Hillary Clinton Turns On Joe Biden By Blasting Ex-Prez's 'Terrible Mistake' Running for Re-Election in 2024
Hillary Clinton has laid into Joe Biden for his 'terrible decision' running for re-election in the 2024 presidential race.
June 17 2026, Published 9:00 a.m. ET
Hillary Clinton has blasted Joe Biden, saying his re-election bid was a "terrible mistake."
RadarOnline.com can reveal the former First Lady, 78, feels Biden, 83, should have stuck to his original plan of serving only one term and "pass the touch to the next generation", believing a new leader would have defeated Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
Clinton's Most Scathing Takedown Of Biden Yet
Clinton says Biden's decision impacted his legacy.
Biden dropped out of the presidential race after a debate just months before the election, throwing his support behind Kamala Harris who was ultimately unsuccessful in stopping Trump's storming to his second spell as president.
Speaking to The New Yorker editor David Remnick, Clinton gave her most scathing reaction yet to Biden's ill-fated decision to carry on.
Asked by Remnick whether Biden made a "terrible mistake" to run in 2024, Clinton responded: "He made a terrible mistake. He made a terrible mistake for himself, his legacy and for the country."
'We Would Have Had A Contest'
Clinton believes the race for presidency would have been more even if Biden stepped down earlier.
Clinton says "we would have had a real contest" if he stepped down as planned, adding: "Very sadly, I believe 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.
"So I think it was a terrible miscalculation on the part of President Biden."
Former First Lady Jill Biden, who at the time praised her husband's performance in his calamitous TV debate with Trump which eventually sparked his decision to take himself out of the race, as "great" and said he "answered every question," recently revealed she thought he was having a stroke during the debate, adding that she had not seen him like that "before or since."
'There Was No Way To Convince Him'
Clinton claims going public with concerns regarding Biden would not have persuaded him to step down.
Asked why high-profile Democrats were not more vocal about his decision to run for re-election, Clinton said that while there were conversations happening privately, "there was no way to convince him by going public."
Clinton was also asked whether Harris lost the election only because of the short campaign timeline.
"I think that was definitely a factor," Clinton said. "I think she also found herself really in a difficult position trying to run as the sitting vice president but separate herself from the sitting president. That’s really hard."
In her new book, View from the East Wing, Jill wrote that serving one term had been considered.
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Jill Biden believes her husband would have beaten Donald Trump if he stayed in race.
During the 2020 race, Joe had privately floated the idea of being a one-term, transitional President, but as he explored the question of a reelection bid, every one of his senior advisors insisted he needed to run,' she wrote.
She noted how there had been "buzz" around potential Democratic primary candidates, "but we were told that based on polling, Joe was the Democrats' best bet."
Jill, 75, added: "While the age question was there, Joe kept showing that he was still able to do the job.'"
Polling even in the late months of 2023 showed that a majority of Americans were concerned about Biden's age should he win a second term.
That number spiked after Biden tanked in the debate.
Still, both the former President and First Lady have said Biden would have been victorious over Trump had he stayed in the race.
