On Sunday night, after it became public that former President Joe Biden had been diagnosed with an advanced form of prostate cancer, President Trump issued a brief, supportive message on Truth Social.
“Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis,” the president said about his predecessor on Truth Social. “We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”
Others in the MAGA world weren’t so nice about the news.
There were conspiracy theories, arguing that Biden must have had cancer earlier than he claims, or possibly even during his presidency. Others expressed indifference to Biden’s health, blaming him for not being able to say goodbye to loved ones during COVID in 2020, when, of course, Trump and not Biden was president. And some have claimed that the announcement was timed to detract attention from Original Sin, the upcoming book by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, alleging that Biden’s team covered up the severity of the former president’s mental decline.
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But one of the stranger, and crueler reactions was from the president’s son, Donald Trump, Jr., whose response to the former president having advanced cancer was to… make a joke about former First Lady Jill Biden using the title “Dr.”
What I want to know is how did Dr. Jill Biden miss stage five metastatic cancer or is this yet another coverup??? pic.twitter.com/fSqtDmcX4p
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 18, 2025
Jill Biden does indeed hold a doctorate, having earned a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) from the University of Delaware in 2007. Opponents of her husband have often mocked Jill for using “Dr.” in front of her name, but she has never claimed to be a medical doctor.
A lot of people came down on Don Jr. for that message, from the tastelessness to the lameness of the joke to the inaccuracy (Biden has stage four cancer, not “stage five.”)
They really are vile people. https://t.co/jzpdWE2Rq4
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) May 19, 2025
There is politics and then there is just being a piece of shit. https://t.co/dyoLM43qlU
— Ben Scholl (@ottoscholl) May 19, 2025
Regular reminder to stop trying to play the high road with people whose only paths to success are reliant on other people’s money and bad faith. Junior has always been a bad person, and has never shown any inkling towards better https://t.co/4q35z5xTMn
— Brandon Bradford (@BrandonLBradfor) May 19, 2025
I lost both of my parents to Cancer. This is disgusting and an insult to every patient and family dealing with this insidious disease. Grow the fuck up https://t.co/QHIxVY0KTk
— Robin Bender 🤘🏼 (@RobinVibezz) May 19, 2025
Photo courtesy of Political Tribune media library.
