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Former President Joe Biden said Friday he is “feeling great,” marking his first public remarks since announcing he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Biden spoke briefly with reporters at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut while in town to attend his grandson’s graduation. His comments come nearly a week after he revealed he is battling an aggressive form of cancer, a diagnosis that has sparked both sympathy and scrutiny.
“Cancer touches us all,” Biden wrote in a social media post earlier this week. “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.”
The former president’s public appearances have been sparse in recent months, and his health announcement has reignited debate over the final years of his presidency. While many political leaders offered well wishes, some, including Vice President JD Vance, have used the diagnosis to revisit questions about Biden’s fitness while in office.
“You can separate the desire for him to have the right health outcome from the recognition that… I don’t think he was able to do a good job for the American people,” Vance told reporters on Monday. “In some ways, I blame him less than I blame the people around him.”
The remarks came amid renewed attention to Biden’s inner circle, with critics alleging that aides shielded him from public scrutiny during his final year in office. Reporting in the forthcoming book Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson suggests Biden’s staff actively concealed signs of cognitive decline to avoid political fallout.
Biden and his wife, Jill, have pushed back against those claims. In a statement earlier this year, they called the accusations “politically motivated” and emphasized Biden’s accomplishments while in office.
Biden’s cancer diagnosis has added a new layer to the conversation surrounding his legacy, as well as the contentious political climate during the second Trump administration. President Trump has not commented directly on Biden’s condition, though members of his administration have continued to critique Biden’s leadership and decision to seek reelection in 2024.
Despite stepping back from public life, Biden remains a central figure in the national political dialogue, with many Democrats praising his leadership during his term and others urging transparency about his health.
No details have yet been released about Biden’s treatment plan, though a spokesperson for the family said they are “optimistic” and “focused on the path ahead.”
