MANHATTAN — Former U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton said President Joe Biden made a mistake by not withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race earlier. Speaking at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan on Monday, Clinton asserted that Biden reversed a prior commitment to step aside. She said that if Biden had announced his decision to withdraw in late summer 2023, a Democratic primary would have produced a candidate capable of defeating Donald Trump.

"He made a terrible mistake for himself, his legacy, and for the country," Clinton said. She added that whoever emerged from that contest, whether it was the vice-president or a governor or a senator or anybody else, would have beaten Trump. "Once he didn't move and did not admit that he had said he was going to step aside, and then decided not to, and held on for as long as he did, we were in a terrible dilemma," she said.

Biden ended his 2024 presidential campaign in July 2024, following a televised debate against Trump. During the debate, Jill Biden said she believed Biden was experiencing a stroke while watching it. Biden transferred his nomination to Vice President Kamala Harris in August 2024. Harris subsequently lost the 2024 general election to Trump.

In 2025, Way to Win published a report analyzing the Democratic Party's 2024 electoral defeat. The report cited voter desires for economic change, Republican media advantages, and policy misalignments on issues such as Gaza, racial justice, and immigration as factors in the election results. Additionally, an internal Democratic review stated that the party had lost electoral ground across all levels of government for approximately twenty years.

No independent assessment of Hillary Clinton’s claims was available.