Former President Joe Biden says he did not know he had cancer while he was president and would not have sought a second term in 2024 if he had already been diagnosed.
Biden made the comments in an interview with People magazine published on Wednesday, ahead of the release of his White House memoir, "Promise Me, America," on November 17. "If I had known that I was feeling lousy because I had cancer, I would've not gone forward" with a 2024 reelection bid, said Biden, who turns 84 on November 20.
"I don't think an 80-year-old man with cancer should be running" for president, Biden said in the interview. He added that he would have resigned if his cancer had been diagnosed while he was still in office.
Biden was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer in May 2025, months after leaving office. His office announced at the time that he had an aggressive form of the disease that had spread to his bones. He said his ongoing treatment will limit how much he can do to promote the book.
The former president rejected claims that he concealed his illness during his presidency. He said White House doctors followed standard medical guidelines, which do not call for routine prostate cancer screening in men over 70.
Biden's reelection campaign ended after a disastrous debate performance against Republican Donald Trump in June 2024, less than five months before Election Day. He maintained in the interview that, on the health question aside, he believed "on an objective basis, I was the best-equipped person to do the job," and said he still has "all my faculties."
