Vice President JD Vance Monday said former President Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis raises new questions about whether he was fit to serve in the White House.
Breaking with widespread sympathy for Biden across the political spectrum, Vance said the grim news should serve as a springboard to a renewed investigation into Biden’s health while he was serving as president.
“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 as he flew back to the U.S. from the Vatican.
Vance claimed he was not taking a political stand by suggesting the newly revealed cancer diagnosis could shed some light on Biden’s condition during his term that ended in January.
“I don’t think he was able to do a good job for the American people,” Vance said. “And that’s not politics. That’s not because I disagreed with him on policy. In some ways, I blame him less than I blame the people around him.
The vice president suggested Biden aides and supporters might have known more about the president’s health woes or fitness than has been revealed.
“Why didn’t the American people have more accurate information about what he was actually dealing with? This is serious stuff,” Vance said.
“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.”
Vance’s sharp-elbowed comments came in contrast to the traditional straightforward statements of sympathy for Biden from President Trump and most Republican leaders, including some fierce critics of Biden.
Trump, who has been harshly critical of Biden since winning a return to the White House for a second term, simply wrote on his social media site that he and First Lady Melania Trump “wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”
Biden’s health was a major talking point in the 2024 presidential campaign, and he was effectively forced out of the race by fellow Democrats after a dismal early debate performance against Trump last summer.
A forthcoming book from CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson of Axios says Biden aides and top Democratic leaders covered up Biden’s decline in an ultimately doomed effort to win four more years in the White House.
