Jill Biden Reacts to Conspiracy Theory That Joe Was Drugged Before Disastrous 2024 Debate Performance: ‘Who Knows, Right?’

Jill Biden shared in an appearance on ‘The Jamie Kern Lima Show’ that ‘there was nothing definitive’ that she could point to as the reason behind Joe Biden’s disastrous 2024 debate against Donald Trump.

Dia Dipasupil/Getty; Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty

NEED TO KNOW

Jill Biden shared that “there was nothing definitive” that she could point to as the reason behind Joe Biden’s disastrous 2024 debate against Donald Trump

She acknowledged conspiracy theories about the debate performance but said doctors confirmed that Joe was fine afterward

Jill described the incident as “inexplicable” and said she remains unsure what caused his struggles

Dr. Jill Biden reflected on her husband, former president Joe Biden‘s disastrous 2024 debate.

During an appearance on The Jamie Kern Lima Show released Thursday, Aug. 20, the former first lady, 75, addressed speculation about why her husband, 83, appeared to struggle and stumble over his words during his debate against President Donald Trump, 80.

“I mean, there’s all kinds of theories. You know, he had been traveling,” Jill shared. “I know he was tired. He didn’t feel well that day when I saw him, but there was nothing definitive that I could point to.”

When asked by Lima if someone may have “laced his drink or something,” the former professor did not rule out the possibility, responding, “Who knows? Who knows, right?”

Jamie Kern Lima/Youtube

She said she had been on the road for “two weeks” campaigning up until “maybe one hour before” the debate and had not seen her husband for several days prior.

Lima asked if “any steps” were taken to rule out the possibility that the president had been “drugged” or “having a stroke” after the debate, to which Jill admitted that there were contingencies in place.

“Joe and I both had a team of doctors around both of us at all times. He had a team, I had a team, as all first ladies and presidents have. And yeah, they checked him out,” the former first lady recalled.

“I mean, once we got off the stage, I went to the green room to get my pocket book and all that stuff, and he went to his staff and the docs, and they said, ‘Jill, he’s fine. He’s okay,’ ” she explained. “I mean, I was like, you know, had so much anxiety about it, like, ‘What’s wrong? What’s going on?’ ”

Related Stories

She said it was particularly “inexplicable” that the former president went on to do three events that night after the debate and “did great at all of them.”

“He was fine. He got up on the stage. He made a speech. We went to the Waffle House…and, you know, greeted people,” she continued. “And then we went to North Carolina, got off that plane at 3:00 in the morning, and there’s a band playing, and the lights, and hundreds of supporters, and greeted them, and they were, you know, so excited, and he went around and shook everybody’s hand.”

Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty

“And the next week or two weeks later he was doing a conference with NATO. It was, like, such an aberration,” she added. “... I can’t figure it out. That is my honest-to-God true answer. I don’t know [what happened].”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Jill previously opened up about her feelings regarding the ill-fated debate in an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning, saying, “I was frightened, because I had never ever seen Joe like that before or since. Never. I don’t know what happened.”

It appears that she is still unsure what could have led to it. While Lima noted that there were “so many conspiracy theories online,” Jill chimed in, “And it will go on forever, I’m sure.”

Politics

Politician Families