Washington:
US President Donald Trump on Monday called his predecessor Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis “very sad” before accusing former White House staff and the Biden family of “not telling the facts.” Casting doubts over the timing of the announcement, the Republican leader said he was “surprised” the public wasn’t informed sooner about Biden’s condition.
Trump’s comment came a day after Biden’s office revealed that the 82-year-old former President has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.
“I think it’s very sad, actually. I’m surprised that it wasn’t, you know — the public wasn’t notified a long time ago,” Trump said while talking to reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump on Biden’s cancer diagnosis: “I’m surprised the public wasn’t notified a long time ago because to get to stage 9, that’s a long time…If you take a look, it’s the same doctor that said Joe is cognitively fine…Somebody is not telling the facts.” pic.twitter.com/x27WsRhBY7
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) May 19, 2025
“It takes a long time to get to that situation, to get to a stage nine,” he added, apparently referring to Biden’s Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5), as announced by his office.
Trump mentioned that he underwent a full physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last month, claiming that a prostate exam is “standard” for “pretty much anyone getting a good physical.”
“When you take tests, as a male, that test is very standard,” he said as he appeared to cast doubt on the doctors in charge of Biden’s health during and after his presidency.
“Somebody is not telling the facts,” Trump said, as he noted that doctors, including former White House physician Kevin O’Connor, who had been claiming Biden was in top mental shape for years.
In his last physical in late February 2024, O’Connor gave Biden a nearly clean bill of health, saying that he “identified no new concerns” at the time. However, Biden’s physical didn’t mention a prostate exam that year, though he underwent a colonoscopy in 2021.
“If it’s the same doctor that said there’s nothing wrong there, and that’s being proven to be a very sad situation,” Trump said, adding, “I think someone is going to have to speak to his doctor.”
Biden’s Cancer Diagnosis
Biden was diagnosed on Friday after experiencing urinary symptoms, and he and his family are reviewing treatment options with doctors, according to the statement.
“Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support,” Biden said in an X post early on Monday.
Cancers that have spread, or metastasised, are considered Stage 4, the most advanced. Most prostate cancers are detected at an earlier stage.