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Biden ripped for ‘totally delusional’ claim about debate that preceded his 2024 exit

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Cite

Owens, I. (2026, November 11). Biden ripped for ‘totally delusional’ claim about debate that preceded his 2024 exit. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-ripped-totally-delusional-claim-debate-preceded-2024-exit

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-11-11 · by Ireland Owens

Quick Summary

Joe Biden faces criticism after downplaying his 2024 presidential debate performance against Donald Trump, calling it "not very consequential" despite dropping out of the race shortly afterward. The comments have sparked backlash on social media, with critics like Steve Cortes and Matt Whitlock arguing that the debate was highly significant, leading directly to Biden's withdrawal from the campaign. The article highlights the poor reception of Biden’s performance during the debate and includes responses from political figures criticizing his perspective.
Written by AI on 2026-11-12, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Former President Joe Biden faced sharp criticism after dismissing his 2024 presidential debate performance against President Donald Trump as "not very consequential," despite dropping out of the race just 24 days later. In an interview with People Magazine released on November 11, 2026, Biden stated that he did not see the debate's impact as significant and noted there was no follow-up debate to address any issues raised. Conservative commentator Steve Guest described Biden’s comments as "totally delusional" on X, while former National Republican Senatorial Committee senior adviser Matt Whitlock argued the debate was "the most consequential." Despite the backlash, Biden maintained that his performance did not disturb him because he viewed it as inconsequential.

Written for “Biden Criticized For Debate Performance” on 2026-11-12, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but none of the 3 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 145709: no verified evidence · logged 2026-11-12

Story

Biden Criticized For Debate Performance
Politics · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 10% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Washington Examiner
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 68/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
29
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
10%
3 of 29 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
67/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-12 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 7328 article(s) · 14 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 14 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Ireland Owens
6 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
"It was without question the most consequential Presidential debate in history - he [Biden] likely would have stayed the nominee without it," Whitlock said.
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Also by Ireland Owens
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 6 articles by Ireland Owens →

Topics

Florida Fox News Digital's National Republican Senatorial Committee People Magazine The Office of Joe and Jill Biden

Subjects

Biden PERSON · 8× Joe Biden PERSON · 3× Trump PERSON · 3× Fox News Digital's ORG · 2× People Magazine ORG · 2× Cortes PERSON · 1× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× National Republican Senatorial Committee ORG · 1× Steve Cortes PERSON · 1× Steve Guest PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Conservative commentator Steve Guest wrote on X that Biden "is TOTALLY delusional." Meanwhile, former National Republican Senatorial Committee senior adviser Matt Whitlock asserted in a Wednesday post on X that it was actually "the most consequential" presidential debate of all time.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-12
"It was without question the most consequential Presidential debate in history - he [Biden] likely would have stayed the nominee without it," Whitlock said.

Claims (29 extracted, 3 hedged)

Former President Joe Biden is facing sharp backlash after dismissing his disastrous 2024 debate performance against President Donald Trump as "not very consequential" — despite dropping out of the presidential race just 24 days later. asserted
Biden → face → race
When asked about what his "perspective" on the June 27, 2024 debate is now in an interview with People Magazine released Wednesday, Biden suggested he felt his debate performance was inconsequential. uncertain
performance → ask → Magazine
"Look, I don’t know anybody who hasn’t made a mistake in a debate," Biden told People Magazine. asserted
Biden → look → Magazine
First of all, I thought there’d be another debate, which there wasn’t." asserted
I → think → all
"But notwithstanding the fact that there wasn’t another debate, it didn’t disturb me because it wasn’t consequential," he added. asserted
he → be → me
Biden's comments drew swift criticism on social media on Wednesday. asserted
comments → draw → Wednesday
"Joe Biden now claims his 2024 presidential debate against President Trump, which forced him to drop out of the race, was not very consequential," former Trump campaign operative Steve Cortes wrote Wednesday in an X post. uncertain
Cortes → claim → post
"Just 24 days after the 'not very consequential' presidential debate, Joe Biden ended his campaign for President," Cortes added. asserted
Cortes → end → President
Conservative commentator Steve Guest wrote on X that Biden "is TOTALLY delusional." Meanwhile, former National Republican Senatorial Committee senior adviser Matt Whitlock asserted in a Wednesday post on X that it was actually "the most consequential" presidential debate of all time. asserted
it → write → time
"It was without question the most consequential Presidential debate in history - he [Biden] likely would have stayed the nominee without it," Whitlock said. asserted
Whitlock → stay → it
"But I’m definitely excited for the other hot takes in the book now." asserted
I → ’m → book
C’mon, man!" Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis quipped. asserted
DeSantis → quip → ?
During the presidential debate, Biden stumbled over his words, paused for long periods of time and displayed confused facial expressions. asserted
Biden → stumble → expressions
The Office of Joe and Jill Biden did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. asserted
Office → respond → comment
"Biden subsequently dropped out of the presidential race on July 21, 2024, just a few weeks after the debate, amid mounting pressure from Democratic allies to end his re-election bid. asserted
Biden → drop → bid
Former first lady Jill Biden notably claimed in a CBS News Sunday Morning interview clip released in May 2026 that she thought her husband was having a stroke on stage during the debate. uncertain
husband → claim → debate
Trump's White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. asserted
House → respond → comment
Additionally, Biden said Sunday that he plans to scale back public appearances promoting his new presidential memoir, "Promise Me, America," due to his cancer battle. asserted
he → say → battle
"My presidential memoir, PROMISE ME, AMERICA, is coming out on November 17th. asserted
memoir → promise → 17th
I hope you'll read it. asserted
you → hope → it
It covers my years as President. asserted
It → cover → President
The challenges we faced, the decisions I made, and why I made them. asserted
I → face → them
It's about who we are as a nation," Biden said in an X post. asserted
Biden → say → post
"What we stand for. asserted
we → stand → What
"While writing the book, I was diagnosed with cancer, a disease known all too well to millions of Americans and their families," the former president added. asserted
president → write → Americans
"My doctors continue to be encouraged by how I've responded to treatment. asserted
I → continue → treatment
And the prayers and kind words and well wishes from so many of you have meant more to me and Jill and our family than you can ever know. asserted
you → mean → me
It hasn't stopped me. asserted
It → stop → me
But sometimes it slows me down." asserted
it → slow → me
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