2026年5月31日 / 美国东部时间上午10:19 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
距总统乔·拜登与第一夫人吉尔·拜登博士离开白宫，在特拉华州过上平静生活以来，已近一年半。“嗯，这算不上完全平静的生活，”吉尔在卸任后首次采访中说道，“我们仍在忙碌——写作、旅行、演讲。但只要回到家，这里就是我们的宁静港湾，这么说吧。”
但拜登夫妇并未获得太多平静。卸任仅四个月后，拜登总统就被诊断出侵袭性四级前列腺癌，癌细胞已扩散至骨骼。“他目前情况不错，但当时真是晴天霹雳，”吉尔说，“说实话，我至今记得拿到诊断结果时的震惊。”
前第一夫人吉尔·拜登博士与记者丽塔·布拉弗在特拉华州的家中。哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
当被问及癌症是否本应在拜登仍在白宫任职时就被发现，吉尔回应道：“嗯，你知道医生们说过，根据美国泌尿外科学会的指南，70岁以上的男性不需要再做PSA血液检测，因为这种癌症生长缓慢。……我确实认为我们在白宫得到了极好的医疗护理，但不知何故还是漏诊了。”
我问道：“这么说，在他的健康问题上，你有点紧张？”
“我不知道‘紧张’这个词是否准确，但我确实保持警惕，”吉尔回答。
但许多美国人对拜登总统在白宫任职期间的心理健康还有另一个关键疑问。不过吉尔表示，她从未见过任何迹象表明他出现了认知衰退。“哦，他确实在变老；我的意思是，我们都在变老，”吉尔说，“所以没错，他的节奏慢了下来。”
我说：“人们都说他已经不是从前的乔·拜登了。”
“嗯，我不这么认为，”吉尔说道，“他还是那个乔·拜登，核心本质没变，但没错，他的节奏慢了下来。他在变老。这份工作压力极大。我认为它会让人迅速衰老。看看其他总统吧，我是说，对比一下他们上任时和卸任时的状态。那是自然的衰老过程。”
“从本届政府执政初期开始，就有很多民调显示许多美国人质疑总统的精神健康状况，”我说，“我2021年问过你这个问题，你当时说没这回事。”
“我现在还是这么说，”吉尔回应。
如今，吉尔·拜登博士撰写了一本关于她在白宫时光的书——将于本周二出版，书名为《东翼视角》——东翼是多代第一夫人办公的地方，也是游客前来参观白宫的地点。而这里现在已被唐纳德·特朗普总统拆除，以腾出空间建造一个宴会厅。
画廊图书出版社
这位前第一夫人在书中写道：“每一次拆迁球落下，我都感到一种失落和悲痛。东翼的内部结构被拆得一览无余，就像被猎杀致死的珍稀动物一样。”
“没错，”吉尔说，“我的意思是，那栋建筑里承载了太多的制度记忆。我热爱东翼。”
她说即便东翼被拆除，她也无意更改书名：“不。当时我就想，‘这书名太适合我的书了。’”
吉尔·拜登在书中只提到过一次特朗普总统的名字，其余时候都称他为“我丈夫的前任”或“我丈夫的继任者”。“嗯，我写的是乔的政府，为什么要提到他呢？”
1月6日国会山骚乱
2021年1月6日，否认选举结果的示威者冲击国会大厦，企图阻止国会认证乔·拜登的总统选举胜利，这使得本届政府在成立前就陷入危机。
“那太可怕了，”吉尔说，“我的意思是，我们简直不敢相信在电视上看到的一切。”
当被问及如何看待特朗普总统对骚乱参与者的赦免时，吉尔回应：“我认为这不对。”
但从就职典礼那天起，吉尔·拜登就充分利用自己作为第一夫人的时光——她是首位在白宫之外拥有正式工作的第一夫人，在一所社区学院教书。“我还记得在一次会议上，有人问‘你不会打算继续教书吧？’我说，‘没错，我就是要继续！’教书一直是我的热爱。我爱我的学生，我也无比尊敬教师。”事实上，她提到一场最喜爱的国宴就是向教师们致敬的。
前第一夫人吉尔·拜登。哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
她还代表丈夫的政府走遍全国，例如呼吁民众接种新冠疫苗：“我想大多数美国人都想努力忘却美国经历的这段篇章，因为疫情中的日子太艰难了，”她说，“但乔上任后收拾了残局，确保疫苗接种工作推进到位，学校也重新开放了。”
她还进行了多次海外出访，包括在儿子亨特因与吸毒相关的联邦枪支指控受审期间，往返法国参加诺曼底登陆纪念活动。“尽管当时日程排得满满当当，但我和其他任何父母一样，支持自己的孩子，”她说。
亨特·拜登三项罪名全部成立后，总统面临一个决定。他曾表示绝不会赦免自己的儿子……但随后还是赦免了。
“乔一开始说，‘我不会赦免亨特，我不会赦免亨特，’”吉尔说，“但后来司法部变了。我认为这场审判对亨特不公平。但后来特朗普当选了，情况也变了，我们知道他会针对亨特。我们不能让我们的儿子因一项没人会因此入狱的罪名锒铛入狱——我的意思是，从来没人因为这种罪名入狱过。”
当被问及她是否曾敦促总统赦免亨特时，吉尔说：“哦，天呐，我完全支持这么做。当时我就希望他赦免亨特，我同意乔的做法。”
拜登总统还提前赦免了其他几名家族成员。“我想原因是一样的，他觉得他们会成为目标，”吉尔说。
“因为你认为特朗普的司法部会针对他们，或者特朗普政府会针对他们？”我问。
“是的。”
“你出版这本书会不会担心特朗普政府会对你和你的家人展开报复，毕竟你刚才已经直言不讳地批评了这么多？”我问。
“我会担心这个吗？不会，”吉尔回答，“你看：乔每天都在被……本届政府的负面言论攻击。所以我不认为这会有什么改变。”
“但你不担心这会引发针对你家人的袭击吗？”
“我希望不会。”
辩论会
吉尔·拜登自豪地夸赞丈夫的政绩：“他推动通过了多项法案，”她说，“他在四年任期内创造的就业岗位比其他任何总统都多。看看他所做的一切。我的意思是，看看基础设施法案和美国救援计划。”
但当她出席2024年首次总统辩论会时，她发现拜登总统状态不佳：“不过乔向来如此，哪怕他有点不在状态，他也总会振作起来。我当时想，好吧，他上台辩论后会没问题的。他会振作起来的。但他上台后，进入了辩论状态，却没有。”
随着辩论进行，总统看起来精神恍惚，她说：“我吓坏了，因为我之前、之后都从未见过乔那样。从来没有。……我不知道发生了什么。我的意思是，我看着电视的时候就在想，‘我的天啊，他中风了。’这把我吓得半死。之后他似乎再也没能找回状态。
“我们走下台的时候，你知道的，他说（我就不说原话了，毕竟这是早间节目）：‘我确实搞砸了，不是吗？’我说：‘没错，你是。’我们离开会场区域，但大家不知道的是，之后他还有两场活动，他表现得很正常。我的意思是，他很正常。整件事无法解释。”
“但如果这种情况发生在与外国领导人会晤之类的场合呢？”我问。
“我不知道该怎么回答，”她回应。
但吉尔和拜登家族其他成员都认为他应该继续参选，尽管越来越多的人呼吁他退选：“他作为总统仍然干得很出色。他每天都在履行职责。”
吉尔说，当人们无法说服丈夫退出竞选时，他们开始游说她：“没错，他们确实这么做了，他们觉得我应该站出来参选。”
但她认为丈夫适合担任总统一职——当乔·拜登考虑退选时，她告诉他：“我不想让你受我的意见左右。”
“这不能由我来决定；必须由他自己决定是继续参选还是退出，”她解释道，“他余生都要为此负责。这必须是他一个人的决定。而他也确实这么做了。”
吉尔称，看到许多她以为是丈夫支持者的人公开反对他，让她“很受伤”。“我不会具体点名——那样做有什么意义呢？事情已经过去了，都结束了，”她说，“我的意思是，当你爱着某个人，看到人们攻击他，那种滋味不好受。”
于是，认为自己失去了民主党支持的拜登总统退出了竞选。“他说：‘吉莉，我别无选择。’那是他对我的昵称。”
她说，这个决定让她感到“心碎”。
即便到了今天，她仍然认为如果丈夫当初继续参选，本可以成为一名优秀的总统：“当然，他本可以成为一名优秀的总统；他在任的四年里就是一位优秀的总统！”她说，“对我来说，他是最棒的总统。当然，我可能是出于爱才这么说的——我希望我确实是因为爱才这么说的！但你知道，人们都说他是一位多么伟大的总统。你知道，他善良、有同理心、坚强、沉稳。他为美国人民的利益做事。我的意思是，他在国际舞台上也是一位领袖。我认为这将是乔的遗产。”
Jill Biden on life in, and after, the White House
May 31, 2026 / 10:19 AM EDT / CBS News
It’s been nearly a year-and-a-half since President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden left the White House, for a quiet life in Delaware. “Well, it’s not exactly a quiet life,” Jill said, in her first interview since then. “We’re still doing a lot of things – writing, traveling, speaking. But then we come home, and this is our peaceful place, let’s put it that way. “
But there has not been a lot of peace for the Bidens. Just four months after leaving office, President Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive form of stage IV prostate cancer that had traveled to his bones. “He’s doing well, but it was a shock,” Jill said. “Honestly, I can remember getting the diagnosis, and it was just shocking.”
Former first lady Dr. Jill Biden at home in Delaware, with correspondent Rita Braver. CBS News
Asked whether the cancer should have been discovered while he was still at the White House, Jill replied, “Well, you know the doctors said that, according to the American Urological Association, that men over 70 don’t need a PSA, a blood test, any more because it’s a slow-growing cancer. … I do feel we had amazing care in the White House, but somehow that was missed.”
I asked, “So, you are a little bit tense when it comes to his health?”
“I don’t know if the word is tense, but I think I’m vigilant,” Jill replied.
But there is another essential question that many Americans have about President Biden’s mental health when he was in the White House. But Jill says she never saw any signs that he was falling into cognitive decline. “Oh, he was definitely aging; I mean, we were all aging,” Jill said. “So, yes, he was slowing down.”
I said, “People were saying he wasn’t the same Joe Biden.”
“Well, I don’t think that’s true,” Jill stated. “He was the same, the essence of the same Joe Biden, but yeah, he was slowing down. He was getting older. It’s a very intense job. I think it ages you, quickly. Look at the other presidents, I mean, in comparison when they started in office and got out of office. It was natural aging.”
“From the start of the administration, some polls were showing that many Americans were questioning the president’s mental fitness,” I said. “I asked you about it in 2021, and you said there’s nothing to it.”
“And I still say that,” Jill replied.
And now, Dr. Jill Biden has written a book about her time in the White House (to be published Tuesday) called “View From the East Wing” – the place where generations of first ladies had their offices, and where visitors came for White House tours. It has now been destroyed by President Donald Trump to make way for a ballroom.
Gallery Books
The former first lady writes in her book, “I felt a sense of loss and grief with every blow from the wrecking ball. The innards of the East Wing were spread out for everyone to see, like a rare and precious animals that had been hunted down and killed.”
“That’s right,” Jill said. “I mean, there was so much really institutional memory in that building. I loved the East Wing.”
She said she had no intention of changing the title of her book once the East Wing was demolished: “No. Then I thought, ‘This is the perfect title for my book.’”
Jill Biden only mentions President Trump’s name once in her book, otherwise referring to him as “my husband’s predecessor,” or “my husband’s successor.” “Well, why would I talk about him when I’m writing about Joe’s administration?”
The January 6 insurrection
It was an administration that was put in jeopardy before it began, when election deniers stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in a failed attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s presidential victory.
“It was horrible,” Jill said. “I mean, we couldn’t believe what we were seeing on television.”
Asked what she thought of President Trump granting pardons to the rioters, Jill replied, “I don’t think it’s right.”
But from Inauguration Day on, Jill Biden set out to make the most of her time as first lady – the first to hold a regular job outside the White House, teaching at a community college. “And I can remember in a meeting when they said, ‘Well, you’re not thinking of continuing to teach?’ And I said, ‘Yes, I am!’ It’s always been my passion. I love my students, and I so honor teachers.” In fact, she cites a favorite state dinner as one honoring teachers.
Former first lady Jill Biden. CBS News
She also traveled the country on behalf of her husband’s administration, for example, urging people to get COVID vaccinations: “I think most Americans, like, try to forget that chapter of America’s life, because it was so hard to live through a pandemic,” she said. “But Joe came in and he picked up the pieces, and he made sure that shots got in the arms and the vaccine got in the arms, and that schools reopened.”
There were also lots of foreign trips, including going back-and-forth to France for D-Day Commemorations during son Hunter’s trial on federal gun charges linked to his drug use. “Even though I had a really busy schedule, I did what any other parent would do, and that is support their child,” she said.
After Hunter Biden was convicted on all three counts, the president had a decision to make. He said he would never pardon his son … and then, he did.
“Joe said in the beginning, ‘I won’t pardon Hunter, I won’t pardon Hunter,’” Jill said. “And then the Justice Department changed. And I think that the process was not fair to Hunter. But then when Trump was elected, things changed, and we knew that he would target Hunter. And we just could not let our son go to jail on a charge that no one would go – I mean, no one has ever gone to jail for.”
Asked if she urged the president to pardon Hunter, Jill said. “Oh, gosh, I truly supported it. I wanted him to pardon Hunter at that point, and I agreed with Joe.”
President Biden also pre-emptively pardoned other members of their family. “I suppose for the same reason that he felt that they would be targeted,” Jill said.
“Because you felt that the Trump Justice Department would target them, or the Trump administration would target them?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Are you worried, in publishing this book, that the Trump administration will come after you and your family, because you’ve just, you know, spoken out so much?” I asked.
“Am I worried about it? No,” Jill replied. “Look: Joe’s attacked every day … by negative things that are said by this administration. So, I don’t think it’s gonna change.”
“But you’re not worried that this is gonna, you know, precipitate an attack on your family?”
“I hope not.”
The debate
Jill Biden proudly touts her husband’s accomplishments: “He got legislation done,” she said. “He created more jobs in his four-year term than any other president. Look at all he did. I mean, look at the infrastructure bill and the American Rescue Plan.”
But when she arrived at the first Presidential Debate of 2024, she saw that President Biden wasn’t feeling well: “But then, Joe, always, even if he was off a little bit, he would always rally. And I thought, OK, so he’ll get in there in that debate and he’ll be fine. He’s gonna rally. But he got in there, he got into the debate, and he didn’t.”
As it unfolded, and the president appeared confused, she said, “I was frightened, because I had never, ever seen Joe like that, before or since. Never. … I don’t know what happened. I mean, as I watched it I thought, ‘Oh my God, he’s having a stroke.’ And it scared me to death. And then he never seemed to … find himself after that.
“As we were walking out, you know, he said (and I’m not gonna use the words because it’s morning TV!), ‘I really sort of messed up, didn’t I?’ And I said, ‘Yes, you did.’ And we left the stage area, and what people don’t know, he had two events after that, and he was fine. I mean he was fine. It was inexplicable.”
“But what if that had happened during a meeting with foreign leaders or something like that?” I asked.
“I don’t know how to answer that,” she replied.
But Jill, and the rest of the Biden family, thought he should keep running, despite increasing calls for him to step aside: “He was still doing a great job as president. He was still doing the work every single day.”
Jill said that when people couldn’t convince her husband to quit the race, they began lobbying her. “Yes, they did, they thought that I should step in.”
But she believed he was fit to serve – and when Joe Biden considered not running, she told him, “I don’t want you to have my opinion.”
“It couldn’t be me; it had to be his decision, whether he stayed in or got out,” she explained. “He had to live with that the rest of his life. It had to be his decision alone. And it was.”
Jill described it as “hurtful” to see many of the people that she thought were behind her husband come out against him. “I’m not going to give any specific names – like, what’s the point of that? It’s done, it’s over,” she said. “I mean, when you love somebody and you see people attacking them, I mean, it’s hard.”
And so, believing that he had lost the backing of the Democratic Party, President Biden dropped out of the race. “He said, ‘Jilly, I had no choice.’ That’s what his nickname is for me.”
The decision, she said, left her feeling “heartbroken.”
And even today, she still thinks her husband would have make a good president if he had stayed in the race: “Of course, he would have made a good president; he made a good president the four years he was there!” she said. “To me, he was the best president. Of course, I could be blinded by love – I hope that I am blinded by love! But you know, people say what a great president he was. You know, he was kind, he was empathetic, he was strong, he was steady. He did things for the good of the American people. And I mean, he was a leader on the world stage. And I think that will be Joe’s legacy.”