Transcript of First Lady Jill Biden Reveals All (Pt 2) Life-Changing Lessons on Fear, Faith, Hardship & Hope

He was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic cancer, prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. How is he doing right now?

I think the combination of everything has taken its toll.

One of the questions on everyone's mind right now, what his most recent prognosis is.

He just had scans.

Coming up in this incredible part 2 episode with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden! I had a feeling you might wear blue.

Oh, it's my favorite color. The medications are hard.

What is the long-term prognosis that they say?

Uh, they said—

Are you scared?

Scared that he's gonna die?

How are his spirits?

Stage 4 cancer really slows you down. And I, I've seen that, um, and you know, he just doesn't ever get up and say, God, I feel great today.

Do they say, will he need to continue to be on medications forever?

Forever, forever.

That have side effects and that are really difficult? Yeah, yeah.

They're not God, and you know what, they don't want to be God, and they don't want to be wrong. He's always been the strength of our family.

Do you or him ever cry over it together?

No.

No.

I'm not— well, of course, this interview, you started right in and I started to tear up. But basically, I mean, I am not a crier.

A couple of things I have to ask you because people want to know. The moment in the debate with President Biden and now President Trump, you talk about wondering in that moment live, is he having a stroke or was he drugged? Were there any steps taken after to rule out?

I mean, I was— had so much anxiety about it. Joe and I both had a team of doctors around both of us at all times, and he had a team, I had a team.

Were they able to definitively rule out he did not have a stroke that night? What does your gut tell you happened?

That is my honest to God, true answer.

And there's no way anyone could have, God forbid, laced his drink or something. Who knows?

Who knows?

Mm-hmm.

Right? Who knows?

Mm-hmm. President Biden's book comes out in November. Anything, a sneak peek, tease you can tell us about it? Well, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden made history as the first First Lady to hold a full-time job as a college professor. While also serving in her full-time role in the White House and across the country as our First Lady. She's carried unimaginable tragedies and loss, from losing her son Beau to cancer, to her other son Hunter battling extreme drug addiction, to now President Joe Biden being diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic cancer. And she has a brand new book out called "View from the East Wing." Wing. You can get it anywhere books are sold, and it's also on Audible where the First Lady herself reads it to you. And today she's opening up like never before, and nothing is off limits. I am so happy you're here and so excited for this conversation we're having together today with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. The intention of this show is to be a force for good and a force for love. I have guests on that might vote differently or love differently or pray differently from you and me, because I believe to help heal humanity through love, we must first understand the humans who make it up.

I am so happy that you are here, no matter how you vote, how you love, how you pray, you belong here. And whether today you're listening for yourself or because someone shared this episode with you, Welcome to the Jamie Kern Lima Show podcast family. I'd be so grateful if you'd take 2 seconds and just hit the subscribe button on the app you're listening or watching on. That way you're gonna be the very first to get every inspirational episode. Plus you can also get weekly inspiration into your inbox from me to you for free. Just join my newsletter at jamiekernlima.com. And thank you so much for sharing this episode with every single person you know who might need some inspiration. Inspiration of their own today, or perhaps some hope, because we are all in this one life together. And right now, as the First Lady shares in this episode, President Joe Biden is in the fight of his life, battling stage 4 cancer. While the First Lady agreed that today no questions were off limits, and so I do ask the most pressing question so many of us want to know, I also want to ask you to join me in praying for President Biden's health and strength, and in praying for and sending love to his entire family during this time.

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If Hunter decides to run for office—

oh my gosh—

if Hunter decides to run for president, what would you tell him? What would President Biden tell him?

Um, I, you know, I do have a funny answer for that. I would say run, but then you take that how you want to.

Yeah, right.

So, you know, Hunter's got to find his own path. And whatever he decides to do— and I feel this is true his whole life. I feel it from all our kids. Whatever they decide to do, I mean, our grandkids, our kids, we'll support them. I mean, we will support them 100%. And I felt that same way about Joe. You know, a lot of times when he thought about running for president, and it was, to me, it was kind of unreal and daunting, I thought, "I believe in you, and I will support you." And that's how I feel about all my kids and grandkids.

Have you and Joe talked about what Hunter's doing and if he would enter politics?

No. No.

No.

You know, this is a tough time, I think, for me and Joe. Of course. And with this cancer diagnosis and it's, you know, I don't know if you've ever done any caregiving yourself. Yeah. But it's another layer of life that is kind of unexpected. I never expected the cancer diagnosis to begin with, nor did he. But then to be, you know, here I am out on my book tour, but every day, like, in my mind is like, how's he doing? Has he eaten? What's he doing? Did he take his meds? Is he going with his trainer? I mean, you know, it's like you're trying to manage everything all at the same time. So to— it just, you know, Joe and I just really haven't talked about it because our life is so full of just this whole medical part of our lives now is challenging.

I have so many questions about that, and I know you share a lot in your book. I love that even you weave it all through. I'm not gonna give away any of it.

No, don't give it away.

Everyone has gotta pick the book up. By the way, I wanna say this really quick. I love that you read the book. And I'm always a little bummed if there's someone I really wanna read their book, but they have someone else read it. I understand why people do that, of course, there's a lot of reasons. I love that you read your audiobook, because I think everyone right now who's listening, who goes to Audible and grabs it. I actually, what I love to do is have the physical copy I can listen at the same time, and I like to highlight things. Oh, no kidding. And a really good friend of mine, Pastor John Maxwell, he said once that the first time he reads a book, he highlights it. He says he always reads every book twice.

He says the first time— Oh my gosh.

Yeah, he says that when it's really good. He says the first time he reads it, he highlights it, and the second time he reads the book, it highlights him.

Oh, I love that phrase.

I love that so much. And that's one of the things that I just really wanna get across to everyone listening, it does not matter how you feel politically. This is not a political book.

It's not a political book.

When you read it, you see parts of your own life in this. Like, it highlights you, no matter— I believe, no matter what things you've gone through in life, because so many of us can connect to so many of the different topics, right, that you talk about, that you've gone through, how you put your sisters first at the funeral. And that there's just so many things, there's so many dynamics you have gone through an experience that a lot of people are gonna, I think, feel less alone in and more enough in— I hope that's true. —when they read. And I wanna ask you about President Biden. And to answer your question, yes, I've definitely— I lost both of my parents who adopted me, one to cancer, my dad, and then I took care of my mom for about 10 years in and out of the hospital with a lot of illness, and she passed 2 years ago. Taking care of someone, especially with a serious illness, can be all-consuming. Those of us on the outside that are seeing President Biden pop up at different things and taking the Amtrak to an event this week, and, you know, he's out and about and doing everything.

But he was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic cancer, prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. How is he doing? Right now?

He's doing OK. Like, in that— like you're saying, he takes Amtrak. He goes to make a speech in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. He's constant. I mean, he works every day. But it takes its toll. I mean, there's a different pace to life, just because of the medications and the cancer. And it, I think stage 4 cancer really slows you down. And I've seen that. And, you know, he just doesn't ever get up and say, "God, I feel great today." You know, like I get up and say that, you do. But he, you know, he always has, it's always with him. The cancer's always with him. And it's a big change because he was always like a ton of energy and strong. And that's not there like it used to be. But also, he's aging. I mean, we all are. But he's 83. So I think the combination of everything, has taken its toll.

I love that you address some of the most difficult or some of the questions people want to know. You really go deep in your book and you explain the behind the scenes of what was going on. You explain why the doctors did certain things. You explain all of it. And you take us through what you were going through, what President Biden was going through. You take us on that journey, which I love because so many people just maybe see a quick soundbite in the nightly news, or they just see something pop up in their Twitter feed. And again, no matter how someone feels politically, it's so easy to just see somebody's version online in 2 seconds that's feeding your algorithm for whatever reason. And it really is so far from the actual truth of what happened. And so that's what— one of the reasons I think books are life-changing, um, and especially, right, because you just go— you go through that journey and you You're able, and I love that people are able to go through this with you. And I know one of the questions on everyone's mind right now as we're sitting here is of course, how's he doing?

And also what his most recent prognosis is.

Well, he just had scans and they were very optimistic. And they, you know, I mean, his PSA is zero. Which means that the cancer is not in the prostate anymore. But the medications are kind of daunting and hard, I think.

What is the long-term prognosis that they say?

They said he probably won't die of cancer. It'll be something else. Okay. So they're pretty confident that they can— well, the prostate cancer is under control, but it's the bones, the cancer in the bones, that's the scary part. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

But they're saying that he probably won't die of cancer. Yeah. Including in the bones. It'll be something else.

Well, I don't know whether they said in the bones, but he won't die of— well, it's the prostate cancer in the bones. Okay. So, um, but you know, uh, I've been blessed before. Yes. And doctors won't give you any kind of— like, if you— because you want to know, like, yeah, you know, how long is he going to be okay? How long is he going to be able to work? He's writing a book. How long, um, Well, he's almost finished with that, but it's— they don't tell you. They're not God. And you know what? They don't want to be God and they don't want to be wrong. Right. So no matter how hard you push, you, you have to kind of go with your own, I don't know, intuition.

Do you— do they say, will he need to continue to be on medication forever? Forever, forever, that have side effects and that are really difficult. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Mhm. How are his spirits?

Well, he's like, you know, he's most days he's, you know, pretty good, but like all of us, he has his down days and, um, when he gets frustrated with not feeling great, or, um, so he's— it's up and down. Mhm.

I've seen every single press outlet ask you about this on your book tour, and it's probably difficult to talk about. And I think it's also just, I think everyone is curious and wants to know the latest and has so many questions about anytime, whether it happens in our own families, like, how didn't we know sooner? Or how didn't doctors detect it? All of that. Are you scared?

Scared that he's going to die?

Yes, scared with this, everything he's going through.

Of course I'm scared.

How do you handle it?

I guess I— I mean, first of all, he's almost 10 years older than I am. Yeah. And with an illness, and you kind of can't let your head go there. You just can't. I mean, like I said with Beau, and maybe you felt this with your parents, it's like you can't imagine life without them. Yes. But you know they're gonna die. Just like I know I'm gonna die. So part of it you accept as the natural, you know, it's, I think probably, and I'm gonna put this in your court, probably with your parents it was so super hard to lose both your parents, but all throughout your life we've been conditioned as human beings to, to expect our parents to die before we do. But you never expect your child to die before you do. So am I scared that Joe will die? Yeah, I am. But, and it's not something I, you know, actively think about. But because he's sick, I don't know, he's strong. I mean, he's resilient. And some days I say to him, you know, Joe, the irony is like going through all this, I'm going to be the one to die first.

Yeah, gotcha, babe. It's going to be me because you're driving me so crazy. Does he get scared? He's never told me he's scared. No, I don't think he would. I don't think those words would come out of his mouth. Yeah. You know, he's always been the strength of our family. And I don't think he would allow himself to be that vulnerable. Hmm.

Do you or him ever cry over it together?

No. No. I'm not— Well, of course, this interview, you started right in and I started to tear up. But basically, I mean, I am not a crier. Joe is a crier, however. And— but no, I would not say— you know, we can't look at life that way. That's— Jamie, we look at it like Joe has cancer. He's going to die. So let's make the most of every moment. Let's be together. Let's do— let's find things that bring us joy. Make this a positive journey. I mean, not a negative journey, because how can you live with that every day? You can't. It's too heavy. It's too dark.

What are your favorite things about your husband?

His strength and his steadfastness and his integrity as a person, his faith, all of that. And actually, that's why I think he was elected by the American people, because I think they wanted calm, peace, steadfastness. And that's who he's been to our family. I mean, I feel that when he lost his first wife and daughter and I came into his life and raised the boys, and then we had our daughter together, Ashley, you know, that family, we worked so hard in building the family with love. And I felt when Joe was making that decision in 2020 to heal, to run for president, that that's how he was going to heal the nation, you know, by, through love, through positive things. Through doing, through helping people. And I think the American people felt that way too. And I think that's one of the things they miss. And they say to me all the time, whether it's walking onto an airplane or most of the time in ladies' rooms in airports where women feel like they can come up to me and say everything. Or they'll say, do you mind if I take a picture? I'm like, we're in the ladies' room.

But anyway, I think— I don't know. So we don't look at it— we look at it in a more positive way. You have to. You have to.

Would you describe him as a hero in your life?

Yeah, I would. Yeah, he was a hero for me. Yeah.

And you're about to be married 50 years?

Yes. Yeah, it was 49 this June.

Yep. You know, talking about heroes, One question I have for you is one day, many decades from now, when someone asks Ashley and Hunter how you were as a mom and how you loved them, what do you hope they say?

I hope they say that, I don't know, that life was fun with me. Like, I try to make it fun and funny. And, you know, I play pranks on them all the time. And it's, I don't know, it's just part of our, I guess, love language. Yeah.

I love that your family, so many of your kids have named their kids their siblings' names. Yes. Yeah, yeah. Like, it's all interchangeable. Yeah. That's really cool, um, how they've all done that. Did you do that as well? No, I named my daughter Wonder. We tried for 10 years to have her, and it's a long story. And, um, and my son Wilder. Now I'm not sure if we should have named him Wilder because he's wild. Wilder. Um, he's wild. He's wilder than you want him to be. He is wild. Um, and then we actually have a 10-month-old, Weston. Oh, you do? Congratulations! Yeah, so we have 3 right now.

Oh, I'll have to send you some of my children's books.

I love— thank you. Thank you so much. Okay, so talking about books, you mentioned Joe's new book, President Biden's book comes out in November. Anything, a sneak peek, tease you can tell us about it?

Well, I think it reflects Joe in the same way that my book reflects me. Like, I'm not political. I know people find that hard to believe, but I— I don't feel that I'm political, and I didn't write a political book. But he's very political, and he's always loved politics. And so, and he's always loved, you know, foreign policy and foreign leaders and national domestic policy. And so, his is more how he felt and how he reflected on different parts of the historical part of his, of his journey, of his 4 years in the White House. So they're very different books.

I heard him say that it's a lot about how he made decisions and why. Yeah. And I think that's going to fascinate a lot of people. A couple of things I have to ask you because people want to know. Are these painful? No, I mean, the moment in the debate with President Trump, the moment in the debate with President Biden and now President Trump. You talk about wondering in that moment live, is he having a stroke or was he drugged? Were there any steps taken after to rule out—

Oh, yeah. I mean, Joe and I both had a team of doctors around both of us at all times. And he had a team. I had a team. And as all first ladies and presidents have, and And yeah, they checked him out. I mean, once we got off the stage, I went to the green room to get my pocketbook and all that stuff. And he went to his staff and the docs. And they said, "Jill, he's fine. He's okay." I mean, I was like, you know, I mean, I had so much anxiety about it. Like, what's wrong? What's going on? But we went on to do 3 events that night.

That same night, right after, right? And he graded all of them. Fine.

That's what's so inexplicable. He was fine. He got up on the stage, he made a speech. We went to the Waffle House. Do you have Waffle Houses out here? They're mostly in the South. And greeted people. And then we went to North Carolina, got off that plane at 3 o'clock in the morning. And there's a band playing and the lights and hundreds of supporters and greeted them. And they were, you know, so excited. And he went around and shook everybody's hand. And the next week or 2 weeks later, he was doing a conference with NATO. It was like such an aberration. I just—

Were they able to definitively rule out he did not have a stroke that night? They did.

They said no. I mean, I didn't say to them— I, when I was writing my book, I was reflecting, but I didn't say, God, did Joe have a stroke? I just said, is he okay? Is he okay?

And, um, what does your gut tell you happened?

I can't figure it out. That is my honest to God true answer. I don't know.

There's so many conspiracy theories online. Oh, and it'll go on forever. You were there, and it will go on forever, I'm sure. You know him better than anyone on the planet. So still to this day, you don't have a gut instinct on what, what was that moment? No.

I mean, there's all kinds of theories. You know, he had been traveling. Um, I know he was tired. He didn't He didn't feel well that day when I saw him, but there was nothing definitive that I could point to. And I had been on the road for 2 weeks up until that moment, so I wasn't with him. I didn't see him days before, weeks before. I saw him maybe 1 hour before.

And there's no way anyone could have, God forbid, laced his drink or something?

Who knows? Who knows? Mm-hmm. Right? Who knows? Mm-hmm.

This conversation with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden is so incredible, we made it into more than one part. She's truly opening up like never before and sharing lessons that have changed her life and could truly impact and change yours too. You are not going to want to miss this incredible part 3 of our conversation with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. That's coming up in the next episode of the Jamie Kern Lima Show. Remember, this episode's not just for you and me. Please share this with every single person that you know because it can impact and change their life too. And if you love today's episode, please click the follow or subscribe button for the show on the app you're listening to it on or watching it on. And if it added value to your life, if you could please give it a rating or review, 5 stars, really, really good, I'd be so grateful. And again, share it with everyone that you believe in. Share it with another person in your life who maybe could benefit from it or is making a change in their life or carrying grief or just needs hope and inspiration.

You can also post the episode and share it with others online or in your community who just might need the words and tools and lessons in this episode today. You never know whose life you're meant to change today by sharing this episode. And thank you so much for joining me today. But before you go, I wanna share some words with you that couldn't be more true. You, right now, exactly as you are, are enough and fully worthy. You're worthy of your greatest hopes, your wildest dreams, and all the unconditional love in the world. And it's an honor to welcome you to each and every episode of The Jamie Kern Lima Show. Here, I hope you'll come as you are, heal where you need, blossom what you choose, journey toward your calling, and stay as long as you'd like because you belong here. You are worthy. You are loved. You are love. I love you. And I cannot wait to join you on the next episode of The Jamie Kern Lima Show. And please Note, I'm not a licensed therapist, and this podcast is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional.