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\n Related: <\/span>Joe Biden and Jill Biden\u2019s Relationship Timeline<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\tFrom finding love with each other after their first marriages to becoming the first couple of the United States, former President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden have built a strong marriage that has lasted more than four decades. Joe and Jill met in 1975 after the politician\u2019s first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden, and infant [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what happened,\u201d she conceded. \u201cAs I watched it, I thought, \u2018Oh my god, he\u2019s having a stroke.\u2019 It scared me to death.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pressure mounted on Joe to call off his candidacy for several weeks after the June 2024 debate. More than 30 Congressional Democrats publicly called for Joe to step aside, though he initially refused to acquiesce to the backlash.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I\u2019m not a young man. I don\u2019t walk as easily as I used to. I don\u2019t talk as smoothly as I used to,\u201d Joe told supporters<\/a> at a North Carolina rally in June 2024. \u201cI don\u2019t debate as well as I used to, but I know what I do know: I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. And I know how to do this job, I know how to get things done. And I know what millions of Americans know: When you get knocked down, you get back up.\u201d<\/p>\nHowever, Joe eventually withdrew from the race on July 21, 2024, and officially endorsed his Vice President Kamala Harris<\/strong> to take on Trump in the November election.<\/p>\n\n![\"GettyImages-2159612222](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2159612222-Jill-Biden-Worried-Husband-Joe-Was-Having-a-Stroke-During-Trump-Debate-e1779944356117.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all\")
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\n Joe Biden and Donald Trump participate in a CNN Presidential Debate.<\/span> Justin Sullivan\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cMy Fellow Americans, over the past three-and-a-half years, we have made great progress as a nation,\u201d he announced via X. \u201cToday, America has the strongest economy in the world. We\u2019ve made historic investments in rebuilding our nation, in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, and in expanding affordable health care to a record number of Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe insisted that \u201cAmerica has never been better positioned to lead than we are today,\u201d crediting his administration with overcoming \u201ca once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,\u201d he concluded. \u201cAnd while it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris, 61, ultimately lost the presidential election to Trump in November 2024. A spokesperson for Joe announced he\u2019d been diagnosed<\/a> with an \u201caggressive\u201d form of prostate cancer with \u201cmetastasis to the bone\u201d in May 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/themes\/us-weekly\/assets\/img\/newsletter-bg-narrow.jpg\")
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However, Joe eventually withdrew from the race on July 21, 2024, and officially endorsed his Vice President Kamala Harris<\/strong> to take on Trump in the November election.<\/p>\n \u201cMy Fellow Americans, over the past three-and-a-half years, we have made great progress as a nation,\u201d he announced via X. \u201cToday, America has the strongest economy in the world. We\u2019ve made historic investments in rebuilding our nation, in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, and in expanding affordable health care to a record number of Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe insisted that \u201cAmerica has never been better positioned to lead than we are today,\u201d crediting his administration with overcoming \u201ca once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,\u201d he concluded. \u201cAnd while it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.\u201d<\/p>\n Harris, 61, ultimately lost the presidential election to Trump in November 2024. A spokesperson for Joe announced he\u2019d been diagnosed<\/a> with an \u201caggressive\u201d form of prostate cancer with \u201cmetastasis to the bone\u201d in May 2025.<\/p>\n You have successfully subscribed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>
\n Joe Biden and Donald Trump participate in a CNN Presidential Debate.<\/span> Justin Sullivan\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2210473226Former-President-Joe-Bidens-Cancer-Battle-A-Complete-Timeline.jpg?crop=0px%2C0px%2C2000px%2C1131px&resize=400%2C225&quality=86&strip=all\")
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