Last Updated on July 20, 2025 by Ayoko Ahite

During the 2020 presidential campaign, Trump called Biden “Sleepy Joe” because he perceived him as physically and cognitively weak and unfit to be President of the United States. Despite that, Biden won the election and has since considered himself “the only person who can beat Donald Trump.”

At the time, those who supported Biden and the Democrats believed there was no substance to Trump’s claims that Biden was too weak to run the country. However, by the end of his term in 2024, Biden had accumulated numerous blunders and mistakes, leading voters to question his ability to serve for four more years. For instance, during a recent Nato Summit, he introduced President Zelensky of Ukraine as President Putin. He also frequently loses his train of thought, confusing people and places. For these reasons, voters from both sides of the political aisle doubted his ability to serve four more years as the commander-in-chief.

Nonetheless, Biden maintained that he would not drop out of the race and reaffirmed his intention to beat Trump again in 2024. Unfortunately, things didn’t go his way. His performance during the first presidential debate between him and Trump ended his ambitions. Throughout the debate, he lost his train of thought multiple times, struggled to find his words at times, and mumbled a lot. It became clear to voters that Biden was no longer physically and mentally fit to handle America’s affairs for another term.

Democratic party leaders saw a potential defeat from afar after that debate and forced Biden out of the race. On July 21, 2024, Biden took to “X” to announce the end of his campaign. He endorsed his Vice President, Kamala Harris, who would become the Democratic Party’s nominee.