First lady Jill Biden is opening up about how she feels about her husband, President Joe Biden, preparing for his final days in public life.
She told NBC News that they are “totally at peace” with his decision to drop out of the presidential race, though there have been reports that the couple doesn’t feel he received the support he deserved after he was shunted off the stage in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Following his performance during the June 27 presidential debate, Biden faced mass calls to drop out of the race.
He resisted for almost a month, fighting back against concerns from the media and Democratic leadership. Those voices repeated what many who watched the debate had come to conclude — that he was not equipped to handle another four years in the White House.
Biden’s wife was a staunch defender of her husband’s debate performance. At a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, the next day, she addressed his performance, noting that he’s not a young man.
“I said, ‘Look, Joe, we are not going to let 90 minutes define the four years that you’ve been president,’” she said. “What my husband does know how to do is tell the truth. When he gets knocked down, Joe gets back up, and that’s what we’re doing today.”
She’s faced accusations of “elder abuse” by former President Donald Trump’s campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt for her role in convincing the president to stay in the race as long as he did.
The president’s poor debate performance was capped by the scene of the first lady assisting him off the stage at the end of the night.
After escorting him away, the couple attended a watch party hosted by his campaign, in which she praised her husband for doing the bare minimum.
“You answered every question, you knew all the facts,” she said. “And what did Trump do?”
“Lie!” the crowd shouted.
But now, the Bidens have shifted their support to Harris, who is neck and neck in the polls with Trump as the contest boils down to seven swing states.
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The president is four months away from retirement.
“I’m just so used to seeing Joe work in government, and I think it’s always been a role that he’s had and played, and I think he’ll miss it, but I think he’s done a great job,” Jill Biden said.