Former President Joe Biden made "a terrible mistake" when he sought reelection in 2024, as almost any other Democrat could have stopped President Donald Trump's comeback bid, according to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in 2016.

"He made a terrible mistake for himself, his legacy, and for the country," Clinton told David Remnick, the editor of The New Yorker, at an event in Manhattan earlier this week, reports The Washington Post on Wednesday.

The interview came after last month's release of the Democratic Party's review of former Vice President Kamala Harris' 2024 election loss to Trump.

Biden, who was 81 during the 2024 election cycle, had suggested during his 2020 presidential campaign that he would serve as a bridge to a new generation of Democrat leaders, a remark many Democrats interpreted as an indication he would serve only one term.

Clinton said Biden should have followed through with that plan.

"I believe if he had kept to that plan and said in, say, the late summer of '23 that he wasn't going to run, that he was going to pass, you know, the torch to the next generation, we would have had a real contest," Clinton said.

She said the eventual Democrat nominee, whether Harris, a governor, senator, or another candidate, would have prevailed against Trump.

"Whoever emerged from that nomination fight, whether it was the vice president or a governor or a senator or anybody else, would have beaten Donald Trump," Clinton said.

A spokesman for Biden declined to comment.

Biden ended his reelection campaign after a widely criticized debate performance against Trump on June 27, 2024.

Harris became the Democratic Party nominee but lost to Trump after mounting a shortened general election campaign.

Clinton's criticism marks a shift from her earlier support for Biden seeking a second term.

Speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival in 2022, Clinton said she would support Biden's reelection bid.

"I would endorse our sitting president, yes, of course," she said at the time.

In recent months, some Democrats have become more critical of Biden's decision to run again. Former first lady Jill Biden also has drawn attention for defending her husband's presidency and reelection effort in her memoir, "View From the East Wing."

In the memoir, the former first lady revealed that she thought Biden was having a stroke while debating Trump and said she has not seen him act that way "before or since."

Meanwhile, Clinton, when asked why more high-profile Democrats are not speaking out about Biden's decision to seek reelection, said there were conversations going on privately but that there was "no way to convince him by going public."

She added that she believes Harris' shortened campaign was a "factor" in her loss to Trump.

"I think she also found herself really in a difficult position, trying to run as the sitting vice president but separate herself from the sitting president," Clinton said. "That's really hard."