The former US president was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer in 2025, months after leaving office
Former US President Joe Biden’s cancer has worsened, spreading to his bones, his son Hunter said in a wide-ranging interview with BBC Newsnight aired on Saturday.
Biden’s team revealed in May 2025, four months after he left office following Donald Trump’s election victory over his handpicked successor, Kamala Harris, that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. His spokesperson said at the time that the disease appeared to be “hormone-sensitive,” offering hope that it could be effectively treated. Biden celebrated his 83rd birthday in November.
Speaking to the BBC’s Paddy O’Donnell, an emotional Hunter Biden said it was “tough” for him to hear the news about his father’s condition.
“Cancer has spread, metastasized into his bones and further,” Biden said. “It’s very painful and it’s very debilitating, in many respects.”
Joe Biden’s wife, Jill, told SiriusXM’s Let’s Talk Off Camera With Kelly Ripa podcast on Wednesday that the former president was undergoing difficult treatment. “Unfortunately for Joe, it metastasized to his bones, which means that he will forever live with cancer,” she said.
Joe Biden’s eldest son, Beau, died from brain cancer in 2015 at the age of 46.
Biden’s physical and mental health became one of the central issues of the 2024 reelection campaign, as opponents and some allies argued that he was unfit to serve a second four-year term. Biden appeared frail at public events and struggled to formulate his thoughts during speeches and interviews.
He eventually dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris, his vice president, to replace him. Biden made the decision to suspend his campaign shortly after a disastrous televised debate with Trump.
Hunter Biden has been making the rounds in the media in recent months in an apparent effort to repair his public image following a series of scandals involving his personal life that also damaged his father’s reputation.
Shortly before leaving office, Joe Biden pardoned Hunter, a former drug addict, for any federal offenses he committed or may have committed between January 1, 2014 and December 1, 2024. The younger Biden had previously been convicted on three federal gun charges and pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges. The president argued at the time that his son had been politically targeted.
Speaking to the BBC, Hunter Biden acknowledged that the pardon was “not good” for his father’s legacy.
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