Former First Lady Jill Biden defended her new memoir Wednesday in New York City, pushing back against Democrats who questioned whether revisiting the 2024 campaign served the party’s interests.
Speaking at a promotional event for “View from the East Wing,” Biden addressed criticism from former White House spokesman Andrew Bates, who suggested the book unnecessarily reopened painful political memories. “I want to say to Andrew: Call me up, and say it to my face, buddy,” she responded.
Biden argued that critics overstated the political content in her book, noting that only one chapter focuses on the campaign. The majority of the memoir centers on her White House experiences and personal life, she said.
Biden’s Comments on the Debate
During the event, Biden addressed scrutiny surrounding her husband’s June 2024 debate performance, which many Democrats viewed as the turning point ending his reelection bid. She rejected suggestions that she ignored warning signs about former President Joe Biden’s condition before the debate, stating she was not present during his preparation at Camp David.
“I was out campaigning,” she said. “So I didn’t see him at debate camp at Camp David.”
Biden acknowledged the difficulty of revisiting the debate footage. “I never wanted to see that moment again in my life but since I’ve been doing press for two days, they’re like, ‘Watch this clip,'” she said.
She also made a significant admission about her observations. “I saw Joe aging. My God, we all saw him aging,” she said.
New Revelations About Biden’s Health
One day before the New York event, Biden appeared on ABC’s “The View” and provided one of the clearest family acknowledgments yet regarding the former president’s fitness. When co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin asked whether Biden could have served another four-year term if reelected, she replied: “Well, not from what I know now.”
Biden attributed her changed perspective to Joe Biden’s recent cancer diagnosis, which she described as shocking and life-altering. “It was so shocking to get that cancer diagnosis,” she said. “Here I was, I’m looking through travel magazines like, ‘Oh, where are we going to go? What are we going to do,’ and then we get this cancer diagnosis and I think, what am I doing? Like, our whole life has changed now.”
Ongoing Debate Over Biden’s Condition
The remarks add to ongoing discussion about former President Biden’s health and fitness during his final years in office. Critics have long argued that concerns about his age and physical condition were evident before the 2024 debate, while supporters contend his decline accelerated rapidly and became apparent only later.
As Biden continues promoting her memoir, her comments are likely to fuel further discussion about the final months of the Biden presidency and the Democratic Party’s handling of the 2024 election.
This story has been updated. CNN’s Digital team contributed to this report.
