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Former United States President, Joe Biden, has revealed that he would not have pursued a second presidential term had he been aware of his cancer diagnosis at the time, while also downplaying the impact of his widely scrutinized 2024 debate performance against Donald Trump.
Speaking in an interview with PEOPLE ahead of the upcoming release of his presidential memoir, Promise Me, America, Biden reflected on the circumstances surrounding his exit from the 2024 race. His June 2024 debate appearance, during which he struggled to articulate his platform and appeared visibly fatigued, triggered intense scrutiny from fellow Democrats and ultimately led him to step aside and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris 107 days prior to the election.
Despite the political fallout, Biden dismissed the long-term significance of that evening’s performance.
“Look, I don’t know anybody who hasn’t made a mistake in a debate. 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,” Biden said.
Four months after leaving the White House, Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. While acknowledging that he had felt unwell prior to receiving the diagnosis, he maintained that he was entirely unaware of his illness while seeking reelection and stated that his decision-making would have been drastically different had he known.
“If I had known that I was feeling lousy because I had cancer, I would have resigned. I would’ve not gone forward, because I don’t think an 80-year-old man with cancer should be running for (president),” Biden explained. “But that wasn’t the case … I believe that on an objective basis, I was the best-equipped person to do the job.”
Biden firmly rejected suggestions that his administration concealed information regarding his health while in office, stating that his team disclosed the diagnosis promptly upon learning of his condition. He emphasized that transparency from national leaders helps normalize shared health challenges faced by ordinary citizens.
Promise Me, America is scheduled for release next Tuesday, though Biden noted that his ongoing cancer treatment will limit his capacity to participate in extensive promotional appearances.
