Former U.S. President Joe Biden has spoken publicly for the first time since revealing earlier in May that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The statement came during a Memorial Day event held at Veterans Memorial Park in New Castle, Delaware, reports Baltimore Chronicle, citing NBC News.
At the ceremony, Biden spoke about his late son Beau Biden, who had served in the Delaware Army National Guard and was deployed to Iraq. “The proudest day of his life was putting on that uniform. That’s not a joke, it’s not an exaggeration, it’s real,” Biden said, honoring his son who died of brain cancer in 2015.
The former president did not address the current administration or recent political developments. Instead, he emphasized the importance of unity within the U.S. military, despite the country’s ongoing political polarization.
“Our politics have become so divided and so bitter. All these years I’ve been involved, I didn’t think we’d come to this, but here we are,” Biden said. “Our troops don’t wear uniforms that say ‘I’m a Democrat’ or ‘I’m a Republican.’ They wear a uniform that says ‘I’m an American.’”
When asked by journalists about his current condition, Biden said he was feeling well and expressed optimism about the prognosis. “Everyone’s very optimistic,” he stated. “The expectations are that we’re going to beat this.”
He also noted that treatment had already begun and was relatively straightforward, describing it as “basically taking a pill.”
In response to recent reports claiming that his aides were allegedly hiding signs of cognitive or physical decline, Biden replied with irony: “As you can see, I’m mentally incompetent and can’t walk.”
Biden was also asked about concerns raised by some Democrats in recent weeks about his decision to run for a second term. He responded sharply: “Then why didn’t they run against me? I could have beaten them.”
Earlier we wrote that Biden reveals condition under which Ukraine will be able to win the war.