WASHINGTON — President Trump questioned Monday how doctors did not diagnose former President Joe Biden with advanced prostate cancer until after he had left office — accusing former White House staff of “not telling the facts.”
“I’m surprised the public wasn’t notified a long time ago,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office in his first on-camera statement about his predecessor’s diagnosis.
“To get to stage nine, that’s a long time,” added the president of Biden’s cancer scoring a 9 on the Gleason scale, which indicates a “high-grade” cancer that can spread quickly.
Trump, 78, noted that had undergone a full physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last month, and claimed 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.”
“This is dangerous for our country,” Trump added, noting that Biden contributed to the “mess” the country is in now.
Trump called the diagnosis “very very sad,” but pointed out there were also doctors, including former White House physician Kevin O’Connor, who had claimed Biden was in top mental shape for years, before the public saw his diminished capabilities on full display at his June 27, 2024, debate against Trump.
O’Connor gave Biden a nearly-clean bill of health during their last physical in late February 2024, writing that he “identified no new concerns” at the time.
Follow the latest on Joe Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis:
Ex-Biden aides suspect another cover-up after former president’s prostate cancer diagnosis
Trump accuses Biden allies of ‘not telling the facts’ after cancer diagnosis: ‘Dangerous for our country’
It’s highly unlikely Biden didn’t already know he had cancer: doctor
Biden’s 2022 cancer ‘slip-up’ that was downplayed by White House resurfaces after ex-president’s surprise diagnosis
Doctor who worked with Biden says he had cancer ‘while he was president’: ‘He did not develop it in the last 100 to 200 days’
The president’s physical didn’t mention a prostate exam that year, though Biden did undergo a colonoscopy in 2021.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also said that Biden, was deemed not to need a cognitive test — despite public outcry at the president’s many gaffes and verbal slip-ups, including asking “Where’s Jackie” and searching for the late Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) at an event in September 2022.
“The president doesn’t need a cognitive test. That is not my assessment, that is the assessment of the president’s doctor, that is also the assessment of his neurologist,” Jean-Pierre told reporters at the time.
“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 Monday, adding: “I think someone is going to have to speak to his doctor.”
“Why wasn’t the cognitive ability — why wasn’t that discussed?”
This is a breaking story. Please check back for more information
