At a campaign event after the debate, Jill Biden praised her husband’s performance.
You answered every question,” she said at the time.
Perino contrasted those comments with more recent claims attributed to Jill Biden and raised questions about the apparent inconsistency. “So now we know that this is what she’s saying in her book,” Perino said. “And the question I would love to ask her is where are you lying then or now?”
“Joe, you did such a great job
McEnany responded by arguing that Jill Biden’s reaction following the debate was inconsistent with her more recent descriptions of the event.
“It’s a great question,” McEnany said. “That is not the reaction of someone who believes they just watched their husband have a stroke. It is an absolute lie.”
McEnany then accused the former first lady of concealing concerns about the president’s condition from voters.
“It’s a great question,” McEnany said. “That is not the reaction of someone who believes they just watched their husband have a stroke
“It was fraud,” she said.
The debate between Biden and President Donald Trump became a turning point in the 2024 election cycle, with many Democrats publicly expressing concern about Biden’s performance and his ability to continue his campaign.
Questions about Biden’s age and mental sharpness had circulated for years, but the debate intensified those concerns and fueled calls from some Democrats for him to step aside.
🚨 "What she did: FRAUD on the American public"@kayleighmcenany slams Jill Biden for admitting that she was "frightened" by Joe Biden's disastrous 2024 debate, despite praising his performance moments after he left the stage.@FoxNews pic.twitter.com/7Pld2dAYYU
— America's Newsroom (@AmericaNewsroom) May 28, 2026
“What she did fraud on the American public and she’s continuing it by saying she had never seen him like that before or after.”
During the Fox News discussion, McEnany referenced comments previously made by veteran journalist Carl Bernstein regarding Biden’s condition behind the scenes.
“Dana, you all remember Carl Bernstein, who said he talked to people who knew Joe Biden, loved Joe Biden, supported Joe Biden, and they were adamant that what we saw was not a one-off,” McEnany said.
“They said it had happened 15 or 20 times prior, him losing his train of thought,” she said.
According to McEnany, Bernstein reported that individuals close to Biden had observed similar episodes before the debate
McEnany also cited a fundraiser Bernstein reportedly described.
“This is not something that was a one-off.”
McEnany argued that concerns about Biden’s condition were widely known among those close to him.
“He described a fundraiser where he froze up and seemed to have some type of rigor mortis,” she said
She then questioned why Jill Biden continued publicly defending her husband following the debate.
“So why did she keep up with the fraud on the American people?” McEnany asked.
The former first lady has repeatedly defended her husband and rejected claims that she or members of his inner circle concealed concerns about his health, Breitbart News reported.
“This was well known,” she said
The debate over Biden’s condition became one of the defining political stories of the 2024 election cycle and continued after he ultimately left the race.
McEnany’s comments reflect ongoing scrutiny surrounding what Biden’s family, advisers and top Democratic officials knew about his condition and when they knew it.
As new books and accounts from those involved continue to emerge, questions surrounding Biden’s final campaign and the decisions made by those closest to him remain a major topic of political debate.
