President Trump on Sunday expressed his condolences after former President Biden announced he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.
“Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”
Trump’s message came shortly after Biden’s personal office announced the former president’s diagnosis.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” his office said in a statement. “The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
Trump joins other Republicans who were quick to share their sympathies with the Biden family following the news.
The president’s statement also comes after he has continued to attack his former rival in recent weeks. Just two days ago, he ripped Biden for being “hapless and cognitively impaired” following leaked audio from Biden’s 2023 interview with then-special counsel Robert Hur, where the former president struggled to recall key events.
Biden’s diagnosis comes just as the former president has been making the media rounds amid a flood of new behind-the-scenes reporting from his presidency, which has raised scrutiny on his family and the Democratic Party as a whole.
Several notable Democrats seen as potential 2028 White House contenders, including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), have been pressed about Biden’s mental acuity and whether they think he should have dropped out of the presidential race sooner.
“Right now, with the benefit of hindsight, I think most people would agree that that’s the case,” Buttigieg told reporters after a town hall he took part in last week.
“We’re also not in a position to wallow in hindsight. We’ve got to get ready for some fundamental tests of the future of this country and this party, some of which are going on this very year, and many of which will come next year,” he added.
Updated: 5:53 p.m. ET
