WASHINGTON (KAAB TV) – Former U.S. President Joe Biden’s cancer announcement revived questions on Monday about the extent of his health issues during his tenure, with President Donald Trump saying Biden should have been more transparent with the public.
“I’m surprised that the public wasn’t notified a long time ago, because to get to stage 9, that’s a long time,” Trump told reporters on Monday, misstating Biden’s diagnosis. Trump also voiced sympathy on Sunday in a social media post.
Biden’s office said he had been diagnosed on Friday with “aggressive” prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.
Cancers that have spread, or metastasized, are considered stage 4, the most advanced.
The remarks by Trump and other Republicans captured the renewed focus on the health of the 82-year-old Democratic former president with the publication of a book that details widespread concerns about Biden’s mental acuity among aides and Democratic insiders as he pursued reelection in 2024.
Excerpts from the book have prompted new questions about whether critical information was withheld from the American public about Biden’s ability to serve in the White House.
Biden’s closest aides have dismissed those concerns, saying Biden was fully capable of making important decisions.
“Why didn’t the American people have a better sense of his health picture?” Vice President JD Vance said to reporters as he wrapped up a trip to Rome.
“Why didn’t the American people have more accurate information about what he was actually dealing with? This is serious stuff.”
A spokesperson for Biden did not return a request for comment. Biden has appeared on television to rebut accusations that his mental capacity had diminished during his 2021-2025 term..
“There’s nothing to sustain that,” he said on ABC’s ‘The View’ on May 8.
Biden, the oldest person ever to serve as president, was forced to drop his reelection bid last July after a stumbling debate performance against Trump eroded his support among fellow Democrats.
Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, launched a bid of her own but lost to Trump in the November 2024 election.