Jill Biden has admitted it was the "right call" for her husband Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential election.
In an interview with ABC News' Good Morning America on Monday, the First Lady said it would be "tough" for the couple to relinquish the White House but that they were ready for "a new journey".
"I've had such a great four years, and Joe and I – really it has been the honor of our lives," Biden told ABC anchor Deborah Roberts.
"So it'll be tough to maybe step away from it, but we're starting a new chapter of our lives, a new journey."
Asked if she regretted Joe Biden's fateful decision to give up any chance at another term, she said: "We've been in politics over 50 years. I think we're ready for the new journey... it was the right call."
It is the first time that Biden, 73, has spoken publicly about that chaotic week in July when her husband Joe finally ended his candidacy after a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump heightened public concern about his advanced age.
Despite once declaring that only "the Lord Almighty" could persuade him to drop out, the 81-year-old Catholic ultimately bowed to pressure from former House speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic grandees.
At the time, Biden – a longtime English teacher with a doctorate in education – was one of the President's most stubborn backers, saying: "[We] will not let those 90 minutes define the four years he’s been president."
Monday's interview was part of the opening of a revamped interactive tour at the White House, with significant input from Jill Biden and featuring a recorded video message from her to guests.
The still-serving college professor also offered some advice for Kamala Harris's husband Doug Emhoff should her wife end up winning the White House in November: "Just be yourself."
