Vice President JD Vance said he wished the best for former President Joe Biden following his diagnosis of an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has metastasized to his bones, but that there needs to be honesty about his fitness to serve as president.
"Look, I will say, whether the right time to have this conversation is now or at some point in the future, we really do need to be honest about whether the former president was capable of doing the job," Vance told reporters aboard Air Force 2, per a pool report.
Biden's health came under scrutiny while he was president, particularly evidence of cognitive decline, which came sharply into public view during a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump during the early stages of the 2024 campaign.
The performance crystallized public concerns about Biden's health, and he pulled out of the presidential race to be replaced by Kamala Harris, his vice president.
There is now a growing call for transparency about who inside the White House knew what about Biden's health and when, with Republicans accusing Democratic officials of covering up the truth about an elderly president who was unable to properly govern.
"I don't think he was able to do a good job for the American people. And that's not politics. That's not because I disagreed with him on policy. That's because I don't think that he was in good enough health," Vance said.
"In some ways, I blame him less than I blame the people around him. And why didn't the American people have a better sense of his health picture? Why didn't the American people have more accurate information about what he was actually dealing with?
"This is serious stuff. This is the guy who carries around the nuclear football for the world's largest nuclear arsenal. This is not child's play, and we can pray for good health, but also recognize that if you're not in good enough health to do the job, you shouldn't be doing the job."
Biden, 82, was diagnosed on Friday after recent urinary symptoms prompted further medical evaluation, resulting in the discovery of a prostate nodule. His office stated that he and his family are reviewing treatment strategies with physicians.
There are now questions about how long Biden and his medical team have been aware that he had prostate cancer, and if that dated back to his presidency, which ended in January 2025. Biden had a cancerous lesion removed from his chest while in office.
"Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support," Biden wrote in a post on social media on Monday morning.
The message was accompanied by a selfie of the former president and his wife, former first lady Dr. Jill Biden, along with their cat.
This is a developing story and more information will be added soon.
English (US) ·