Hillary Clinton Rips Biden’s 2024 Reelection Bid As A ‘Terrible Mistake’

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton blasted former President Joe Biden’s decision to seek reelection in 2024, calling it a “terrible mistake” that damaged his legacy and hurt the Democratic Party’s chances of stopping President Donald Trump.

Speaking with New Yorker editor David Remnick during an event at the 92nd Street Y in New York, Clinton argued that Democrats would have been better positioned had Biden stepped aside and allowed a new generation of leaders to compete for the nomination.

“He made a terrible mistake,” Clinton said. “He made a terrible mistake for himself, his legacy, and for the country.”

Clinton suggested that an open Democratic primary would have produced a stronger candidate capable of defeating Trump.

“We would have had a real contest,” she said. “And 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,” she added.

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.

“He made a terrible mistake for himself, his legacy and… pic.twitter.com/6yakfsCMfv

— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 16, 2026

The remarks mark a notable reversal from Clinton’s earlier public support for Biden’s reelection effort.

In 2023, when asked whether Biden should seek a second term, Clinton said she backed the president if he chose to run again.

“I think he’s done a really terrific job and so yes, I want him to run if that’s what he wants to do, and of course, I’ll support him,” she told Forbes at the time.

Even after Biden’s widely criticized debate performance against President Trump in 2024, Clinton remained publicly supportive as many Democrats openly questioned his viability as a candidate.

Clinton herself lost to Trump in the 2016 presidential election, while Biden defeated Trump in 2020. Some of Biden’s closest advisers had long maintained that he was uniquely positioned to defeat Trump again.

In the months since the election, however, several of Biden’s allies have acknowledged that his decision to run for a second term may have been a mistake.

Former first lady Jill Biden recently said that if she could revisit the decision, she would have urged her husband not to seek reelection.

Clinton pointed to Biden’s earlier comments in 2020, when he had described himself as a “bridge” to the next generation of Democratic leadership.

“Once he didn’t move and did not admit that he had said he was going to step aside and decided not to and held on for as long as he did, we were in a terrible dilemma,” she said.

Biden ultimately ended his reelection campaign on July 21, 2024, leaving then-Vice President Kamala Harris with just 107 days to lead the Democratic ticket against President Trump.

Clinton’s criticism adds to the growing debate within Democratic circles about the party’s 2024 strategy and whether an earlier transition to new leadership could have altered the outcome of the election.