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The Guardian
7 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Trump extendss sympathy after Biden cancer diagnosis – but it doesn't last long
After Joe Biden revealed his cancer diagnosis, Donald Trump offered an uncharacteristically empathetic and simple response. 'Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden's recent medical diagnosis. We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery,' Trump wrote on social media. But the compassion didn't last long. Trump soon reverted to type, dabbling in a burgeoning rightwing conspiracy theory about Biden's health and comparing the former president, who has stage four prostate cancer, to a corpse, as Trump's hangers-on and acolytes used the diagnosis to attack Biden and his wife. Trump posted his well-wishing message on 18 May, after Biden's office announced the 82-year-old had been diagnosed with an 'aggressive form' of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. The president's tone changed quickly, however. Trump spent Memorial Day – which the Department of Defense describes as being intended to 'honor all those who died in service to the US during peacetime and war', attacking his one time rival and his time in office. 'Happy Memorial Day to all,' the president wrote on Truth Social. 'Including the scum that spent the last four years trying to destroy our country through warped radical left minds, who allowed 21,000,000 million people to illegally enter our country, many of them being criminals and the mentally insane, through an open border that only an incompetent president would approve, and through judges who are on a mission to keep murderers, drug dealers, rapists, gang members, and released prisoners from all over the world, in our country so they can rob, murder, and rape again – all protected by these USA hating judges who suffer from an ideology that is sick, and very dangerous for our country.' It was clear that Trump's 'warmest and best wishes' to Biden had been firmly retracted, and that became even more transparent as Trump went on to promote an emerging, fact-free, theory that Biden hid the cancer diagnosis while in office. 'I'm surprised that the public wasn't notified a long time ago because to get to stage nine, that's a long time,' Trump said – seemingly conflating the Gleason score, which measures how cancerous cells look compared with normal cells, with Biden's stage four cancer. Trump's comments hinted at the growing conspiracy theory about Biden's alleged use of an 'autopen' – a device which replicates a person's signature – to sign legislation while in office. The president continued the theme when he suggested that Biden, while president, was taken advantage of by unnamed individuals who 'knew he was cognitively impaired'. It has been a growing issue on the right. This week Trump's AI czar David Sacks speculated that Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator, 'controlled the autopen during that administration', in comments seized upon by the rightwing conspiracy theory Alex Jones, among others. That set the ball rolling. Trump twice posted about the pen, in one post he claimed that the alleged use of the autopen was 'the Biggest Scandal in American History' as he suggested Biden was not of 'sound mind'. On Thursday the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt followed up in an official briefing, suggesting Jill Biden should 'speak up about what she saw' about the health of her husband, who is said to be reviewing treatment options for the aggressive cancer that was discovered less than two weeks ago. Others in Trump's orbit have also made unsavory comments, including Donald Trump Jr, who mocked Jill Biden over the diagnosis. Trump Jr posted on social media: 'What I want to know is how did Dr Jill Biden miss stage five metastatic cancer or is this yet another coverup???' It was a message that neatly managed to combine the autopen theory with a callback to Republican mocking of Jill Biden, who holds a doctorate in education and is not a medical doctor. But for all the Republican group-think about Biden's health, it was left to Trump himself to offer the bleakest take, reposting a message on Truth Social that read: 'They stole the 2020 election and hijacked the country using a decrepit corpse as a frontman They used an autopen to start wars, steal from our treasury, and pardon their friends Arrest those responsible and charge them with TREASON.' In late April, as Trump approached 100 days in office, NBC News reported that Trump had posted or commented on Biden, or his family, 580 at least 580 times since becoming president. With that little commitment, perhaps in hindsight it shouldn't be surprising that a cancer diagnosis would not stop the commander-in-chief.
The Independent
20-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Trump boasts about passing medical test while responding to Biden's cancer diagnosis: Live updates
Donald Trump said he was 'surprised' the public wasn't told 'a long time ago' after Joe Biden announced he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Not long after saying he had been 'saddened' to hear about Biden's diagnosis, Trump suggested the cancer may have been overlooked by the same doctor who said the former president was cognitively well. 'If it's the same doctor, he said there was nothing wrong there. And that's being proven to be a sad situation,' he said. Trump then boasted that he 'aced' his recent physical and cognitive tests. Maga conspiracies emerged almost immediately after Biden announced his diagnosis, claiming Biden has had cancer for longer than publicly disclosed. The reaction to Biden's cancer came amid reports that it was the Trump administration that initially approached Qatar about the possibility of getting one of its luxury Boeing 747 jets. The claim, reported by CNN, contradicts the White House's insistence that the $400 million jet lined up to replace Air Force One had simply been offered as a gift. Watch: Debunking the MAGA conspiracy about Biden's cancer News of Joe Biden's prostate cancer diagnosis on Sunday quickly became a political tool. Conspiracy theories emerged almost instantly — claims that he's had cancer longer than disclosed, rumours it's 'stage five' and a misleading 2022 video clip suggesting he had previously admitted to having cancer. Watch to see which conspiracy theories are gaining traction: Hebe Campbell20 May 2025 11:07 Trump boasts he 'aced' medical exam while questioning Biden's announcement Donald Trump has questioned the timing of Joe Biden's cancer announcement as well as the doctors who diagnosed him, while also boasting of his own physical and cognitive test results. 'I think it's very sad, actually. I'm surprised the public was notified a long time ago,' Trump said. 'I think that if you take a look, it's the same doctor that said that Joe was cognitively fine. There was nothing wrong with him. Well, he said, if it's the same doctor, he said there was nothing wrong there. And that's being proven to be a sad situation.' The president also pivoted to the results of his own physical exam. 'I did a very complete physical, including cognitive tests - I aced it, I got them all right,' he said.
