Biden Claim Raises A LOT Of Eyebrows
President Joe Biden declared this week that there is "no distinction" between the experience of a mental breakdown and a physical injury or health issue. The comments were made during a press conference Tuesday on expanding access to mental health, where the President bragged that his administration had "ended cancer as we know it."
Speaking to reporters, Biden began the press conference by explaining why some Americans have "lost faith in being able to do big things."
"If you could do anything at all, Joe, what would you do?" he asked rhetorically. "I said, 'I'd cure cancer.' And they looked at me like, 'Why cancer? Because no one thinks we can. That's why. And we can. We've ended cancer as we know it."
Biden: "I said I'd cure cancer they looked at me like, why cancer? Because we can. We ended cancer as we know it." pic.twitter.com/RI5JqxyG3A
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 25, 2023
The claim immediately raised eyebrows on social media as many took to questioning the President's assertion. The White House transcript later amended Biden's statement to say he had said "we can end cancer as we know it."
This isn't the first time Biden has made his ambition to 'cure cancer' public. During a campaign speech in Ottumwa, Iowa in 2019, Biden declared, "I’ve worked so hard in my career that I promise you, if I’m elected president you’re gonna see (the) single most important thing that changes America, we’re gonna cure cancer." He was then overseeing the "Cancer Moonshot" initiative and later headed the Biden Cancer Initiative.
But according to the National Cancer Institute, there are over one hundred kinds of cancer that can't be resolved with a single "silver bullet"; nor can the cause of its 'crafty cells' be definitively pinned down as there are numerous causes, ranging from radiation to chemicals to viruses.
Further, immunotherapy can prove difficult in fighting cancer cells, as they often 'fool' the immune system. As such, therapeutic viruses and other methods have to be carefully employed to meet with any success.
Indeed, President Biden's confident claim of having 'ended cancer as we know it' stands in stark contrast to a reality that demands more caution. That said, the President's clear statement that there should be no distinction between mental breakdowns and physical injury and illness certainly resonates with the need for broad access to mental health care.
Joe Biden: I said I'd cure cancer they looked at me like, why cancer? Because we can. We ended cancer as we know it.
Fact-Check: Joe Biden has not cured cancer pic.twitter.com/SpUFWT5PJ3
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) July 25, 2023