Key facts
- Biden said in the post: "Some days are better than others. It hasn't stopped me. But sometimes it slows me down."
- Biden said he would not be able to do as many conversations about his book as he had hoped.
- Biden wrote that Donald Trump "led an insurrection" on January 6, 2021 and that it "should follow him to his grave".
- Biden wrote that Trump pardoned more than 1,500 people convicted of offenses related to the January 6 riot.
- Biden wrote that Trump "took a wrecking ball to our traditions" after returning to office in January 2025.
Joe Biden said in a post on X on November 8, 2026 that he will undertake only limited promotion of his memoir, Promise Me America, because of advancing cancer. The book is due to be published on November 17.
Biden, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer in May 2025, four months after leaving office, said the number of speaking engagements he can manage will be limited. "Some days are better than others," he said. "It hasn't stopped me. But sometimes it slows me down. What that means is, unfortunately, I won't be able to do as many conversations about my book as I'd hoped." He said he was hopeful the words on the page would speak for themselves, and that he and his wife, Jill, were touched and grateful for the support of the American people since his condition became known.
The memoir covers Biden's one-term presidency, which began in 2021 after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump seeking to overturn Biden's 2020 election victory. Biden wrote that Trump "led an insurrection" and that the rioters "came armed to stop the official certification of a legitimate election." He noted that Trump later pardoned more than 1,500 people convicted of offenses related to the riot, and wrote that what Trump did on January 6, 2021 "should never be forgotten. It should follow him to his grave."
Biden also wrote about Trump's actions after returning to office in January 2025, including the creation of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which he said put hundreds of thousands of people out of work without yielding promised savings. He wrote that all presidents must confront the feeling that their legacy is vulnerable to their successors, and that in his case the feeling was magnified by what he called the dismissive and destructive nature of Trump.
Biden said the book explores the challenges his administration faced, the decisions he made and why, covering the Covid-19 pandemic, economic troubles and efforts to restore alliances frayed during Trump's first term. He previously published a memoir, Promise Me, Dad, about the death of his elder son, Beau, from cancer.