Joe Biden forced to shut down conspiracy theory that he hid cancer diagnosis following Trump's accusation

WASHINGTON, DC: Former President Joe Biden was forced to shut down conspiracy theories that he hid his prostate cancer, after President Donald Trump claimed on Monday, May 19, that his predecessor knew he had cancer for a long time.

A spokesperson for the ex-POTUS insisted on Tuesday, May 20, "'Prior to Friday, President Biden had never been diagnosed with prostate cancer."

Joe Biden shuts down conspiracy theory that he hid cancer diagnosis

The spokesperson's statement added that Biden hadn't checked for prostate problems since 2014, according to Daily Mail.

Trump on Monday repeated the conspiracy theory that Biden knew he had cancer for a long time, and added that hiding the diagnosis was part of his team's cover-up of his health decline while in office, per the outlet.

The president said, "I'm surprised that it wasn't, you know, the public wasn't notified a long time ago because to get to stage nine, that's a long time."

Biden's office revealed on Sunday that the former president has been diagnosed with an "aggressive form" of prostate cancer that has metastasized and spread to his bones.

Interestingly, Biden's physician Dr Kevin O'Connor wrote in a statement after a check-up in February 2024, "The President feels well and this year's physical identified no new concerns. He continues to be fit for duty and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations."

Moreover, the former president's office stated on Tuesday, "President Biden's last known PSA was in 2014."

Trump suggested on Monday that something was awry with Biden's White House doctor. The president said, "I think that if you look, it's the same doctor that said that Joe was cognitively fine. There was nothing wrong with him."

He added, "Maybe it was the same doctor, and somebody is not telling the facts."

Moreover, Trump added that while he felt 'badly' about the diagnosis, he said, "I think people should try and find out what happened."

A statement from Biden's office on Sunday read, "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....While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management," the statement added.

Top oncologist claims Biden was likely battling prostate cancer from day one of his presidency

Dr Ezekiel Emanuel, who served as a Covid-19 adviser in the Joe Biden administration, claimed that Biden likely had cancer since the start of his presidency in 2021, according to the New York Post.

The doctor, who helped craft the Obama-era Affordable Care Act, told MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' host Joe Scarborough that the former president has likely been dealing with it since the beginning of his presidential term, or even a decade.

He said on Monday, May 19, "He’s had this for many years, maybe even a decade, growing there and spreading."

Scarborough chimed in and said, "So this is not speculation. If you have prostate cancer that has spread to the bone, then most certainly you are saying he had it when he was President of the United States."

Emanuel said, "Oh, yeah. He did not develop it in the last 100-200 days," as he added, "He had it while he was president. He probably had it at the start of his presidency in 2021. I don't think there's any disagreement about that."

The doctor also pointed out that while many doctors advised against performing a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test after the age of 70, Biden should have had those exams when he was younger, per the outlet.

"He was vice president and had a lot of exams under 70. So it’s a little surprising that they didn’t do it," Dr Emanuel said.

He added, "And maybe President Biden decided he didn’t want the test. Many men do decide they don’t want a PSA, but this is also aggressive. When we talk about the aggressive part, what we mean is that the Gleason score, that score is from two up to 10. And he’s a nine. And that means that the cancer doesn’t look normal, it looks very abnormal, which is probably why it’s in the bone."