In a revealing interview on ABC’s The View, former President Joe Biden insisted he could have defeated Donald Trump in the 2024 election had he remained in the race, despite mounting doubts over his age, health, and faltering debate performances that led to his withdrawal.
Asked directly whether he believed he could have won a rematch with Trump, Biden replied, “Yes,” citing the fact that Trump received roughly seven million fewer votes in 2024 than he did in 2020. The statement comes as many in Biden’s own party continue to question the wisdom of his late exit, which left Vice President Kamala Harris with little time to mount a credible national campaign.
Alyssa Farah Griffin asks if Biden still thought he could have beaten Trump.
He does: “Yes. He still got 7 million fewer votes.”
Biden also dismisses Trump winning all the swing states.
He thanks The View for not focusing on poll numbers. pic.twitter.com/eBrACmqJdR— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) May 8, 2025
Biden didn’t stop at defending his own political judgment — he also pointed to what he called a coordinated campaign of “sexism and racism” as the reason for Harris’s loss. “I wasn’t surprised,” he said, claiming that critics consistently worked to undermine Harris’s leadership credibility because she is a woman of color. “I’ve never seen quite [as] successful and consistent a campaign undercutting the idea that a woman — and a woman of mixed race — could lead the country.”
Despite conceding that his own poor performance in the debates raised serious concerns about his viability, Biden maintained that pressure from Democratic leaders, not the public, forced him to step aside. He argued that Harris was given enough time to prepare, even though she had less than four months before Election Day to campaign, raise funds, and unify a fractured party.
First Lady Jill Biden also weighed in, lamenting what she called betrayal from within the Democratic Party. “Some of the attacks came from people we thought were on our side. It was very hurtful,” she said, reflecting the deep internal divides that plagued the party throughout the election cycle.
Biden’s comments add fuel to the growing debate over the Democratic Party’s 2024 collapse — a failure many now attribute to a lack of leadership, poor strategy, and tone-deaf messaging. While Biden and Harris blame outside forces, critics argue the problems were internal, predictable, and avoidable.
As the dust settles from the 2024 election, Biden’s insistence that he could have beaten Trump will likely do little to calm a party still reeling from a historic loss and facing an identity crisis with no clear path forward.