Donald Trump Jr. and MAGAworld pounced on the news of Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis with wild speculation about a long term “cover-up” of the former president’s disease.
Hours after Biden’s office announced Sunday that he had been diagnosed with a “more aggressive form” of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, Trump Jr. boosted a conspiracy that was already circulating among MAGA influencers and pundits.
“What I want to know is how did Dr. Jill Biden miss stage five metastatic cancer or is this yet another coverup???” he wrote on X.
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Just before he asked the question, Trump Jr. wrote in another X post that he “agreed 100%” with an image that read: “Politics aside, we wish him a speedy recovery!”
Many in MAGAworld speculated that Biden and the Democratic Party had long been aware of the cancer diagnosis but chose to cover it up in a bid to remain in power. Others believe the announcement of the diagnosis was timed to draw attention away from a forthcoming book that dives into the decline of the 82-year-old former president’s health.
Original Sin, a book by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson, revealed that Biden’s aides were at one point so concerned by the deterioration of his spine that they considered putting him in a wheelchair—but knew it was politically untenable.
Axios also released a six-hour audio recording of Biden’s 2023 interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur just hours before the diagnosis was announced on Sunday. The former president can be heard repeatedly struggling to recall key dates, slurring his speech, and fumbling through long silences.
For right-wing influencer Benny Johnson, Biden’s bout with cancer is “the most dangerous cover-up in the history of the presidency.”
“You’re telling me that the best doctors and testing on earth did not find Biden’s cancer in all these years of testing? Was every medical report a lie? For how long? Bullshit,” he wrote. “Absolute scandal. They knew. They lied. They hid it. For power. People need to be held accountable for this. Evil.”
Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson, President Donald Trump’s former White House physician, said it was “unbelievable” that Biden’s medical team missed the cancer.
“Care at the White House should be second to none,” he said. “The truth is, his physician was more concerned about assisting with the political cover-up than providing world-class medical care.”
Far-right activist Laura Loomer, who has enjoyed a direct line to President Donald Trump in recent months, said she saw the news coming, claiming that “Biden has been terminally ill for a long time. It’s just been kept a secret.”
“He won’t be alive much longer in my opinion,” she said. “He and his family are announcing this now to make people feel bad since there’s a book coming out about his mental decline and the cover-up of how sick he has been these last four years.”
Conservative podcaster Tim Pool mused that it was unlikely that Biden’s doctors missed the cancer if he enjoyed “best medical care and screenings for four years.”
“They’d have found it and it means he’s likely had it since before dropping out,” he said. “Democrats knew.”
Sean Davis, CEO and co-founder of conservative news outlet The Federalist, pointed out that Biden was “under constant medical surveillance by the most sophisticated medical team on earth.”
“After all the lies we were told about his health, we’re supposed to believe they just plum didn’t notice he had cancer that metastasized to the bone until now?” he said.
Trump superfan Bill Mitchell claimed that Biden “has likely had prostate cancer for four to six years.”
“Is it possible that they knew the whole time and the plan was for Biden to be elected then step down for health reasons, placing Kamala in the White House?” he asked.
Collin Rugg, co-owner of conservative news website Trending Politics, reposted a July video of Biden struggling to climb up the stairs to an airplane.
“We were called conspiracy theorists who posted ‘cheap fakes’ when we shared videos like this of Biden barely being able to walk by himself,” he said. “Are we supposed to believe that this aggressive cancer was just found and wasn’t covered up by the Biden admin/media?”
But a separate camp of conservatives, led by Trump himself, struck a more sensitive tone following the announcement of Biden’s diagnosis.
The president took a break from his usual Truth Social tirades against his predecessor to send his well wishes.
“Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis,” Trump said. “We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”
MAGA firebrand Marjorie Taylor-Greene offered up prayers for Biden, noting that her own father succumbed to cancer in 2021.
“I’m sorry to see this news,” she said on X. “Cancer is truly awful.”
Conservative pundit Piers Morgan blasted “vile cr-p flying around” that he said were “mocking, celebrating, or playing partisan politics with Joe Biden’s health news.”
“The man has served his country for 50 yrs and is fighting for his life,” he said. “Show some bloody respect.”
Right-wing influencer Meghan McCain also shut down her own base’s speculations of a “cover-up.”
“I don’t want to hear anything else about Biden’s health coverup, tell all’s, interviews with staff etc,” she wrote. “Let the Biden family be in peace right now. This is all just so sad and imprudent.”
