Joe Biden - Cancer Diagnosis and the Cognitive Decline Debate: A Staggering Betrayal of Trust
- Lynn Matthews
- May 19
- 6 min read
For years, Americans were told that questioning Joe Biden’s mental acuity was baseless, a smear campaign from political opponents. Now, as Biden faces an aggressive cancer diagnosis, the truth is unraveling. The very concerns dismissed as “conspiracy” are being validated—too late to matter. This isn’t just about one man’s health; it’s about the staggering betrayal of public trust.
On May 18, 2025, former President Joe Biden’s office announced a sobering diagnosis: aggressive prostate cancer with metastasis to the bone, characterized by a Gleason score of 9, indicating high severity (Reuters, 2025). The 82-year-old, who left office in January 2025, is reviewing treatment options, with doctors noting the cancer’s hormone sensitivity offers hope for management (Reuters, 2025). This revelation, months after Biden’s presidency ended, has reignited debate—not only about his physical health but also about the mental acuity that dominated discussions during his term. For years, critics, opponents, and some allies raised concerns about Biden’s cognitive health, only to be dismissed as conspiracy theorists, liars, or purveyors of “deep fakes” (Parnes, 2025). Now, with Biden’s cancer diagnosis adding a new layer to his health narrative, questions linger: Did the administration and media obscure the truth about Biden’s fitness to lead, and at what cost to public trust?
A Cancer Diagnosis Amid a Health Legacy
Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis is a personal and political blow for a man who made cancer research a cornerstone of his public life. After losing his son Beau to brain cancer in 2015, Biden championed the Cancer Moonshot initiative, relaunched during his presidency to halve cancer death rates over 25 years (Reuters, 2025). The announcement has drawn bipartisan support, with figures like former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and House Speaker Mike Johnson expressing prayers for his recovery (Reuters, 2025). Yet, the diagnosis amplifies scrutiny of Biden’s health history, which includes prior non-melanoma skin cancer removals and a 1988 brain aneurysm surgery (NBC News, 2022). A resurfaced 2022 video, where Biden said, “I have cancer,” initially dismissed as a reference to past skin cancer, has fueled speculation that his health issues were more serious than disclosed (NBC News, 2022).
The White House clarified in 2022 that Biden’s comment referred to pre-presidency skin cancer treatments, but the timing of his prostate cancer diagnosis—detected after urinary symptoms in May 2025—has led some to question whether earlier signs were overlooked or concealed (Reuters, 2025). Medical experts note that aggressive prostate cancer can sometimes go undetected in routine screenings, but the public’s trust, already strained, has been further tested by these revelations (Reuters, 2025).
Cognitive Concerns: A “Conspiracy” or Common Sense?
Long before the cancer diagnosis, Biden’s mental sharpness was a lightning rod for controversy. At 78 when he took office in 2021, Biden was the oldest president in U.S. history, and concerns about his age and cognitive health shadowed his term (Tapper & Thompson, 2025). Public gaffes, moments of confusion, and a halting debate performance against Donald Trump in June 2024 amplified these worries, culminating in Biden’s decision to abandon his 2024 re-election bid in July (Parnes, 2025). Yet, those who voiced concerns—ranging from voters to political figures—were often silenced or ridiculed.
House Speaker Mike Johnson was among those who publicly questioned Biden’s cognitive state. In October 2023, Johnson told Fox News, “Clearly, if you look at a tape of Joe Biden making an argument in the Senate Judiciary Committee a few years ago, and you see a speech that he delivers now, there’s a difference… It’s just reality” (Fox News, 2023). After Biden’s disastrous 2024 debate, Johnson suggested the Cabinet consider invoking the 25th Amendment to declare Biden unfit, a call echoed by Representatives Clay Higgins and Chip Roy (POLITICO, 2024). These remarks were dismissed by Biden’s allies as partisan attacks, but they resonated with a public increasingly skeptical of the president’s capabilities.
The media’s role has drawn particular ire. Critics argue that major outlets downplayed or ignored signs of Biden’s decline, framing concerns as right-wing conspiracies or misinformation (Tapper & Thompson, 2025). A notable example came from MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” where host Joe Scarborough declared in early 2024, “This Joe Biden is the best Joe Biden,” touting the president’s competence and vigor just months before Biden’s debate performance exposed his struggles (MSNBC, 2024). Such defenses, critics contend, were part of a broader effort to shield Biden from scrutiny, with outlets like CNN and The New York Times accused of softening coverage of his gaffes or memory lapses (Tapper & Thompson, 2025).
The Biden Cover-Up Allegations: Denial or Delusion?
The narrative of a cover-up gained traction with the release of books like Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson (2025). The book alleges that Biden’s inner circle—including First Lady Jill Biden, Mike Donilon, and Steve Ricchetti—concealed his cognitive decline, a claim echoed by Amie Parnes, co-author of Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House (Parnes, 2025). Audio from a 2023 interview with special counsel Robert Hur, released by Axios in May 2025, further stoked the fire, capturing Biden’s memory lapses and prompting Hur to describe him as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” (Axios, 2025).
Biden and his allies have vehemently denied these claims. On ABC’s “The View” on May 8, 2025, Biden rejected reports of cognitive decline, saying, “They are wrong. There’s nothing to sustain that.” Jill Biden added, “The people who wrote those books weren’t in the White House with us… He’d get up, he’d put in a full day and then at night, I’d be in bed reading my book, and he was still on the phone, reading his briefings” (ABC News, 2025).
The refusal to administer a cognitive test during Biden’s presidency became a flashpoint. A forthcoming book reported that White House aides debated a cognitive test in early 2024 but opted against it, fearing it would draw attention to his age (Tapper & Thompson, 2025). White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor, in a February 2024 report, found no evidence of Parkinson’s or other neurological diseases but omitted a cognitive screening, citing medical guidelines (White House, 2024). Critics, including neurologists, argued that such tests should be routine for older leaders, especially given public concerns (Tapper & Thompson, 2025).
The Cost of Mistrust
The debate over Biden’s cognitive health transcends partisanship—it strikes at the heart of transparency and accountability. If Biden’s inner circle and supportive media outlets downplayed his limitations, they may have prioritized political strategy over public interest, undermining trust in institutions (Parnes, 2025). The cancer diagnosis, while a separate issue, complicates this narrative, raising questions about whether health disclosures were selectively managed (Reuters, 2025). Conservative commentators like Stephen Miller and Sean Hannity have called the alleged cover-up “the biggest hoax in history,” though their claims often lack specific evidence (@greg_price11, 2025). More measured voices, like Democratic operative David Axelrod, have urged a pause in cognitive debates out of respect for Biden’s current health battle (Axios, 2025).
Biden’s legacy is a paradox: a president who advanced cancer research and navigated a post-COVID world, yet whose health and fitness were perpetually questioned, often with good reason. The dismissal of critics as conspiracy theorists—when many were merely observing what was evident—has left a bitter aftertaste. As Biden faces his cancer diagnosis with the resilience he’s known for, the public is left to grapple with a deeper question: When leaders and institutions prioritize image over truth, who pays the price?
Call to Action:
Americans must demand full transparency from their leaders. The Biden administration and its media allies dismissed legitimate concerns, gaslighting a nation that now faces the reality too late. If the truth had been told sooner, could policy decisions have been different? Could voters have made more informed choices? The time for blind trust in media narratives is over.
References:
ABC News. (2025, May 8). Joe and Jill Biden on “The View”: Denying cognitive decline claims. Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com
Axios. (2025, May). Robert Hur audio reveals Biden’s memory lapses in 2023 interview. Retrieved from https://axios.com
Fox News. (2023, October 10). House Speaker Mike Johnson questions Biden’s cognitive state. Retrieved from https://foxnews.com
@greg_price1 (2025, May 9). [Post on X about Biden’s cognitive decline and media cover-up]. X. https://x.com/greg_price11
@libsoftiktok. (2025, May 8). [Post on X about Biden’s “The View” appearance]. https://x.com/libsoftiktok
MSNBC. (2024, February 15). Morning Joe: “This Joe Biden is the best Joe Biden”. Retrieved from https://msnbc.com
NBC News. (2022, July 21). White House clarifies Biden’s “I have cancer” remark. Retrieved from https://nbcnews.com
Parnes, A. (2025). Fight: Inside the wildest battle for the White House. New York, NY: Penguin Random House.
POLITICO. (2024, June 28). GOP lawmakers call for 25th Amendment after Biden’s debate. Retrieved from https://politico.com
Reuters. (2025, May 18). Joe Biden diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer. Retrieved from https://reuters.com
Tapper, J., & Thompson, A. (2025). Original sin: President Biden’s decline, its cover-up, and his disastrous choice to run again. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.
White House. (2024, February 28). Physician’s report on President Biden’s health. Retrieved from https://whitehouse.gov
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