CNN pundits Paul Begala and Van Jones each applauded President Donald Trump on Sunday for issuing a considerate statement about former President Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis.
Biden’s personal office announced Sunday that the former president had received a prostate cancer diagnosis on Friday, prompting Trump to post on Truth Social that the news “saddened” him and first lady Melania Trump, and that they hoped for “a fast and successful recovery.” In separate segments on “CNN Newsroom,” Begala and Jones each said Trump’s statement met the moment.
“Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post. “We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”
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Begala first commended Trump’s statement on CNN.
“I will note, as an ardent Democrat, it’s really important that I speak up and thank President Trump for his gracious statement, his son, Donald Jr., issued gracious statements,” Begala said. “This is important. I’m not somebody who’s generally a big Trump fan, but I do admire that President Trump today and his son put out public statements of support and encouragement for President Biden and his family. That’s really important.”
Before the president issued his statement, Donald Trump Jr. expressed his hope in an X post that Biden would achieve “a speedy recovery,” regardless of political disagreements.
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Jones echoed Begala’s praise for the president shortly after.
“I was very, very pleased to see President Trump putting forward such a kind statement,” Jones said. “And, but across the political spectrum, across the political spectrum, it’s just, you know, a great deal of empathy for a guy that everybody knows that if you had gotten that phone call, if you had had that meeting with that doctor, that Joe Biden would be pulling for you. If he knew you, he’d call you. If he didn’t know you and found out about it, he prayed for you. And that’s why I think you‘re seeing this kind of reaction.”
Biden’s cancer is “aggressive,” but can potentially be effectively managed, according to the statement from his personal office.
“Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms. On Friday he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone,” the statement reads. “While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management. The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
The diagnosis follows heightened scrutiny on Biden’s physical and mental decline during his presidency, along with its concealment, ahead of the publication of a book on the topic titled “Original Sin” by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson. Since leaving office in January, the former president has delivered one major public speech and conducted interviews with “The View” and BBC.
Biden also previously underwent two operations to treat brain aneurysms and a pulmonary embolism in 1988, according to media reports from the time.
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