Joe Biden has revealed he would have abandoned his 2024 re-election bid and resigned the presidency had he known his symptoms signaled cancer.
The former president, 83, made the admission in an exclusive interview timed to the upcoming release of his memoir, “Promise Me, America.” Biden, who announced in May 2025 that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer that had spread to his bones, told the outlet his health outlook has since improved following radiation treatment and hormone therapy.
“If I had known that I was feeling lousy because I had cancer, I would have resigned. I would’ve not gone forward, because I don’t think an 80-year-old man with cancer should be running for [president],” Biden said.
The 46th president’s disclosure comes months after he ended his campaign on July 21, 2024, bowing to pressure from fellow Democrats following a widely panned debate performance against Donald Trump. During that CNN-hosted forum, Biden struggled to complete thoughts, stumbled over words, and closed one answer with the now-memorable line, “We finally beat Medicare.”
Despite those visible difficulties, Biden defended his capabilities to PEOPLE. “I believe that on an objective basis, I was the best-equipped person to do the job,” he insisted.
“I don’t know anybody who hasn’t made a mistake in a debate,” he added. “To me, it was not very consequential.”
Biden also addressed his controversial decision to pardon his son Hunter and grant pre-emptive clemency to other family members, framing it as protection against political retaliation. “I watched the modus operandi of Trump. He goes after people without any basis, whether they’re viewed as an enemy,” Biden said. “I knew what he would do.”
The former president did not spare his successor criticism on policy matters either. Biden singled out Trump’s plan to demolish the White House East Wing and replace it with a massive ballroom, suggesting the project served personal vanity rather than national interest.
“He wanted nothing more than to try to create monuments to himself: ‘I built that,'” Biden said.
“I find it beneath the country,” he continued.
On his current condition, Biden offered an optimistic assessment, saying his latest tests showed no further spread of the disease. He pointed to others with similar diagnoses who have lived for decades.
“There’s a lot of people who’ve been diagnosed with cancer, particularly the kind of cancer I have, who live long lives, who live for another 10, 20 years,” he said.
“I’m not saying I’ll live forever,” Biden added. “But the point is that I have all of my faculties, I have access to all the things I had before, and I feel good.”
“Promise Me, America” arrives in bookstores Nov. 17.