Joe Biden made his first public appearance since he announced that he has been diagnosed with “aggressive” prostate cancer.
The former president said he was “feeling great” as he arrived at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut on Friday afternoon as he attended his grandson’s high school graduation.
Former First Lady Jill Biden reposted a video from the scene on social media with the caption “thank you for the warm welcome.”
He was filmed shaking hands and saluting people inside the terminal as a law enforcement officer escorted him through the airport.
Biden later appeared in photos posted on Instagram by the former first lady.
The couple appeared alongside other members of the Biden family at the high school graduation of the former president’s grandson Robert Hunter Biden II from the Salisbury School.
“Proud Nana and Pop! Congratulations Hunter – we are so proud of you,” the former first lady wrote to her grandson, whose father is the late Beau Biden and mother is Hallie Biden.
His brief response to questions to WTNH News 8 were his first public remarks since his office announced on May 18 that he had been diagnosed with cancer two days earlier.
A spokesperson for Biden said the former president 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 spokesperson added.
On Monday, the former president shared a message on social media thanking supporters.
“Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places,” the former president wrote. “Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”
The announcement of his diagnosis and subsequent visit to Connecticut followed renewed scrutiny of his health during the final months in office.
According to the recently published book Original Sin by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios political reporter Alex Thompson, concerns over Biden’s dwindling health among his inner circle dated back to his 2020 campaign.
The book describes an effort by senior staffers to hide the former president’s alleged cognitive decline, with one Democratic official quoted as saying that seeing him talk to voters over Zoom was like “watching grandpa who shouldn’t be driving.”
Tapper received backlash following the book’s release, with critics highlighting his playing down of Biden’s health concerns during his 2024 presidential campaign, which eventually forced to step down from.
Biden’s granddaughter, Naomi Biden, slammed the book as “a bunch of unoriginal, uninspired lies written by irresponsible self promoting journalists out to make a quick buck.”
The book “relies on unnamed, anonymous sources pushing a self-serving false narrative that absolves them of any responsibility for our current national nightmare,” she wrote on X.
Tapper later admitted feeling “humility” about his past coverage of Biden.
“I think some of the criticism is fair, to be honest,” he told CNN last week. “Of me, certainly. I’m not going to speak for anybody else, but knowing then what I know now, I look back at my coverage during the Biden years — and I did cover some of these issues, but not enough. I look back on it with humility.”
