‘She’s lying’: Joe Biden's ex-aides accuse Jill of rewriting debate fallout with 'stroke' comment

WASHINGTON, DC: Former President Joe Biden's aides are openly questioning former first lady Jill Biden’s recent comments about her husband’s disastrous debate performance in 2024, with some accusing the former first lady of trying to “rewrite” what happened.

Axios reporter Alex Thompson said frustration inside Biden’s orbit has intensified after Jill suggested she feared her husband was “having a stroke” or may have been “drugged” during the CNN debate against President Donald Trump in a CBS News interview.

Former Biden aides don’t believe Jill Biden

Speaking to CNN’s Brianna Keilar, Thompson said several former Joe Biden aides “simply don’t believe her” after the comments surfaced ahead of Jill Biden’s upcoming memoir.

“Well, a lot of Democrats, including several Biden aides that I’ve talked to, just simply don’t believe her,” Thompson said. 

He pointed to how Jill appeared with her husband at a post-debate rally and continued campaign events the next day.

“And a lot of former Biden aides, you know, have told me if you really believed he might be having a stroke, that it’s not necessarily the same behavior that you would do,” Thompson added. “There’s no evidence that there was any significant medical exam afterward.”

Thompson also noted that Jill reportedly wanted Biden to take a cognitive exam but was overruled by advisers, according to The Atlantic.

Anger grows inside Biden's orbit

The Axios reporter revisited reporting from his book 'Original Sin', saying Biden aides had seen signs similar to the debate performance months earlier.

He said the debate was not viewed internally as a one-time incident despite Jill's recent remarks.

Thompson also referenced Biden’s interview with former Special Counsel Robert Hur, where concerns about the former president’s memory had already surfaced.

“Yet Biden’s inner circle kept saying he was fine,” Thompson said. “They just feel that the inner circle gaslit them.”

That frustration appears to have grown quickly behind the scenes. Thompson said he was “surprised by the level of anger and frustration” he had heard from former Biden aides toward the former first lady over the last 24 hours.

Many think Jill Biden is trying to rewrite the narrative 

Thompson also revealed on X that one former Joe Biden official reacted bluntly to Jill Biden’s comments.

“She’s lying,” the former official told him, according to the Axios reporter’s post.

The remarks have added fresh scrutiny to how Biden’s decline was handled inside his inner circle after the debate performance became one of the defining political crises of his presidency.

Thompson said many Democrats now see Jill’s comments as “simply unhelpful” and an effort to revisit a political moment they believe had already been settled.

“And, you know, a lot of Democrats think that this is simply unhelpful to come out at this moment and try to rewrite this portion of history,” he said. “I have to say that there is a significant skepticism that she is trying to rewrite this narrative right now.”