Former President Joe Biden‘s aggressive prostate cancer diagnosis has thrown a wrench in Democrats’ plans to move beyond his presidency and 2024 campaign.
Biden’s cancer diagnosis arrived amid heightened scrutiny of his cognitive health. The book Original Sin, set for release on Tuesday, details episodes of forgetfulness during Biden’s presidency and alleges that his aides sought to conceal these problems.
A comprehensive five-hour, 10-minute audio recording from a special counsel’s October 2023 interview with Biden was obtained and released by Axios, in which his struggle to recall critical details, such as the year he left the vice presidency and the date of his son’s passing, sparked renewed concerns about his cognitive condition.
Debate over Biden’s mental fitness during his presidency divided Democrats, with some defending him while others accused his team of concealing his deficits to avoid a primary challenge.
At age 82, Biden initially pursued a second term but withdrew in favor of former Vice President Kamala Harris following a faltering debate performance in late June that exposed his cognitive struggles.
Democratic strategist Jon Reinish acknowledged there is no evidence of a cover-up regarding the former president’s diagnosis but noted that the Bidens’ existing trust deficit, even among Democrats, has fueled skepticism and allowed conspiracy theories to take hold.
“In having that trust deficit, it automatically allows and gives room. It gives permission for other theories to jump in. So in that way, it’s an unfortunate factor here,” Reinish said. “While people are compassionate, there’s less of a bulwark of unhesitating goodwill. You know, people are angry at the Bidens. Democrats are angry at the Bidens. So, it is a tough thing to have to acknowledge.”
Biden is hardly the first president to face scrutiny over his health. Franklin D. Roosevelt concealed the effects of polio, Dwight D. Eisenhower downplayed a heart attack and stroke, and Woodrow Wilson’s debilitating stroke was kept largely hidden from the public. John F. Kennedy secretly battled Addison’s disease, and Ronald Reagan showed early signs of Alzheimer’s that were never disclosed while he was in office.
That long-standing pattern of secrecy around the health of top officials resurfaced in early 2024, when former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin faced backlash for failing to disclose his hospitalization for complications following prostate cancer surgery promptly. The lack of transparency, even from top White House officials, sparked bipartisan criticism and raised concerns about accountability and communication at the highest levels of national security.
Michael LaRosa, who once worked as former first lady Jill Biden’s press secretary, argued that Democrats must rebuild trust by openly admitting they were wrong to support Biden’s reelection without questioning his fitness.
“We should have been asking more questions, we should have been more observant, and no, of course, he should not have run for president,” LaRosa said, speaking to the Washington Examiner.
“No more dodging and robotic talking points that deflect from responsibility. [Democrats] have to just take responsibility and do it as fast as possible and get it over with, but do it in a matter that they can be consistent from now going forward because the ‘we’re moving forward thing’ does not cut it, doesn’t cut it, and it won’t cut it,” he said.
“Voters forgive a lot of things, but they don’t forgive phonies,” he added.
Republicans have been quick to revive the conversation around Biden. During his flight from Rome to Washington on Monday, Vice President JD Vance expressed well wishes for the former president but also urged a closer examination of his cognitive performance while in office.
“We really do need to be honest about whether the former president was capable of doing the job,” Vance said. “In some ways, I blame him less than I blame the people around him.”
The vice president raised concerns that doctors or White House aides may have deliberately concealed information about Biden’s fitness for office from the public.
“Why didn’t the American people have a better sense of his health picture? Why didn’t the American people have more accurate information about what he was actually dealing with? This is serious stuff,” Vance said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) criticized Republicans for spreading conspiracy theories and shifting focus away from current healthcare matters.
“It seems to me entirely inappropriate that at this moment in time when President Biden is dealing with a serious and aggressive form of cancer, there are Republicans who are peddling conspiracy theories and want us to look backward at a time when they actually are taking healthcare away from the American people,” Jeffries said on Monday.
Jennifer Holdsworth, a Democratic strategist who managed former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s bid for DNC chair, argued that raising doubts about Biden’s cognitive state after his cancer diagnosis is inappropriate.
“I think it’s craven and heartless to talk about anything else when anyone on planet Earth announces they have cancer,” Holdsworth told the Washington Examiner. “Democrats are all over the map on their thoughts regarding whether President Biden should have announced for reelection or not. But most of this narrative that is being spun is just another MAGA fever dream.”
The diagnosis has cast criticism of Biden’s role in the party’s 2024 defeat as insensitive, temporarily halting efforts by younger Democrats to address the matter with greater candor.
“Unfortunately, I think it will lead to further speculation. I wish people could take a moment and focus on the impact of this on the former president and his family,” said Brad Bannon, a Democratic strategist. “But, given the age we live in, there are all sorts of speculation … It’s in poor taste to speculate on the nature of this illness and the history of the cancer without any medical expertise.”
Discussions regarding Biden’s cognitive abilities during his tenure have created challenging questions for potential Democratic contenders in the 2028 presidential race. The matter is particularly sensitive for Harris and Buttigieg, who served in his administration.
Bannon said he believes Biden’s top Cabinet-level officials will face further scrutiny for what they knew about his health struggles.
“The new books coming out raise serious questions about what they knew and when they knew it. It’s pretty clear he was in decline, and any attempt they may have made to hide his condition was not in the best service of the Democratic Party or the United States of America,” he said.
Reinish pointed out that with so many contenders likely in 2028, those who avoid getting tangled up in questions about Biden’s health will have a clearer path, while others could face a tough uphill battle answering tough questions right out of the gate.
“I think that the less baggage you have, the better off you will be, because what you don’t want to do is to start to tour the country and start to form an exploratory committee … and then you’re bogged down with being asked what did you know and when did you know it around Joe Biden and his condition,” Reinish asked rhetorically. “Certain people will have to get through that baggage, but certain others won’t.”
However, Holdsworth said she is confident that concerns over Biden’s health will fade well before the 2028 race takes shape.
“I think, given the crisis-a-minute that is coming out of the Trump White House, we will be around the bend by the time 2028 discussions come into focus,” she said.
BIDEN DIAGNOSED WITH ‘AGGRESSIVE FORM’ OF PROSTATE CANCER THAT HAS SPREAD TO HIS BONES
Democratic strategists are urging the party to focus on future priorities and concentrate their efforts on challenging Trump.
“The biggest issue is that the nation’s economic problems have intensified since Donald Trump became president,” Bannon said. “Inflation is still rising; it rose again in April, and the Democrats have to make sure Trump answers for the problems he has created in the economy.”
