Biden makes first public remarks since cancer diagnosis, honors son Beau Biden 10 years after his death
Former President Joe Biden spoke in Delaware on Friday at a Memorial Day event held four days after the federal holiday — his first public remarks since his office announced he was diagnosed with an "aggressive form" of prostate cancer.
Speaking at the annual event at Veterans Memorial Park in New Castle, Delaware, which is just south of his hometown of Wilmington, the former president talked about his son, Beau Biden, who died 10 years ago on May 30.
"This day is the 10th anniversary of the loss of my son Beau, who spent a year in Iraq. And to be honest, it's a hard day," the former president said.
"Being with all of you quite frankly makes things a little bit easier, it really does. So thank you for allowing me to grieve with you," he said.
Beau Biden died after a battle with brain cancer. The former president noted that he served in the Delaware National Guard, saying, "His legacy lives on."
"Just like the legacy of all our fallen heroes lives on, they live on in us and they live on in the strength and freedom of our nation," he said.
"So everyone who came here today to grieve with grief in your heart, please know: you're not alone," he said. "You'll never be alone, and your loved one will never be forgotten."
Earlier on Friday, pictures showed Biden and former first lady Jill Biden at Saint Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church in Wilmington for a memorial mass.
Former President Joe Biden arrives at Saint Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church for a memorial mass 10 years after the death of the former president's son Beau Biden, in Wilmington, Delaware on May 30, 2025.
ALEX WROBLEWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Biden's office announced earlier this month he has cancer, categorized as having a Gleason score of 9, which places him in Grade Group 5, the most severe category.
"Cancer touches us all," Biden, who is 82, said in a tweet earlier this month. "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."
A spokesperson has said that Biden first learned of his cancer diagnosis in mid-May and that he was never previously diagnosed with prostate cancer. He did not undergo prostate cancer screening during his last medical checkup while in office, which was in February 2024, according to records at the time. His spokesperson said his last known prostate-specific antigen test, which is used to screen for prostate cancer, was in 2014. The screening is not generally recommended for men past the age of 70.
, and contributed to this report.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Republican NJ governor candidates focus on budget waste, immigration, Trump
New Jersey voters in both parties have begun to vote to select their nominees for governor in the June 10 primary election. This spring, the USA TODAY Network New Jersey Editorial Board convened conversations with nearly all of the major candidates. We talked broadly about their campaigns, their agendas if nominated and elected and about the impact of the administration of President Donald Trump. Here are thoughts and impressions about candidates in the Republican field, presented alphabetically: State Sen Jon Bramnick, first elected to the Assembly in 2003 and its longtime Republican leader, was elected to the upper chamber in 2021. Bramnick, 72, is a Plainfield attorney and was the first Republican to enter the race for governor. An avowed Never-Trumper, Bramnick said that, when appropriate, he would continue some of the state's ongoing legal challenges that seek to block parts of the administration's policy agenda. He also said he would call on the New Jersey congressional delegation to protect Medicaid coverage for the state's most vulnerable residents. Bramnick's campaign is designed to appeal to moderates in both parties who are concerned about New Jersey's tax burden and want to see the Garden State's economy grow. 'My feeling is we need balance. I don't believe in this one-party system. Now, you've had the Democrats control the Legislature for 20 years. And now you've had a Democratic governor for seven years. It doesn't work. What you want is balance because most people in New Jersey are in the middle.' Bramnick is focused, too, on fixing New Jersey's housing crisis and suggested to the USA TODAY Network New Jersey Editorial Board that he would work with developers across the state to locate large tracts of land on which to construct affordable single-family and multi-family units to meet market demand. Bramnick also outlined positions on reconfiguring the state budget to better fund NJ Transit, said he would work to reconfigure the state's complex school funding formula and suggested that he would regularly take questions from the public and from members of the Legislature if elected. Jack Ciattarelli, a former state Assemblyman who lives in Somerville, nearly ousted Gov. Phil Murphy in the 2021 election. It was immediately clear that Ciattarelli, a sometime contributor to the opinion pages of the USA TODAY Network New Jersey, would seek his party's nomination again this year. Ciattarelli, who once dismissed President Donald Trump as a "charlatan," earned the president's endorsement earlier this month. While Ciattarelli has positioned himself as a right-of-center moderate in earlier campaigns, this year, he has embraced the MAGA mood that holds grip over large swaths of the Republican primary electorate. "The president's trying to hit the reset button," Ciattarelli said, pointing to Trump's efforts to stem the federal deficit and rebalance global trade. In conversations with the USA TODAY Network New Jersey Editorial Board, Ciattarelli said New Jersey faced "an affordability crisis, a public safety crisis, a public education crisis" and also expressed deep concern about overdevelopment and housing affordability. To address affordability, Ciattarelli outlined specific proposals to tackle the school funding formula and said the state, on his watch, would fund special education across the state. He also called for a unified state department to oversee all of the state's transportation infrastructure, including NJ Transit, the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike. Ciattarelli said he would also conduct a broad review of state spending with an eye toward trimming the budget as broadly as possible. On energy, Ciattarelli put the blame for forthcoming utility rate hikes squarely on Gov. Phil Murphy and the Democratic Legislature and said he would work quickly to stand up natural gas generation. He also said he would explore expanding the state's existing nuclear footprint. Bill Spadea, the longtime NJ 101.5 radio personality who lives in Princeton, is a stalwart supporter of President Donald Trump. Spadea and his campaign did not respond to invitations to sit with the USA TODAY Network New Jersey Editorial Board. Spadea has said his campaign is aimed at stemming New Jersey's affordability crisis, addressing what he calls an epidemic of illegal immigration and slowing down housing development that he says imperils New Jersey's suburban communities. Immigration, he has said, is his top priority. 'We're going to rescind the 2018 executive order and get rid of the sanctuary state. We're going to rescind the 2019 Immigrant Trust Directive,' he said. 'We're going to issue a series of executive orders … to stop phase four of this high-density housing nonsense that is crushing our suburban communities." Former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac and Justin Barbera, a Burlington County contractor, are also on the June 10 primary ballot but did not meet various qualifications to participate in debates this spring. This article originally appeared on NJ governor 2025: Republican candidates focus on waste, immigration
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Video shows suspect of Colorado antisemitic attack
Eight people were injured in what officials are describing an antisemitic attack in Boulder, Colorado. The suspect in custody, identified as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, allegedly used a makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd. He also yelled 'Free Palestine,' according to the FBI.
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Shoplifting suspects jump off bridge on I-10 in Goodyear, PD says
The Brief Two people accused of shoplifting allegedly jumped off a bridge on I-10 in Goodyear while trying to flee from police, the department said. They're in the hospital in critical condition, and have not been identified. There's no word on what they allegedly stole. GOODYEAR, Ariz. - Two alleged shoplifters are in critical condition after jumping off a bridge on I-10 in Goodyear on Sunday night, police said. What we know It all started around 5:30 p.m. on June 1 when officers were called to the area of Dysart and McDowell roads for reports of shoplifting. "The caller gave a vehicle description and said the vehicle was still in the parking lot. Officers arrived and located the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop. The vehicle failed to yield, eventually stopping on the I-10 freeway near Dysart," Goodyear Police Sgt. Mayra Reeson said. A man and woman reportedly got out of the car and jumped off the highway's bridge. They were taken to the hospital in critical condition. Three others stayed inside the car and were detained, Sgt. Reeson said. This incident remains under investigation. What we don't know No names were released in this case. Police didn't say where the alleged shoplifting happened, or what they reportedly stole.
