Joe Biden says he would have resigned if he had known he had cancer while he was president

Former President Joe Biden said in a new interview that he would have resigned and abandoned his 2024 re-election bid if he had known he had cancer.

“If I had known that I felt bad because I had cancer, I would have resigned. I wouldn’t have gone ahead, because I don’t think an 80-year-old with cancer should be running for president,” Biden, now 83, told PEOPLE ahead of next week’s release of his memoir, “Promise Me, America.”

The 46th president announced in May 2025 that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer that had spread to his bones. He has since completed radiation therapy and started hormone treatment.

Biden ultimately dropped out of the 2024 race on July 21 of that year, weeks after a disastrous debate against Donald Trump sparked an internal revolt by members of his own party.

Despite Biden’s visible health issues and signs of cognitive decline, he insisted to PEOPLE that “I believe that on an objective basis, I was the person best equipped to do the job.”

“I don’t know anyone who hasn’t made a mistake in a debate,” Biden added. “For me, it didn’t have much impact.”

Throughout the CNN-hosted forum, Biden struggled to finish his thoughts and stumbled over his words, concluding one response with the now-infamous non-sequitur: “We finally beat Medicare.”

The former president also defended his decision to pardon his son Hunter and grant preemptive pardons to other members of the Biden family.

“I have observed Trump’s modus operandi. He attacks people without any basis, whether they are considered enemies,” Biden said. “I knew what he would do.”

Biden also criticized his successor’s decision to demolish the East Wing of the White House and build a massive ballroom in its place, saying Trump wanted “nothing more than to try to create monuments to his memory: ‘I built that.’ »

“I find it under the country,” he continued.

Returning to his health, Biden said his prognosis was optimistic, saying his latest tests showed the cancer had not spread.

“Many people who have been diagnosed with cancer, especially the type of cancer I have, live a long life, and live another 10 or 20 years,” he said.

“I’m not saying I’ll live forever,” Biden said. “But the fact is that I have all my faculties, I have access to everything I had before and I feel good.”

“Promise Me, America” is available November 17.