After Joe Biden, his predecessor, disclosed that he had been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer, President Donald Trump was able to maintain a cordial relationship. “Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis,” Trump wrote in a message posted on his Truth Social platform on Sunday. He also added, “We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”
“On Friday, [Biden] was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone,” the statement read. “While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.”
The Gleason score, which Biden’s office cited, is used to gauge how rapidly a malignancy spreads. According to Virginia Oncology Associates, the higher the score, the more aggressive the cancer is and the more probable it is to spread quickly.
The former president went on to say that he is discussing treatment options with his physicians and his family. Trump’s tone toward Biden suddenly changed in reaction to the devastating news. In a fiery Truth Social post a few days ago, Trump called his predecessor “hapless and cognitively impaired.” In an interview with Sean Hannity aboard Air Force One last week, he persisted in his criticism of the president.
In what he called “the single most calamitous act ever perpetrated upon America,” Trump blasted Biden last month for “purposefully” permitting “millions of criminals to enter our Country, totally unvetted and unchecked.” Trump insulted Biden before and during the 2024 election campaign, calling him “Sleepy Joe” and portraying him as too elderly and unsuited to be a leader.
Trump gives a general statement of condolences on Truth Social to Biden for his cancer diagnosis. Doesn’t mention cancer, weirdly. pic.twitter.com/2HQojyhELV
— Sanjana Karanth (@sanjanakaranth) May 18, 2025
Though Trump’s camp disputes this, it is said that campaign staffers prevented the president from attacking Biden with a more derogatory nickname that included an ableist insult. Following the cancer announcement, Biden received unusually nice remarks from Republicans, including Trump.
“I’m sorry to see this news,” wrote Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who once called Biden “a mentally incompetent, feckless, dementia-ridden piece of crap.” “Cancer is truly awful. My Dad passed away in 2021 with cancer,” she added. “Prays for Joe Biden and his family.”
“We are rooting for President Biden in this fight!” tweeted former Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, who is currently hosting One America News Network, on X. Trump’s response to the news was hailed as “classy” by conservative British presenter Piers Morgan, who stated on X that he intended to ban anyone “mocking, celebrating, or playing partisan politics with Joe Biden’s health news.”
Physician here.
Coverup anyone?
There is no way with regular comprehensive physicals that this disease reaches such an advanced stage without detection. Period.
This was known and hidden from the American people.
NEVER trust liberals/democrats. https://t.co/Ac84aQdGXm— RightWingNutJob (@RightWingNutJo5) May 18, 2025
In an interview with the BBC, Biden responded to Trump’s unrelenting criticism in his first interview since leaving the White House. “What the hell’s going on here? What president ever talks like that? That’s not who we are,” Biden said. “We’re about freedom, democracy, opportunity, not about confiscation.”
Biden’s announcement was made just a few days before CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios journalist Alex Thompson’s upcoming book is due out. According to the writers, Biden’s close circle helped conceal his deteriorating health, allowing the former president to run for reelection in spite of serious worries about his physical and mental well-being.
“The bottom line is the White House was lying, not only to the press, not only to the public, but they were lying to members of their own Cabinet, they were lying to White House staffers, they were lying to Democratic members of Congress, to donors about how bad things had gotten,” Tapper claimed in a recent interview on CNN.
Take a glimpse of Donald Trump and Joe Biden;
