Hillary Clinton says Biden’s re-election bid cost Democrats the 2024 election

Joe Biden ’s decision to seek a second term was “a terrible mistake” that cost Democrats the presidency and may have permanently damaged his legacy, Hillary Clinton has declared. Speaking at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan on Monday, the former US secretary of state and 2016 Democratic nominee said Biden had reneged on a prior commitment to step aside – and that the betrayal of that promise proved catastrophic. “He made a terrible mistake for himself, his legacy, and for the country,” she said. Clinton argued that had Biden announced in late summer 2023 that he would not run, a genuine Democratic primary would have produced a stronger nominee. “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,” she said, calling the decision to stay in the race “a terrible miscalculation”. Biden eventually abandoned his re-election bid in July 2024 following a disastrous debate performance against Trump, during which his wife Jill Biden recently revealed that she believed he was having a stroke while watching him. Biden then went on to hand over the nomination to his vice president, Kamala Harris , in August, who went on to lose the general election to Trump a few months later. Still, Clinton’s claim that any Democrat would have beaten Trump deserves scrutiny. …