Former President Barack Obama responded to news of Joe Biden’s aggressive prostate cancer with a message praising his former vice president for his “trademark resolve and grace.”
“Michelle and I are thinking of the entire Biden family,” Obama wrote in a post on X. “Nobody has done more to find breakthrough treatments for cancer in all its forms than Joe, and I am certain he will fight this challenge with his trademark resolve and grace. We pray for a fast and full recovery.”
Biden led the Obama administration’s Cancer Moonshot initiative, which he also reinstated in 2022 after he was elected president. Its mission was to slash the cancer death rate by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years, preventing 4 million deaths and improving the lives of patients and their families.
Biden, 82, was inspired to lead the Cancer Moonshot initiative following the 2015 death of his oldest son, Beau Biden, at age 46 from a rare form of brain cancer.
Obama’s message came soon after Biden’s team announced the former president had been diagnosed Friday with prostate cancer “characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.”
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” Biden’s office said in a statement.
The former president was in Philadelphia last week for a routine physical exam when a “small nodule” was discovered on his prostate that “necessitated further evaluation,” his office said at the time.
His former Vice President Kamala Harris wrote in a post on X that she and her husband Doug Emhoff were “saddened” by the news, and keeping the Biden family in their prayers.
“Joe is a fighter—and I know he will face this challenge with the same strength, resilience, and optimism that have always defined his life and leadership,” Harris wrote.
Former President Bill Clinton also praised Biden as a “fighter” in a social media post and said he and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were “rooting for him.”
“I’m thinking of the Bidens as they take on cancer, a disease they’ve done so much to try to spare other families from,” Hillary Clinton wrote in a post of her own. “Wishing you a speedy, full recovery.”
Even President Donald Trump managed to send a surprisingly normal message of support, though his supporters were quick to turn the cancer diagnosis into yet another conspiracy theory.
“Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis,” he wrote in a message on his Truth Social platform Sunday. “We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”
