A high-profile CNN figure raised questions about Joe Biden‘s devastating cancer diagnosis before promoting a new book by his network colleague.
Brian Stelter called the timing of Biden’s diagnosis ‘extraordinary’ as the 82-year-old former president faces an onslaught of news about his declining mental state while in the Oval Office.
‘The timing is just extraordinary,’ Stelter said during a discussion.
‘Biden learned of his cancer diagnosis Friday. And what was the biggest Biden story on Friday? It was the release of those excruciating audio excerpts from his 2023 conversations with Robert Hur.’
Axios released audio tapes Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur.
In the tapes, Biden sounds disoriented, struggling to remember basic facts about his own life, including when his son Beau died and when he served as vice president.
Stelter then quickly pivots by plugging Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s explosive new book: Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.
He framed the diagnosis as a moment that may ‘pause’ the political fallout, if only briefly.
CNN’s Brian Stelter described the timing of Biden’s diagnosis as nothing short of ‘extraordinary’
Ashley Biden is seen alongside her dad former President Joe Biden, together in 2017
Stelter framed the diagnosis as a moment that may ‘pause’ the political fallout over Biden’s legacy, if only briefly.
That book, Original Sin, paints a harrowing portrait of a presidency in decline, propped up by aides and family members desperate to cling to power
The audio of Biden, taken during the classified documents investigation, was already being described as the most damning evidence yet of the president’s mental decline.
‘Am I making any sense to you?’ Biden asks at one point, slurring and trailing off.
Hur, in his official report, described Biden as a ‘well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory’ – a damning assessment that reportedly led him to decline to prosecute the president, citing doubts about how a jury would view his cognitive fitness.
At the time, the political fallout was immediate with calls for Biden to drop out of the race. The White House scrambled to downplay the tapes.
But just as questions over how Biden’s legacy will be shaped by the publication of the book, his cancer diagnosis dropped.
The White House confirmed on Sunday that Biden had been diagnosed with stage IV prostate cancer, which has spread to his bones – a dire and difficult-to-treat condition.
The health announcement came just one week after reports revealed that a ‘small nodule’ was found on Biden’s prostate that needed ‘further evaluation.’
Biden’s office said the former president ‘was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms’ last week.
‘On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone,’ it adds of the grave prognosis.
Prostate cancers are given a ‘Gleason score’ that measures how the cancerous cells look compared with normal cells.
Biden’s score of nine suggests his cancer is among the most aggressive. While president in February 2024, Biden’s doctor declared him ‘fit to serve’ following a routine physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
A statement from Biden’s office claims the form of cancer appears to be hormone sensitive and might be effectively managed by various treatments.
The former president has also battled cancer before.
In February 2023, Biden had a cancerous lesion removed from his chest and before entering office had several non-melanoma skin cancer spots removed with Mohs surgery.
Biden’s son Beau died at the age of 46 in 2015 after he was diagnosed in 2013 with glioblastoma multiforme, the most aggressive type of brain cancer.
His father claimed the cancer was a consequence of his Beau’s exposure to military burn pits when he was serving in Iraq.
The news prompted an outpouring of support from political figures and prostate cancer survivors alike.
The former Democrat president joined a chorus of politicians across both sides of the divide to offer support to the 82-year-old
Donald Trump wished Biden all the best in a moving post on Sunday night
On Sunday night, Kamala Harris issued a heartfelt message of support to her one-time ally, in an apparent effort to publicly bury the hatchet on X
Barack and Michelle Obama joined a chorus of politicians across both sides of the divide to offer support to the 82-year-old.
‘Michelle and I are thinking of the entire Biden family,’ Obama wrote 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.’
Donald Trump released a heartfelt statement saying he and first lady Melania Trump were ‘saddened to hear’ about former President Joe Biden’s diagnosis.
‘We wish Joe a fast and successful recovery,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social Sunday.
The timing of the announcement, however, raised suspicion with Stelter.
‘You have that as one element of the timing here,’ Stelter said, ‘and then you have this book coming out… one of the biggest political books in several years.’
Newly-released recordings of Joe Biden speaking to special counsel Robert Hur in 2023 show the declining president’s memory lapses as he struggles to remember when his son Beau died
Ex-Special Counsel Robert Hur (pictured) asserted during the investigation over the mishandling of classified evidence that jurors would see the president as ‘a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory’
That book, Original Sin, paints a harrowing portrait of a presidency in decline, propped up by aides and family members desperate to cling to power.
It alleges that Biden’s top aides, family, and even media allies conspired to hide the true extent of his cognitive decline, all to keep him in the 2024 race.
Its release was already threatening to explode the Democratic Party’s postmortem on Biden’s failed re-election bid but now the cancer news may complicate matters further.
In a particularly damning excerpt, the authors reveal that White House staff had to remind Biden of what year his son died, even during sensitive legal interviews.
They describe a president so impaired that even Democratic insiders were panicking, but were silenced by party loyalty and fear.
According to publisher Penguin, the book exposes a ‘public deception that has few precedents.’
A synopsis for the book provided in a press release, meanwhile, described the liberal-led plot. It frames Biden, ‘his family, and his senior aides’ as ‘so convinced that only he could beat Trump again, they lied to themselves, allies, and the public.’
The former president also joined BBC for a wide-ranging pre-taped interview to mark the anniversary of Victory in Europe Day
Biden appeared on The View alongside his wife and former first lady Jill Biden for a joint interview on May 8
‘What you will learn makes President Biden’s decision to run for reelection seem shockingly narcissistic, self-delusional, and reckless – a desperate bet that went bust,’ Penguin stated while announcing the book.’
Stelter stopped short of accusing the Biden team of deliberately timing the release of the bad news.
Instead, he tried to frame it more gently: ‘Take out our colleague Jake Tapper for a second. This book… was going to be a blockbuster no matter what.
‘This debate doesn’t end at all… but it is briefly put on pause as a result of today’s news.’
Biden’s diagnosis comes just shortly after he began once again speaking to the media.
He appeared on The View alongside his wife and former first lady Jill Biden for a joint interview on May 8.
The former president also joined BBC for a wide-ranging pre-taped interview to mark the anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.
Biden left office as the oldest serving president in US history – he was also elected as the oldest ever person to hold the highest office.
‘Take out our colleague Jake Tapper for a second. This book… was going to be a blockbuster no matter what,’ said Stelter, plugging his colleagues book on-air
Questions over the former president’s age, health and fitness for office ultimately led him to ditch his reelection campaign
Questions over the former president’s age, health and fitness for office ultimately led him to ditch his reelection campaign and let then-Vice President Kamala Harris, 60, take over.
Leaders within the Democratic Party have now started to publicly admit that Biden should not have run for reelection in 2024.
Some claim that they were duped by advisers who were shielding Biden from the public and telling members of the party he was fit behind the scenes.
The former president has also battled cancer before.
In February 2023, Biden had a cancerous lesion removed from his chest and before entering office had several non-melanoma skin cancer spots removed with Mohs surgery.
While still president in February 2024, Biden’s doctor declared him ‘fit to serve’ following a routine physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
