June 4, 2026, 9:15 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump said on June 4 that he did not observe signs of cognitive decline in former President Joe Biden when they met after the 2024 election, even as he renewed criticism of Biden’s debate performance.
The debate, now revisited in a new memoir and recent interviews by former first lady Jill Biden, continues to shape the public narrative around Biden’s final year in office. In “View from the East Wing,” she writes that the president “lost the essence of who he was” that night, while saying no aides had raised concerns about his condition beforehand.
According to Trump, Joe Biden “was the same guy I’ve been watching for a long time,” adding that “I watched him 40 years ago, 30 years ago.”
Trump described Joe Biden as “never the sharpest guy,” and that “it wasn’t like he was sharp as a tack.”
“Something happened” to Joe Biden during their debate, Trump said, adding that “it could have been me.”
“The question is, did he do badly because he choked? Or because he didn’t have it? But he didn’t have a good night,” Trump said.
Jill Biden describes debate fallout
The former first lady also described Joe Biden asking after the debate, “I really f—ed up, didn’t I?” to which she responded: “Yes, you did.”
In a June 2 appearance on “The View,” she said no one on staff had raised concerns about her husband’s health before the debate.
“When I saw that, when all Americans saw that moment on TV at the debate, I was frightened out of my mind, because I thought, ‘Oh my God, he’s having a stroke.'”
Biden’s debate performance became a defining moment of the 2024 campaign. Within weeks, he announced he would not seek reelection, clearing the way for former Vice President Kamala Harris to face Trump in the general election.
Contributing: Susan Page and Drew Pittock, USA TODAY
