Top CNN Dem says talk of Biden's senility should be silenced after prostate cancer diagnosis
CNN contributor and longtime Barack Obama aide David Axelrod said that all talk surrounding President Joe Biden 's mental fitness should stop following his recent cancer diagnosis.
Axelrod, the network's chief political analyst, made the argument to Fredricka Whitfield while calling into CNN Newsroom Sunday, saying such discussions would be in poor taste and should be 'set aside' as the former president seeks treatment.
Shortly before, Biden's office issued a statement saying the former president had been diagnosed with an 'aggressive form' of prostate cancer that had already spread to his bones.
The news compelled Whitfield, the host of the show's weekend edition, to ask Axelrod whether he believed speculation about Biden's mental faculties would recede as a result.
'I think those conversations are going to happen, but they should be more muted and set aside for now, as he's struggling through this,' Axelrod, 70, responded.
The Democratic aide contributed to a book spotlighting the subject, Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, co-authored by CNN host Jake Tapper and set for release on Tuesday.
Fueled by accounts obtained from roughly 200 people, the book covers the alleged cover-up of Biden's cognitive state.
On X, the longtime Democratic operative elaborated: '@JoeBiden has confronted more heartache, illness and loss than anyone should have to deal with.
'Rooting for him now, as we all should, regardless of party or politics.'
'It shouldn't be stunning because prostate cancer is so common among men, at his stage in life, most men if they live long enough deal with prostate cancer,' he told Whitefield on Sunday.
'It's great news that they think it's manageable, but jarring nonetheless.'
Axelrod, one of several Democrats who decided to turn on Biden following his disastrous debate performance in June, told CNN shortly after: '[Biden] hasn't come to grips with it. He's not winning this race.'
After Donald Trump's election win, Axelrod called the speculation that Biden would have stood a better chance than Kamala Harris 'bulls**t.'
Doctors declared Biden 'fit to serve' as recently as February of last year, fueling theories that he and his team knew about the disease and chose to delay public disclosure remain unfounded.
Biden officials, in their statement, said the diagnosis came a week after the discovery of the small nodule on the former president's prostate.
It also mentions 'increasing urinary symptoms' from the former president that occurred before the discovery.
In a statement Monday morning, Biden, 82, personally addressed his diagnosis, sharing a photo of himself alongside former first lady Jill Biden and their cat Willow.
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