Jill Biden spoke Tuesday evening at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan, appearing onstage with Whoopi Goldberg to promote her memoir View from the East Wing. Former President Joe Biden attended the event and received two standing ovations from the audience.
The appearance came two years after the June 2024 presidential debate that upended the Democratic primary. In that debate, Biden delivered a halting performance, at one point declaring “We finally beat Medicare” in what his campaign later said was a misstatement intended to refer to beating “big pharma.” The moment crystallized long-running concerns about the 81-year-old president’s age and contributed to a wave of public calls from fellow Democrats for him to drop out.
When Goldberg asked whether the Bidens had been surprised by the party’s response, Jill Biden said: “Joe and I were devastated.” She described the experience of seeing colleagues go on television and in print to call for her husband’s withdrawal. “To have people who we really considered close friends come out publicly and say really terrible things about Joe … if you want to come to us and say that to us personally, that’s one thing. But to go on TV shows or out in the press or send me op-eds or whatever – it was really hurtful.”
Jill Biden acknowledged reports that she had initially encouraged her husband to stay in the race even as others in his inner circle counseled withdrawal. “I would support Joe whether he wanted to stay in or he wanted to get out,” she said. “But the thing to me was, he had to make this decision by himself … because it was a decision he had to live with for the rest of his life.”
At a rally shortly after the debate, Jill Biden had publicly praised her husband’s performance, telling him “You answered every question. You knew all the facts.” But in her memoir and during the Tuesday event, she revealed that the debate had frightened her. “That moment happened, and honest to God, it scared the hell out of me,” she said. “I thought: ‘What in God’s name is happening?’” While she did not specify which exact moment she was referring to, the misstated Medicare line has been widely identified as the episode that most alarmed aides and family members.
Goldberg asked Biden if she remained angry about the way the president was treated following the debate. “No, I’m not angry,” she said. “What’s the purpose of anger now?” She added: “I think Joe’s cancer diagnosis really puts life into perspective.” Biden’s office announced in May 2025 that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had metastasized to his bones.
The conversation also touched on the scrutiny the Biden family has faced, particularly over Hunter Biden. “It’s hard for me to say this, but Hunter was a drug addict,” Jill Biden said. “It was a really hard time for our family to go through. So many families in America deal with addiction. And I’m sorry that I didn’t talk about it a little bit more.” Hunter Biden posted on Twitter/X Tuesday that he was celebrating seven years of sobriety, writing: “Thank you to everyone who walked this road with me.”
Hunter Biden was found guilty in June 2024 on three felony counts related to his purchase of a handgun, and pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges the same year. Shortly before leaving office, President Biden issued a “full and unconditional” pardon for his son, reversing his previous statements that he would not use executive authority to do so. In her memoir, Jill Biden defended the decision. “The current president kept saying that he wanted retribution, and he kept pounding it and pounding it,” she said. “So we couldn’t let that happen.”