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The Insider’s Track
Good morning,
I told myself, and some of you, that I would steer clear of talking about Joe Biden from now on unless news warranted. Well, the news is warranting.
The former president’s office announced in a statement Sunday that he had been diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer that had spread to the bone. An awful development in what is already something of a Shakespearian tragedy, and Biden deserves our prayers and best wishes. Even if you didn’t vote for or care for the man, he was our leader for four years. Needless to say, a diagnosis like this for any 82-year-old is bad, and I just hope his people provide him the care and comfort he needs.
That said, if you believe Joe Biden just found out he had cancer I admire your naïveté. My B.S. detector is tuned like a Swiss watch these days having to cover everything coming out of the Trump administration, and let’s just say it went off like a siren when this news came down yesterday afternoon. I am not an oncologist, but I know that prostate cancer tends to be one of the slower ones to develop. And it doesn’t just spread into the bone all of a sudden. So let’s read between the lines and see what’s more likely to be closer to the truth:
1. Biden was diagnosed with a less aggressive—but still serious—form of prostate cancer sometime during his presidency, but Jill and others conspired to keep it from the public. This would explain that clip from 2022 going around, when he let slip that he had cancer but everyone just assumed it was one of his gaffes.
2. Biden’s White House doctors somehow did not regularly screen him for various cancers, despite his age and having had a son who recently died of brain cancer. Last year, his physician reported the president as a “healthy, active, robust 81-year-old” with no new health concerns who “continues to be fit for duty.” So that was either a blatant lie or the result of the kind of staggering incompetence you’d see from the quack doctor on The Simpsons. Sorry, but you don’t just “miss” cancer like that in a sitting president.
3. Biden was completely fine as of January 19 but has been diagnosed with a cancer that has since metastasized to his bones in the last four months since leaving office. This one does not pass the smell test either.
It seems highly likely that some version of 1 was at play here. We know, based on the reporting in these new books,the Hur audio, as well as our own eyes, that Biden’s inner circle have never been afraid to lie to the public about his decline, both physical and mental. So while the former prez should be shown grace and empathy at this moment, those around him have not earned the same.
What all of this suggests is that it is entirely possible—even probable—that this time last year, in those weeks before the debate, the plan from the White House was that Biden was going to run for reelection, hopefully win, and then serve another full term—as an octogenarian cancer patient. Plan B being that if he passed in office, Kamala Harris would just take over.
If this turns out to be the case, I’m sorry if I’m skeptical that American voters will ever again take seriously Democrats’ warnings about Republicans being the anti-democracy party.
The Rundown
Why Do MAGA Republicans Hate Europe?
In May 1988, Republican President Ronald Reagan spoke from the Oval Office in an address not targeted at the American people, but the citizens of Western Europe. The president was planning a trip to meet with Soviet Union General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and wanted to make his commitment to Europe clear.
Thirty years later, in July 2018, while sitting for an interview at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland, Republican President Donald Trump was asked to name America’s top global foe. “Well, I think we have a lot of foes… I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade,” he said. The comments reflected a decaying relationship between Europe and the GOP that has largely worsened in the years since. Read the full story.
Also happening:
- Biden speaks out: Former President Joe Biden responded to well-wishers early Monday following the announcement that he had been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer with metastasis to the bone. “Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support,” Biden wrote in part. Read more.
- Exclusive: Rep. Al Green of Texas, a Democrat, has spoken with Newsweek about why he introduced articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump this week, saying he felt the need to act now before “tanks are rolling down the street,” with plans to introduce further articles at a later date. Read the story.
This is a preview of The 1600—Tap here to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox.
The post The 1600: Hard Questions appeared first on Newsweek.
