Former US President Joe Biden says he did not know he had cancer while in office, and that he would not have pursued a second term in 2024 if he had known about the diagnosis. The comments come as he prepares to release a White House memoir, according to some reports.
Outlets agree that Biden was later diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer after leaving the White House, with at least one outlet specifying the diagnosis happened months after he left office in 2025. Coverage also highlights that Biden connects the decision to run with his health at the time, while addressing the political backlash that followed his performance in a 2024 debate.
Some outlets include additional context from his interview with People magazine, including his view that the debate performance was not a major turning point even if it heightened concerns about his age and ability to defeat Donald Trump. Other outlets focus primarily on the cancer-related claim and the later diagnosis timing.
