NEW CASTLE, Del. (AP) — Former President Joe Biden delivered the first remarks since he announced he had an aggressive form of prostate cancer Friday, speaking in a steady voice during a somber Memorial Day gathering and later smiling and saying he’s “feeling good.”
Biden spoke at an annual gathering marking Memorial Day at Veterans Memorial Park in his home state of Delaware, not far from his home in Wilmington. The event coincided with the 10th anniversary of his son Beau’s death. It also comes amid renewed questions about Biden’s mental and physical health after the recent publication of a book about his fitness for office.
Speaking to reporters after the Memorial Day event, he said he was already undergoing treatment for cancer, which entailed taking a pill, he said.
“The expectation is we’re gonna be able to beat this,” he said. “I’m feeling good.”
Biden dropped his reelection bid in July 2024 after a disastrous debate against Donald Trump, after which those in his party questioned whether he could continue as the party’s nominee. Questions about his decline and how the White House staff reacted to it are at the center of a recent book by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, which has renewed the debate.
Asked Friday if he had a response to recent questions about his mental and physical health, he smiled and engaged with the reporter.
“You can see I’m mentally incompetent and I can walk and I can beat the hell out of both of them,” he said.
In response to Democrats who question whether he should have initially run for reelection at all, he said: “Why didn’t they run against me then? Because I’d have beaten them.”
During his formal remarks, he called upon the group to remember the sacrifices of those lost in battle, whose echoes he said can still be heard.
He also spoke of his son, Beau, who died at 46 of brain cancer. A twice-elected state attorney general, Beau Biden was considering a run for governor, and his death deeply affected the elder Biden.
“This day is the 10th anniversary of the loss of my son Beau, who spent a year in Iraq, and, to be honest, it’s a hard day,” the former president said. “Being with all of you, quite frankly, makes things a little bit easier, it really does. So, thank you for allowing me to grieve with you.”
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