Senior advisors to then-President Joe Biden reportedly urged him to hold a debate against President Donald Trump as early as possible in an attempt to highlight Biden’s ‘leadership’ and expose Trump’s ‘weakness,’ according to a new book. The book, authored by Josh Dawsey of the Wall Street Journal, Tyler Pager of the New York Times, and Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post, claims that Biden’s team dismissed concerns about his age during the 2024 election cycle. The book details how Biden’s senior advisors wrote up a memo advocating an initial spring debate, followed by a potential second one in early September after Labor Day.
This strategy was intended to allow Biden to take on Trump before early voting in battleground states began, shaping the terms of the debate in his favor and emphasizing his ‘leadership’ in contrast to Trump’s. According to a memo published by Politico Playbook, Biden’s senior advisors wrote that holding the first debate in the spring would reach the widest audience before the summer months, which were dominated by the conventions, Olympics, and family vacations. They argued that the earlier Biden could debate Trump, the better, to showcase his strength and Trump’s weaknesses.
Despite this strategy, the book reports that some Biden aides were hesitant about an early debate, with some advocating for Biden not to debate Trump at all. A Biden donor reportedly pressed the White House in May 2024 to find a reason to pull Biden from the debates after being ‘alarmed’ by Biden’s behavior at a Chicago fundraiser. The Trump White House criticized the debate, claiming it backfired on Biden and instead highlighted his own weaknesses. A White House spokesperson stated that the only highlight from the debate was Biden’s inability to form a complete sentence, and that American voters saw the ‘weakness, his campaign in chaos, and the absence of a real leader in the White House.’
Biden and Trump ultimately faced off in a debate on June 27, 2024, which prompted Biden to exit the election in July 2024. This led to Vice President Kamala Harris taking on Trump in November 2024. The book is part of a wave of publications in 2025 that have detailed Biden’s alleged mental deterioration while in office and how Trump’s campaign ultimately secured a landslide victory. Another such book is ‘Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,’ released in May 2025.