Joe Biden will only do limited promotion of his upcoming memoir at the White House due to the progression of cancer, the former president said in a message on social media Sunday evening.
His new book, Promise Me America, to be released Nov. 17, is Biden’s account of a presidential term that began in 2021 in the shadow of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, by Donald Trump supporters eager to overturn the incumbent Republican president’s loss to his Democratic rival in the 2020 election.
The deadly invasion of the Capitol as Congress was to meet to certify Biden’s victory, after a rally near the White House where Trump urged his supporters to go to Congress and “fight” for him, remains a historic shame such that Biden in his book says of the current president that he “should follow him to his grave.”
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“Some days are better than others,” he said. “It hasn’t stopped me. But sometimes it slows me down. This unfortunately means I won’t be able to have as many conversations about my book as I hoped.”
Instead, Biden said, “I hope the words on the page speak for themselves.” He said he and his wife, Jill, have been touched and grateful for the support of the American people since his condition became known.
The memoir examines in detail the deadly violence in Washington DC fomented by supporters of Trump, who sought to remain in power following his defeat to Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
“Donald Trump led an insurrection,” Biden wrote.
“The rioters were not ‘peaceful protesters.’ They came armed to prevent the official certification of legitimate elections.”
Noting that Trump later pardoned more than 1,500 people convicted of offenses related to the Jan. 6 riots, Biden said, “To this day, Trump and his supporters continue to preen and present themselves as if they are supporters of law enforcement.”
“Here’s my point: You can’t turn a blind eye to cops being punched, speared, sprayed and brutalized and call yourself a friend of law enforcement. What Trump did on January 6, 2021 should never be forgotten. It should follow him to his grave.”
Trump’s actions since returning to power in January 2025 are also under Biden’s control, including the chaotic creation of the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (Doge) that has put hundreds of thousands of people out of work but failed to generate the vaunted savings.
“All presidents must confront the sense that their legacy is vulnerable to the pendulum of politics and the whims of their successors,” Biden wrote.
“In my case, this feeling was amplified by the dismissive and destructive nature of Donald Trump, who seemed incapable of tolerating the idea that someone else’s accomplishments were worth building on rather than tearing down.”
Biden, in his article, said the book explores “the challenges we faced, the decisions I made and why I made them”, covering a pivotal period in US history, including the Covid pandemic, economic turmoil and the attempt to restore frayed alliances and relationships with allies during Trump’s first term.
Biden said he realized as soon as Trump took office that much of what he had worked for would soon be dismantled.
“Trump,” he said, “has destroyed our traditions. » Biden previously released a memoir titled Promise Me, Dad, about the death of his eldest son, Beau, from cancer.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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