The president has been criticized for making Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis a topic centered around himself during his remarks to the press.
On Sunday (May 18), an announcement from Biden’s office revealed the former president has been diagnosed with ‘aggressive’ prostate cancer that has ‘metastasized to the bone’.
Biden, who is 82 years old, was evaluated by doctors last week due to urinary symptoms, which led to the discovery of a new ‘prostate nodule’. This nodule has been identified with a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5).
Doctors have assured that the cancer appears ‘hormone-sensitive,’ indicating it can be effectively managed with appropriate treatment.
Following this, President Donald Trump, Biden’s successor, made comments that were considered insensitive regarding his political opponent.
In a statement to reporters from the Oval Office, the POTUS expressed: “I think it’s very sad actually, I’m surprised that the public wasn’t notified a long time ago because to get to stage 9, that’s a long time.”
In reality, Biden’s cancer has a score of nine on the Gleason scale, which evaluates the abnormality of cancer cells from two to 10.
This score places Biden in the highest Group 5, indicating the cancer is likely to spread rapidly, though it does not signify that he has ‘stage 9 cancer’.
Trump repeated the incorrect statement of Biden’s ‘stage 9’ cancer, suggesting that there are undisclosed issues and hinted at a possible investigation into the Democrat’s medical evaluations.
He continued: “It’s very dangerous. Look, this is no longer politically correct, this is dangerous for our country.
“Look at the mess we’re in and you’re talking about these questions on Ukraine and Russia, that would have never happened as an example, if I were president, it would never have happened.
“The other thing is why did it take so long? It can take years to get to this level of danger.
“So look it’s a very, very sad situation, I feel badly about it and I think people should try find out what happened.
“Somebody is not telling the facts, that’s a big problem.”
The president also seemed to boast about his own health test results, including cognitive assessments, claiming he is ‘proud’ to have ‘aced it’.
Many have criticized the 78-year-old for his remarks, accusing him of making the issue ‘all about him’.
“He is disgusting at times,” one person commented on Twitter.
“As usual, he managed to make a question about Biden’s cancer diagnosis all about himself,” another added.
A third person noted: “Mentioning ‘Stage 9’ and then bragging about acing his cognitive tests, is the kinda irony he genuinely excels at.”
The remarks came as Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, faced similar backlash after suggesting Biden’s wife, ‘Dr. Jill Biden’, failed to notice ‘stage five metastatic cancer’ and hinted at a ‘cover-up.’
However, many have highlighted that the former first lady is not a medical doctor, as Jill holds a PhD in education.
Don Jr has responded that his statement was intended as ‘sarcasm’.
Several of Trump’s supporters have also expressed doubts about the 46th POTUS’s health while he was in office.
Vice President JD Vance commented to reporters: “We really do need to be honest about whether the former president was capable of doing the job.”
The health of the former POTUS was a significant concern among voters during his presidency and his attempt for a second term, especially after an unsettling 90-minute debate against Trump.
The White House had released a statement at the time denying that he was suffering from Alzheimer’s.
In November 2021, Biden had a benign but potentially pre-cancerous polyp removed from his colon, and a ‘basal cell carcinoma,’ a common form of skin cancer, was excised from his chest in February 2023.