PoliticsHillary Clinton Says Joe Biden Made a 'Terrible Miscalculation' Running for President Again, Claims Democrats 'Would Have Beaten Donald Trump'
Hillary Clinton shared strong opinions about how the 2024 presidential election would've gone had Joe Biden not attempted reelection.
June 17 2026, Published 5:48 p.m. ET
Hillary Clinton didn't mince words about Joe Biden's 2024 reelection effort, suggesting Democrats could have fared better had he stepped aside earlier before the party ultimately lost to Donald Trump.
Clinton, 78, said the 2024 run boiled down to a "terrible miscalculation," telling the New York Times on Monday, June 15, that Biden, 83, made a "terrible mistake for himself, his legacy and for the country" for running again at age 81.
Hillary Clinton Criticized Joe Biden's Reelection Run
Hillary Clinton claimed another Democratic candidate 'would have beaten Donald Trump.'
The former Secretary of State claimed if Biden chose to "pass the torch," the Democratic Party would have held a competitive primary and produced a stronger candidate.
"Whoever emerged from that contest — whether it was the vice president, or a governor, or a senator or anybody else — would have beaten Donald Trump," she told the outlet.
Joe Biden Dropped Out of Presidential Race in July 2024
Jill Biden addressed Joe Biden's 2024 run in her new memoir, 'View From the East Wing.'
Biden eventually dropped out of the race in July 2024 following a disastrous debate against Trump, now 80, a month earlier.
Jill Biden recently addressed her husband's troubling June 2025 debate in her memoir View From the East Wing, which hit bookshelves earlier this month.
- Jill Biden Believes Joe Would Have Beaten Donald Trump in 2024 Election If He Hadn't Dropped Out of the Race
- Jill Biden Defends Husband Joe's 2024 Reelection Bid After 'Hurtful' Health Concerns: 'It Had to Be His Decision Alone'
- Jill Biden Was 'Shocked' Kamala Harris Didn't Win 2024 Election Against Donald Trump: 'I Couldn’t Believe She Lost'
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Jill Biden Insisted She Would've Been Honest With Joe Biden
Jill Biden claimed she wasn't a part of the debate preparations and said she would have been honest had she been involved.
The former FLOTUS insisted she would have been honest if she believed Joe was incapable of the debate, though she admitted to not being present during his preparations.
"I was out campaigning," she shared. "So I didn’t see him at debate camp at Camp David."
The View From the East Wing author continued, "I never wanted to see that moment again in my life, but since I’ve been doing press for two days, they’re like, ‘Watch this clip.' .... I saw Joe aging. My God, we all saw him aging."
Does Jill Biden Think Joe Could Have Been President Again?
Jill Biden confessed it was 'shocking' that Joe Biden was diagnosed with cancer last year.
Days earlier, Jill was asked during an appearance on The View if she believed he would've been in a good place to serve four more years in the White House.
"Well, not from what I know now," she responded, referencing his health issues. "I mean, my God, who knew? I mean, it was so shocking to get that cancer diagnosis."
During the daytime show appearance, Jill reported that her husband of nearly 49 years was "doing okay" following his prostate cancer diagnosis last year.
"I mean, we had, you know, here I was, I’m looking through travel magazines like, ‘Oh, where are we going to go?" she recalled. "What are we going to do,’ and then we get this cancer diagnosis and I think, what am I doing? Like, our whole life has changed now. It was just shocking."
