Joe Biden reportedly believes he could have defeated Donald Trump in last month’s U.S. presidential election had he remained in the race. The outgoing president, set to hand over power to Trump in January, withdrew from the race in July after facing criticism for low polling numbers and a poor performance in a televised debate against his Republican opponent.
Biden was replaced as the Democratic candidate by Kamala Harris, who went on to lose to Trump in the November election. According to The Washington Post, Biden and some of his aides believe the 82-year-old should have stayed in the race. Sources familiar with their comments, speaking anonymously, said Biden and his team have recently expressed confidence that he could have defeated Trump.
In 2020, Biden won the presidency by securing a record number of votes, denying Trump a second term. However, speculation about his plans for 2024 persisted throughout his first term, with questions about whether he would seek re-election or serve only one term. In April last year, Biden announced his re-election bid, emphasizing that he had already beaten Trump once and could do so again, despite concerns about his age.
Although he secured the Democratic nomination, Biden faced mounting pressure following several public missteps. In July, he mistakenly introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Earlier in February, he erroneously claimed to have met François Mitterrand—who died in 1996—at a G7 summit in 2021.
The decisive blow, however, came during a televised debate with Trump. Biden’s performance was widely criticized by Democrats, who described it as “an unmitigated disaster,” “a meltdown,” and “a slow-motion car crash.” Ten days after the debate, Biden announced he was withdrawing from the race and endorsed Harris as the party’s candidate.
Despite Biden’s support, Harris was unable to secure a victory against Trump. The Republican candidate not only won the popular vote but also triumphed in key battleground states, earning a second term in the White House. Trump is now set to return to office on January 20.
