Jill Biden says she thought Joe Biden was having a stroke during 2024 debate

It was thought unlikely that Biden, the incumbent president, would be replaced as the Democratic Party’s nominee just a few months before the election. The difficult process of choosing another nominee was seen as having the potential to derail the party’s White House bid.

But his debate performance – along with gaffes during a Nato summit in the following weeks and a frail demeanour after a Covid diagnosis – ultimately led to him ending his candidacy.

Harris assumed the Democratic nomination about three months before the election and ultimately lost her bid to Trump.