Former Vice President Kamala Harris quickly reacted to the news of former President Joe Biden’s shocking cancer diagnosis.
Harris, who worked alongside the 46th president of the United States for four years (and got his glowing endorsement for president in the 2024 election), released a statement on social media with a picture of her and her former boss smiling as they embraced in the Oval Office.
“Doug and I are saddened to learn of President Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis. We are keeping him, Dr. Biden, and their entire family in our hearts and prayers during this time,” said Harris.
The office of Biden, 82, shared the former president’s “aggressive form” of stage 9 prostate cancer on Sunday. The cancer, discovered via a prostate nodule, has also spread to the bones, Biden’s team shared. However, his office noted the cancer “appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management,” adding, “The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
In her statement reacting to the news, former Vice President Harris called Biden a “fighter.”
“I know he will face this challenge with the same strength, resilience, and optimism that have always defined his life and leadership. We are hopeful for a full and speedy recovery,” she said.
Harris and Biden made history together in the 2020 presidential election. The Democratic ticket won the most votes of any presidential and vice presidential candidates with over 82 million votes, most notably during a global coronavirus pandemic. Harris and Biden’s relationship was probably most immortalized in a brief video of Harris congratulating Biden for their historic victory, which included Biden becoming the oldest American elected president at the time and Harris becoming the first woman and Black American elected vice president.
“We did it, Joe,” Harris infamously said in the video.
Harris and Biden’s relationship grew closer over their years in the White House, particularly after Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential election and quickly endorsed Harris as his successor. Though Harris ultimately lost to now-President Donald Trump, Joe Biden recently opened up about her defeat.
“I wasn’t surprised, not because I didn’t think the Vice President was qualified to be president. She is. She is qualified to be president of the United States of America,” he told “The View” earlier this month. “I wasn’t surprised because it went the sexist route.”
“Really, I’ve never seen quite as successful and consistent campaign undercutting the notion that a woman couldn’t lead the country and a woman of mixed race,” he added.
