Former President Joe Biden is downplaying the significance of his 2024 debate performance against President Donald Trump, saying did not view the widely criticized appearance as a turning point in his reelection campaign.
“Look, I don’t know anybody who hasn’t made a mistake in a debate. To me, it was not very consequential,” Biden said in an interview with People ahead of the release of his new presidential memoir, Promise Me, America.
“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.”
The former president’s comments come as he prepares to release Promise Me, America, on Nov. 17.
At the same time, Biden is also navigating treatment for an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. He announced the diagnosis in 2025 and said in a Sunday post on X that the illness has affected his ability to promote the book.
“It hasn’t stopped me,” Biden wrote. “But sometimes it slows me down. What that means is, unfortunately, I won’t be able to do as many conversations about my book as I’d hoped. However, I’m hopeful the words on the page speak for themselves.”
At 83, Biden said his doctors were “encouraged” by his response to treatment.
During the interview, Biden also pushed back against accusations that he concealed his cancer diagnosis while serving as president. When asked about what he described as the public’s “cynical twist” on his diagnosis, including speculation that his illness had been hidden from the public while he was in office.
“A lot of people do that,” Biden said of elected officials hiding bad news from the public. “They hide bad news from the public if they’re elected officials. I didn’t do that. We let the public know when I found out, when I knew what was going on.”
Biden said he considered it “important” for national leaders to inform people when they experience health challenges similar to those faced by ordinary people.
The June 27, 2024, debate raised alarm bells among Democrats after Biden repeatedly stumbled over his words, lost his train of thought, and appeared to struggle to maintain his composure. His performance sparked increased concerns about his age and fitness for another four years in office, which had already become a major vulnerability for his campaign, according to polling at the time.
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The fallout quickly turned into a crisis for the Democratic Party, with more than 30 Democratic lawmakers ultimately calling on Biden to abandon his reelection bid. Party leaders and congressional candidates worried that his candidacy would jeopardize Democrats’ chances of holding onto seats in Congress, while polling showed Trump gaining an advantage in the presidential race.
Biden eventually ended his reelection campaign on July 21, 2024, following weeks of mounting pressure from Democrats and concerns about his ability to defeat Trump. He endorsed then-Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him on the Democratic ticket.