Former President Joe Biden says that his performance at the 2024 debate, widely seen as disastrous for the 46th president, was “not very consequential” to the outcome of the 2024 contest.
During the debate, Mr. Biden stumbled and seemed to lose his train of thought multiple times while facing then-candidate Donald Trump. Shortly thereafter, he was pushed by Democrats to quit the reelection effort. One month later, in July 2024, then-Vice President Kamala Harris replaced Mr. Biden on the Democratic ticket.
“I don’t know anybody who hasn’t made a mistake in a debate,” Mr. Biden, 83, told People magazine. “To me, it was not very consequential. First of all, I thought there’d be another debate, which there wasn’t. But notwithstanding the fact that there wasn’t another debate, it didn’t disturb me because it wasn’t consequential.”
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In May 2025, the former president revealed he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
“If I had known that I was feeling lousy because I had cancer, I would have resigned,” Mr. Biden said. “I would’ve not gone forward, because I don’t think an 80-year-old man with cancer should be running.”
Mr. Biden is promoting his new memoir, “Promise Me, America,” which is out Tuesday.
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