Biden Says He's Confident He Would Have Beaten Trump

President Joe Biden told USA Today in an interview that he thinks he could have won if he had stayed in the 2024 presidential race.

Newsweek has reached out to the White House for comment.

Why It Matters

President-elect Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the White House race after Biden dropped his bid for reelection on July 21 following weeks of mounting pressure from within the Democratic Party and from key donors. Biden stumbled through a debate with Trump in June, raising alarms about his ability to win the election and lead the country.

The Democratic Party had to quickly organize to select a new nominee to ensure someone was on each state's ballot. Biden immediately endorsed Harris to succeed him as the party's nominee when he announced he was not seeking reelection. Harris went on to run against now Trump, losing the election after gaining just 226 electoral votes to Trump's 312.

President Joe Biden speaks with reporters after signing the Social Security Fairness Act in the East Room of the White House on January 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Biden suggested in an interview that he... AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

What To Know

When USA Today asked Biden if he could have won had he remained in the race, he said he based his opinion on polling.

"It's presumptuous to say that, but I think yes," Biden said.

A "Pod Save America" podcast episode shortly after Election Day indicated that Biden's internal polling suggested that Trump would win "400 electoral votes."

"Then we find out when the Biden campaign becomes the Harris campaign, that the Biden campaign's own internal polling at the time when they were telling us he was the strongest candidate, showed that Donald Trump was going to win 400 electoral votes," host Jon Favreau said on the podcast.

When further pressed by USA Today about his confidence to serve in office for another four years, he said "I don't know."

Trump had regularly targeted Biden, 81, for being too old for office. At the beginning of the year, many polls also showed voters thought Biden was too old to run in 2024. During the presidential debate between Biden and Trump, the president's voice sounded hoarse, particularly as the debate began, and his answers at times seemed muddled.

The narrative flipped after Biden dropped his bid, with a Morning Consult survey of around 2,200 registered voters showing that fewer voters believe Trump, 78, was in "good health" when facing off against the 59-year-old Harris.

What People Are Saying

President-elect Donald Trump on July 21 when Biden withdrew on Truth Social: "Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve - And never was! He only attained the position of President by lies, Fake News, and not leaving his Basement. All those around him, including his Doctor and the Media, knew that he wasn't capable of being President, and he wasn't - And now, look what he's done to our Country, with millions of people coming across our Border, totally unchecked and unvetted, many from prisons, mental institutions, and record numbers of terrorists"

What's Next

Trump will be inaugurated as the nation's 47th president on Monday, January 20, becoming on the second person to serve two nonconsecutive terms in the White House.