Biden's first public remarks since cancer diagnosis honor Gold Star families

Former President Joe Biden honored fallen work members and Gold Star families Friday astatine a Memorial Day work successful Delaware, marking his archetypal nationalist remarks since announcing helium was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

"We travel unneurotic and retrieve the indebtedness we beryllium to the American military," Biden said astatine the event, sponsored by the Delaware Commission of Veteran Affairs. 

"The subject is simply a coagulated spine, the spine of our nation," Biden said. "Our troops, our veterans, our subject families, and our Gold Star families successful particular. Only astir 1% of each Americans support 99% of america — 1%. Just 1% of Americans hazard the eventual sacrifice. We beryllium them truthful overmuch much than we tin ever repay them."

BIDEN SPEAKS OUT FOR FIRST TIME SINCE CANCER DIAGNOSIS

Former President Joe Biden speaks during a ceremonial astatine Veterans Memorial Park successful New Castle, Delaware, connected May 30, 2025. (Ken Cedeno/Reuters)

A Gold Star household is the contiguous household of work members who died portion serving successful the enactment of duty. 

For the Biden family, the time is profoundly idiosyncratic arsenic May 30 marks 10 years since Biden’s lad Beau died of encephalon cancer. Beau Biden served successful the Delaware Army National Guard for much than 10 years, completing a circuit successful Iraq wherever helium earned the Bronze Star for his service, and became the state’s lawyer wide earlier his death. 

Biden said that his son’s proudest infinitesimal was wearing his azygous and said appearing astatine the lawsuit eased the symptom of the nonaccomplishment of his son. He besides offered immoderate words of encouragement to others suffering nonaccomplishment arsenic well. 

POLITICAL WORLD REACTS TO FORMER PRESIDENT BIDEN'S 'AGGRESSIVE' CANCER DIAGNOSIS: 'INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT'

Former President Joe Biden speaks during a ceremonial astatine Veterans Memorial Park successful New Castle, Delaware, connected May 30, 2025. (Ken Cedeno/Reuters)

"Everyone who came present contiguous to grieve, who was grieving successful your heart, delight cognize you're not alone," Biden said. "You'll ne'er beryllium alone. And your loved 1 volition ne'er beryllium forgotten. Period." 

Biden said that Beau Biden’s son, Hunter, 19, was contiguous astatine the event, portion helium reminisced astir attending the nonstop aforesaid Memorial Day lawsuit arsenic a legislator with Beau Biden astir the aforesaid age. 

OBAMA REACTS TO BIDEN DIAGNOSIS: 'NOBODY HAS DONE MORE TO FIND BREAKTHROUGH TREATMENTS FOR CANCER...THAN JOE'

Then-Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, right, takes a locomotion with his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, successful 2012. (The Scranton Times & Tribune/The Associated Press)

The erstwhile president besides said that authorities has go divided — but that the sacrifices of those successful the subject to support ideology should unite everyone. 

"Our troops don't deterioration a azygous that says I'm a Democrat oregon a Republican, says I'm an American," Biden said. "I'm an American. That's who I am." 

Biden announced May 18 that helium had been diagnosed with an "aggressive form" of prostate cancer. The erstwhile president's bureau aboriginal said helium had ne'er received a prostate crab diagnosis.  

The announcement came amid heightened scrutiny astir Biden's mental fittingness for office, pursuing the work of aggregate books this twelvemonth chronicling the deterioration of Biden's intelligence faculties. 

Likewise, leaked audio recordings of Biden's October 2023 interrogation with erstwhile peculiar counsel Robert Hur were released successful May, showing that Biden struggled to not slur his words and adjacent appeared to hide the twelvemonth his lad died.