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Biden's illness has caused a political crisis in the United States. Analysis

WP: Biden could have developed cancer during his presidential term
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Photo: REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski
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The Democratic Party of the USA is still in decline after the successes of the Republicans in the presidential and congressional elections. A new shock for her was the news that Joe Biden, the former head of the White House, had an aggressive form of cancer. What political consequences this will have and whether the Democrats will be able to return to the political arena soon is in the Izvestia article.

What Biden said

• Joe Biden announced on May 18 that he had been diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer with bone metastases during a routine medical examination. The examination took place a week earlier against the background of increasing symptoms associated with urination. The statement emphasized that the cancer turned out to be sensitive to hormone therapy, which makes it possible to hope for an effective cure for the 82-year-old politician.

• In February 2024, Biden underwent a medical examination at the Walter National Military Center. At that time, it was claimed that there were no concerns about the health of the US president and he was fit for public service. Biden underwent this examination amid suspicions that he was no longer able to perform his duties due to his age, and used the results of the examination as an argument to run for a second term. However, in the summer, he gave up the fight after an unsuccessful debate and allowed his vice president Kamala Harris to run, who eventually lost the election to Republican Donald Trump.

Why is this important?

• The disclosure of information about cancer caused a political scandal in the United States. The fact that the former president was diagnosed with cancer at a late stage, rather than at an early stage, raised questions for himself, the White House staff, and the attending physicians. Prostate cancer usually develops over a long period of time and reaches an aggressive stage in a few years. Biden resigned as president just five months ago. Now in the United States, they are trying to explain the announced diagnosis either by the monstrous negligence of doctors, or by deliberate forgery in order to hide the disease.

• For American voters, the issue of the health of the first person of the state is of great importance, but this time the public was not aware that the president was suffering from cancer. This contrasts with how the US political elite usually speaks on this topic — aging congressmen and senators usually do not hide their medical history and speak honestly about it. The latest example is Gerry Connolly, a member of the House of Representatives, who in April announced the return of cancer and refused to be re-elected next year.

• Separate claims went to Biden's wife Jill. There had been questions about her before, as she exerted excessive influence on her husband and it was under her pressure that he made the failed decision to run for president again. But now she is also suspected that she and the entire Biden family knew about the president's health problems, but continued to try to extend the powers of the politician. At the same time, all of them had previously experienced the early death of President Bo's son from a brain tumor and should understand the danger posed by cancer. The Ministry of Justice even admits that charges may be brought against her in connection with "abuse of the elderly."

These guesses were reinforced two days later when the book "Original Sin: The Decline of President Biden, His Cover-up, and His Disastrous Decision to Run Again" by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson was published. It describes in detail how Biden's entourage hid his cognitive problems from the public (the topic of cancer was not disclosed) and still tried to nominate the politician for a second term, regardless of his physical condition.

• Given that the book's release and approximate contents were known in advance, Biden's chosen date for reporting cancer does not seem accidental. The former president tried to soften the criticism of his address, which was caused by the publication of the investigation, and to arouse sympathy in connection with a much more dangerous illness. However, even if he achieved regret in his address, it was at the cost of discontent, which ricocheted towards his entourage and the Democratic Party.

How Biden's opponents react

• Republicans have already tried to take advantage of the situation and promised to conduct an investigation in Congress, obliging doctors to testify under oath. US Vice President Jay Dee Vance noted that it was necessary to find out whether Biden was capable of fulfilling his duties, and pointed out the guilt of his entourage in the current situation. President Donald Trump initially wished Biden well, but then demanded to clarify who ruled the country during his predecessor's illness. Trump accused Biden's entourage of treason.

• However, the Democrats did not remain unanswered by the accusations. They themselves expressed doubts that 78-year-old Trump is completely healthy and meets the requirements set by the head of state. After all, if the White House can hide information about the president's health status, then his next owner can take advantage of the same opportunity. And although Trump demonstrates that he is generally more cheerful and active than Biden during his presidency, the general public may not yet know about diseases that do not generally affect physical and mental activity, but are characteristic of an elderly person.

The new leader of the Democrats

• Biden's illness once again reflected the depth of the abyss in which the Democratic Party is now. Six months have passed since her defeat in the November elections, but so far there has been no intelligible response from her side, which at least signaled the political future of the union. This is confirmed at least by the fact that the party has not found a new leader to replace Biden.

• Several people are still applying for this role and future leadership. These are young Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from the left wing of the party, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. Kamala Harris still has certain presidential ambitions, although she may also run for governor of her native California in 2026. However, there is no obvious leader among them.

But whoever tries to become the new face of the Democratic Party will not only have to fend off Republican attacks, but will also have to answer for Biden's actions, which have caused quite a lot of damage. A voter who has no sympathy for the current authorities will also not trust the only political alternative that remains in the United States. The crisis that the Democratic Party hoped to simply wait out while the Trump administration discredits itself will have to be overcome on its own.

• While the Democrats are inactive, the only noticeable hotbed of resistance to Trump is now Europe and its mainstream political forces, which previously always approved of the policies of any American administration. And it also makes things worse for Biden's party. When she finally gets on the agenda and relaunches her strategy for the next election, Republicans will have a reason to declare foreign influence on the Democratic Party and a political order from the other side of the Atlantic.

During the preparation of the material, Izvestia interviewed:

  • Dmitry Drobnitsky, an American political scientist;
  • American political scientist Malek Dudakov.

Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»

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