The View Is Divided on Defending, Pressing Jill Biden on Joe's Decline

Nicholas Fondacaro
June 2nd, 2026 2:06 PM

Text to Speech

00:00 00:00
Font Size

Just as they did when former President Joe Biden went to them to be a safe space for his first post-presidency interview, ABC’s The View gave former First Lady Jill Biden a hero’s welcome as they helped her hawk her book on Tuesday’s episode. However, the cast seemed to be divided between trying to get answers about Joe’s cognitive decline/his infamous debate performance and trying to massage over it and by focusing on other related issues, such as how Democratic leaders turned on him. Of course, every time they spoke to her, they called her “Dr. Jill Biden.”

After co-hosts Ana Navarro and Sunny Hostin opened the interview by asking about Joe’s cancer battle and his general health in the present, co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin was up next and praised the book: “Dr. Biden, I read the whole book in a day. You have so many fascinating stories. It’s excellent.”

 

 

She then pivoted to Jill’s recent comment to CBS News when she suggested that she thought Joe had a stroke during the debate. But instead of asking why she didn’t bring him to hospital if she thought he was having a medical emergency, Farah Griffin asked about what White House aides had said and if she had a blind spot for Joe’s decline:

FARAH GRIFFIN: You hasn't seen that sort of slippage. Many aides have said otherwise and, of course, you know, polls of Americans had expressed concerns about his age, perhaps not that performance. Do you think that there's a chance you had a blind spot to it as the person closest to him and to his spouse who just loves him so much?

BIDEN: You know, you're saying many aides saw this. No one ever came to me and said, ‘Jill, you know, Joe's aging’ or ‘something is wrong.’ So when I saw that - I mean, no doctors came to me and said that and Joe, like I said, you said, has a full team of doctors around him.

 

 

Co-host Sara Haines was up next and she too questioned Jill about her response post-debate, but it wasn’t a grilling. Haines wanted to know if she got more protective of Joe and wanted him to drop out immediately. Again, letting Jill blame the doctors:

HAINES: So, I understand completely your first intent to defend him after that debate we were just speaking of. But did you feel any of that fear as his wife right there beside him to protect him? He had given so much of himself and to see you even saying, like, ‘I thought he was having a medical episode, I was concerned.’ Was there any part of you that went into protection mode of like, ‘Joe, you can't keep doing this? They're taking so much from you.’

BIDEN: But the doctors told me he was fine.

“No, he kept on with the campaign because that's what they said, you're fine, keep going. And that's what we did,” Jill added.

 

 

For her part, moderator Whoopi Goldberg wanted to share how “pissed off” she was by how Democrats turned on Joe so publically and forced him out of the race for just having “a moment” during the debate. She awkwardly turned away from Jill to read her grippes from a teleprompter (Click “expand”):

GOLDBERG: Well, you know, a lot of people were just stunned by him having that moment, you know, he had a moment. I'm like, okay, well, you had a moment, man. You had a moment. Can't deny it. It's right there.

BIDEN: It's right there.

GOLDBERG: [Turning to look at the teleprompter] But suddenly there was a lot of vocal Democratic support like Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, and George Clooney who worked behind the scenes to get Joe to step down. Now --

BIDEN: That’s right.

GOLDBERG: I didn't understand -- I think I said it on the show.

BIDEN: Maybe not so behind the scenes.

GOLDBERG: Maybe not so behind the scenes. You know, I have to try to be nice and everything.

 

 

Goldberg also ridiculously blamed Republicans for Democrats turning on Joe. She seemed to suggest Democrats had fallen for a Republican ploy:

ANA NAVARRO: Not just other people, some of them were your lifelong friends.

BIDEN: Some were.

GOLDBERG: Yes, that’s my point. And some were from the other side because the other side is what started stirring the pot.

BIDEN: Stirring pot.

GOLDBERG: And then folks got on board and it blew up.

Just another example of The View trying to gaslight their audience while posing as a “bona fide news” program.

The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:

ABC’s The View
June 2, 2026
11:19:21 a.m. Eastern

(…)

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: Dr. Biden, I read the whole book in a day. You have so many fascinating stories. It’s excellent. But one of the big revelations out of it was your reaction watching the now infamous 2024 presidential debate; and you described it on CBS saying you thought he might be having a stroke or a medical incident.

JILL BIDEN: I did.

FARAH GRIFFIN: I was covering it for CNN. I know it was hard for a lot of us to watch, but you say and write, you hadn't seen that from him before.

BIDEN: No.

FARAH GRIFFIN: You hasn't seen that sort of slippage. Many aides have said otherwise and, of course, you know, polls of Americans had expressed concerns about his age, perhaps not that performance. Do you think that there's a chance you had a blind spot to it as the person closest to him and to his spouse who just loves him so much?

JILL BIDEN: You know, you're saying many aides saw this. No one ever came to me and said, ‘Jill, you know, Joe's aging’ or ‘something is wrong.’ So when I saw that - I mean, no doctors came to me and said that and Joe, like I said, you said, has a full team of doctors around him.

(…)

11:21:38 a.m. eastern

FARAH GRIFFIN: Can I ask you, Dr. Biden, do you still think he would have been in a good place to serve as president for another four years until he was 86?

BIDEN: Well, not from what I know now. I mean, my God. Who knew? It was so shocking to get that cancer diagnosis. I mean, we had -- you know, here I was, I'm looking through travel magazines like, oh, where are we going to 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.

(…)

11:22:11 a.m. Eastern

SARA HAINES: Dr. Biden, your husband served for over 50 years as a public servant.

BIDEN: Yes.

HAINES: You were by his side for decades.

BIDEN: I was.

HAINES: So, I understand completely your first intent to defend him after that debate we were just speaking of. But did you feel any of that fear as his wife right there beside him to protect him? He had given so much of himself and to see you even saying, like, ‘I thought he was having a medical episode, I was concerned.’ Was there any part of you that went into protection mode of like, ‘Joe, you can't keep doing this? They're taking so much from you.’

BIDEN: But the doctors told me he was fine. I'm not a doctor. I mean, I am a doctor.

HOSTIN: Yes, you are doctor! Dr. Biden.

[Applause]

You're not a medical doctor.

BIDEN: I'm not a medical doctor.

HAINES: I say that more because --

BIDEN: Trust your doctor, right?

HAINES: My mom and dad have been married for 57 years. I not as long but I have watched my mom go after my dad and my dad go after my mom in this profound ‘I can't let anyone take you from me.’

So, I didn't know because watching, I'm not related to President Biden but watching, I became very protective of him, like, you've done enough. This country has taken it. You' -- go sit and watch sunsets. Like I even said that to him last time we met. I didn't know if any of that kicked in with you and the kids around him to say, ‘dad, Joe, you've done enough. Like, this is enough.’

BIDEN: No, he kept on with the campaign because that's what they said, you're fine, keep going. And that's what we did.

GOLDBERG: Well, you know, a lot of people were just stunned by him having that moment, you know, he had a moment. I'm like, okay, well, you had a moment, man. You had a moment. Can't deny it. It's right there.

BIDEN: It's right there.

GOLDBERG: [Turning to look at the teleprompter] But suddenly there was a lot of vocal Democratic support like Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, and George Clooney who worked behind the scenes to get Joe to step down. Now --

BIDEN: That’s right.

GOLDBERG: I didn't understand -- I think I said it on the show.

BIDEN: Maybe not so behind the scenes.

GOLDBERG: Maybe not so behind the scenes. You know, I have to try to be nice and everything.

[Laughter]

BIDEN: Oh, yeah, sure, Whoopi’s trying to be nice.

[Laughter] [Applause]

GOLDBERG: You know, but you say in the book, you stepped outside of your role as a protective spouse, which answers your question. You understood Obama's point of view so --

BIDEN: Yes, I did.

GOLDBERG: How hard was it for you to hear it? I thought -- personally as a -- really I was a little pissed off at the table the next day.

HOSTIN: You were.

BIDEN: I love that about you.

GOLDBERG: Because having had moments where you just -- it was bad timing for a bad moment.

HOSTIN: Yeah.

GOLDBERG: You know, because he had just come back, he had been doing all this stuff.

HOSTIN: And he had a cold as well.

GOLDBERG: So for you to hear other people say, oh, and being fed this line from other people saying, oh, you know, he's sleepy Joe, he can't do anything. What was it like to hear all those -

ANA NAVARRO: Not just other people, some of them were your lifelong friends.

BIDEN: Some were.

GOLDBERG: Yes, that’s my point. And some were from the other side because the other side is what started stirring the pot.

BIDEN: Stirring pot.

GOLDBERG: And then folks got on board and it blew up.

(…)

Donor Privacy Policy