Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized former President Joe Biden for his decision to originally run for re-election in 2024.
Clinton, who lost the 2016 election to President Donald Trump, said Tuesday that she believed if there was a primary process, then that candidate would have won. Instead, Biden was quickly swapped out for Vice President Kamala Harris with his blessing in July 2024, but no there was no separate primary after his exit.
“He made a terrible mistake. He made a terrible mistake for himself, his legacy, and for the country,” Clinton said on Monday night at a 92NY event with The New Yorker writer David Remnick.
Hillary Clinton said former President Joe Biden made a “terrible mistake” by running for reelection in 2024, arguing another Democratic nominee would have defeated President Trump had the party held a competitive primary.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 16, 2026
“He made a terrible mistake for himself, his legacy and… pic.twitter.com/6yakfsCMfv
“He had said that he would not run again. And, you know, counterfactual narratives are always a bit tricky, but I believe if he had kept to that plan and said in, say, the late summer of ’23, that he wasn't going to run, that he was gonna pass, you know, the torch to the next generation, we would have had a real contest,” she added.
“And very sadly, I believe whoever emerged from that contest, whether it was a vice president, or a governor, or a senator, or anybody else, would have beaten Donald Trump,” Clinton continued.
“So I think it was a terrible miscalculation on the part of President Biden. But once he didn't move and did not, you know, admit that, he had said he was gonna step aside, and then decided not to, and held on for as long as he did. We were in a terrible dilemma,” the former First Lady added.
Calls mounted for Biden to exit the presidential race after a rough debate night performance against Trump in June 2024, as there were concerns about his age and cognitive capabilities.
Trump ended up defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 2024 election in both the electoral college and the popular vote, which included a sweep of all the swing states. The Democrats now face a wide open field in 2028, and it’s unclear if Harris will pursue another bid. Others, like Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), have been open about the possibility of running.