On June 2, the memoirs of former first lady Jill Biden, wife of President Joe Biden, whom Democrats largely blame for her loss to Donald Trump in the 2024 election, will be published in the United States. In “A View from the East Wing,” Jill Biden tries to refute accusations that she covered up her elderly husband’s cognitive decline and encouraged him to cling to power. He writes The Atlantic (editors obtained a copy of the book before it went on sale). However, Democrats, like Notes Politico magazine received the memoir with annoyance because Jill Biden recalls in it those episodes that they want to quickly forget.
Democrat Joe Biden defeated Republican Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. In 2023, Biden announced that he would be re-elected for a second term, although even then there were doubts that his age and health would allow him to serve as president for another four years.
In June 2024, Biden failed in his first debate against Trump, as he was confused and lost his train of thought. Other Democratic politicians, some behind the scenes and others publicly, have called on Biden to withdraw from the election. He insisted at first, intending to continue the race, but eventually relented. His running mate, Kamala Harris, became the Democratic nominee instead.
In November 2024, she lost to Trump by two million votes (1.5%). distributed opinionAnd that Biden’s late withdrawal from the race worsened Harris’ chances (she launched her campaign just three months before the election). But among the reasons for the defeat Named Mistakes by Harris herself and her staff.
Criticisms against Biden intensified with the release of the book “Original Sin” in 2025. He claimed that Biden’s circle (of which his wife Jill was one of the main figures) was hiding signs of his aging from the public. But Biden to reject His cognitive functions are declining, and his wife is trying to hide his deteriorating health.
What Jill Biden said about that particular discussion
She admits that her husband, who was 78 when he took office, was “definitely getting old” in the position. According to her, he did not always cope with fatigue and stress, and also suffered from the consequences Injuries The leg he received while playing with a dog in 2020.
However, Jill Biden strongly denied that her husband showed signs of cognitive decline that would herald his defeat in a debate with Donald Trump in the summer of 2024. After this debate, in which Biden constantly made mistakes and felt confused, he was forced to abandon plans to run for a second term.
Jill Biden wrote that she, like many others, was flabbergasted to see her husband at the debate. “Did he have a short circuit? Is this a stroke? Was he drugged with something? Oh my God, are people really going to think he’s like this all the time?” – She remembers her thoughts. When Biden exited the stage after the debate, he asked her: “I screwed up, didn’t I?” She replied: “Yes.”
While aware of her husband’s disastrous performance, Jill Biden did not mention the reasons for this failure:
- “Nothing can explain what I saw.”
- “I still don’t know what happened.”
- “I wish I knew the answer.”
These memoir excerpts are provided by The Atlantic. And he can’t resist asking the former first lady a question in absentia: Have you asked your husband about this?
And in the first days after the debate in the White House Subtract Several versions of Biden’s failure – from the cold to too intense preparation and jet lag. Jill Biden then limited herself to saying that he was “not feeling well.” She adds in her memoirs only to point out that he may have accidentally taken medications that affected the clarity of his thinking.
Jill Biden said she later suggested that her husband undergo a cognitive test to allay concerns that arose after the debate, but his advisers rejected the idea.
What did we learn from the memoirs?
- Jill Biden has largely refrained from attacking her husband’s opponents and paid little attention to Donald Trump, though she has expressed sadness about the demolition of the East Wing of the White House, where the first lady’s office is located.
- she I didn’t understandWhy did the doctors surrounding Biden in the White House miss the development of stage 4 prostate cancer. Biden was diagnosed with this disease in May 2025, after leaving office.
- Jill supported Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter, who was convicted of illegal gun purchases and tax evasion. Biden was criticized for the pardon, but said his son was the victim of political machinations.
- The former First Lady left notes for her husband on the mirror. Sometimes they were simple inspirational messages like “You are my hero,” and other times they were political messages. For example, against the backdrop of the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, she called on her husband to stop Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
How was the release of this book received?
Many Democratic Party politicians and political strategists, as well as former White House staffers, who spoke to the media, expressed their frustration: They wanted to quickly forget the failure in the 2024 presidential election.
“As we finally begin to put the Biden age story behind us, and as Trump finds himself in a vulnerable position ahead of the November election [в конгресс]The last thing we need is to reopen this wound.” male CNN is one of the Democrats in the House of Representatives.
“Among Democrats this is [выход мемуаров Джилл Байден] Not welcome. He added: “We have a lot of things going in our favor right now. We have some serious momentum… and when we go back to talking about Biden’s age and the 2024 elections, that is not in the Democrats’ interest.” He said POLITICO Former Biden White House special assistant Megan Hayes.
However, some in the Democratic Party are comparing the publication of Jill Biden’s memoir to white noise and believe the event will have no impact on Democrats’ electoral prospects — even though Republicans are already trying to use the book to their advantage.
So, on May 29, she was sarcastic to speak Donald Trump:
“Finally, Jill Biden publicly admitted that she didn’t know exactly what happened to Sleepy Joe during our great 2024 debate. She says she thought he was having a stroke or something else serious. However, she never got on stage to help her husband, who was clearly having problems, as any good wife would do.”