosa week after the debate, Biden said his poor performance was not the result of any serious condition and chalked it up to a "bad episode," saying recent international travel and a bad cold had left him exhausted.
"No indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn't listen to my instincts in terms of preparing and -- and a bad night," he said.
The interview with CBS News comes ahead of the former first lady's book, "View from the East Wing: A Memoir," which is being released on June 2.
