A resurfaced clip of Joe Biden saying he ‘has cancer’ during a 2022 speech has been seized upon by conspiracy theorists after the president’s actual cancer diagnosis was confirmed three years later.
Biden, then 79, was speaking about environmental pollution in Massachusetts when he veered off-script and said, ‘That’s why I – and so damn many other people I grew up with – have cancer.’
The remark, delivered in the present tense, triggered immediate confusion and speculation at the time.
The White House in 2022 quickly dismissed the statement, saying Biden was referring to non-melanoma skin cancers removed before he took office.
But with Biden’s office confirming on Sunday that he has metastatic prostate cancer, the line is being viewed in a new, and far more explosive, light.
The resurfaced footage is now going viral, with critics suggesting it may have been an accidental admission – or even a sign that the truth had been hidden for years.
Biden was discussing growing up near oil refineries in Delaware when he made the unexpected remark about having cancer
A White House spokesman referred to a Washington Post reporter’s tweet which claimed Biden was referring to having had non-melanoma skin lesions removed
Biden was discussing growing up near oil refineries in Delaware when he made the unexpected remark about having cancer in 2022.
The Republican National Committee immediately tweeted: ‘Did Joe Biden just announce he has cancer?’
At the time, the White House press office scrambled to clarify, pointing to past skin cancer removals due to sun exposure.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates posted a tweet referencing Biden’s medical records and claiming the comment was being taken out of context.
But Biden’s use of the present tense -‘I have cancer’ – was never fully explained, and the White House never released an on-camera clarification from the president himself.
Three years later, the cancer is real, and the questions are back.
On Sunday afternoon Biden’s office confirmed that the former president has been diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer that has spread to the bone.
His Gleason score is 9, indicating one of the most serious forms of the disease.
The diagnosis came just days after the release of damning audio recordings from Biden’s 2023 interview with special counsel Robert Hur, where the president struggled to remember key dates and even asked, ‘Am I making any sense to you?’
At the time of the gaffe in July 2020, The White House was forced to clarify President Joe Biden’s comments when he appeared to say he has cancer
Conspiracy theorists are now pointing to the 2022 clip as proof Biden’s illness was hidden in plain sight
At least one person was prepared to give Biden the benefit of the doubt as to what he was referring to
Former President Joe Biden, flanked by former Vice President Kamala Harris is seen during a briefing on the federal response to the wildfires across Los Angeles in January of this year
The sudden shift in news coverage, from mental decline to cancer battle also sparked further speculation about the timing of the release of the news.
The original medical report from Biden’s doctor Dr. Kevin O’Connor stated the former president had lesions removed by Mohs surgery prior to taking office and showed no signs of active skin cancer.
But the language Biden used, and the lack of follow-up clarity, left room for speculation.
The resurfaced clip comes just as CNN’s Jake Tapper releases his book which alleges aides actively concealed Biden’s cognitive and physical deterioration from the public.
Combined, the new diagnosis, the leaked audio, and the resurfaced cancer remark are raising fresh doubts about what was known and and when.
Whether it was an error and Biden simply misspoke, the clip has taken on new meaning.
