Jill Biden says she thought husband Joe was 'having a stroke' during 2024 Trump debate

Jill Biden has said she thought husband Joe was ‘having a stroke’ during his infamous 2024 debate with President Donald Trump.

The former first lady said she felt ‘frightened’ as she watched on and grew concerned over her husband’s health.

“I was frightened, because I had never, ever seen Joe like that before or since. Never,” she told CBS News.

“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.”

Jill Biden said she was 'terrified' watching the debate (Getty)

During the debate on 28 June 2024, then-President Biden appeared to stumble over his words and his voice sounded more raspy than usual.

In an interview a few days later, Biden, who was running for his second term, said he had been ‘exhausted’.

"It was a bad episode," Biden told ABC News in July 2024.

"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 went on to say that he was ‘sick’ and had been tested for Covid, but that it turned out to be a ‘really bad cold’.

The former POTUS admitted he hadn’t watched the debate back, but revealed that he was aware of how ‘badly it was going’ while still on the stage.

Following the debate, Biden faced calls from fellow Democrats to step down as the 2024 presidential candidate, but insisted that it was a ‘bad night’ and that he would ‘fight harder’.

The debate led to calls for Biden to pull out of the presidential race (Getty)

Jill also threw her support behind her husband telling Vogue, ‘we will not let those 90 minutes define the four years he’s been president. We will continue to fight’.

However, a few weeks later, Biden made the decision to drop out of the race and instead backed his then-Vice-President Kamala Harris.

"It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as your President," he said at the time.

"And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term."

"I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work. And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me."