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Inside Politics

Biden Makes First Public Remarks Since Cancer Diagnosis; Biden Rejects Claims About His Mental Acuity While In Office; Inside Politics Answers Viewer Questions. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired May 30, 2025 - 12:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[12:30:50]

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Welcome back. You are looking at live pictures from Newcastle, Delaware. That is former President Joe Biden who just wrapped up remarks there today. His first public event since being diagnosed or at least announcing that he was diagnosed with a very dangerous form of cancer.

Our Arlette Saenz is there on the ground in Delaware. Arlette, what has he said?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Dana, we are waiting to see if former President Joe Biden might speak to reporters as he is departing this event here in Newcastle, Delaware. He was speaking here at a Memorial Day event where he did not address his cancer diagnosis but instead offered a tribute to the service members in this country.

He also talked in very personal terms about what a difficult day today, May 30th, is for his own family as this now marks the 10-year anniversary of his son Beau Biden's passing from brain cancer. The former president attended mass with his family this morning and was also accompanied here at this event by Beau's son, the former president's grandson, Hunter.

And here is what he had to say about that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

JOE BIDEN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To be honest, it's a hard day. His son and I, Hunter, who's here in the crowd -- I don't know where you're sitting, Hunter, but all the way in the back there. His daddy came to this event with me. We were about the same age when he started. He just graduated from high school, heading off to college. And, you know, it's being with all of you that, quite frankly, makes things a little bit easier.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

SAENZ: Now, the former president also used this speech as an opportunity to praise service members and warning that the military should not be politicized. He said that American soldiers are not Democrats or Republicans, but they are Americans. Now, this marked the first time that the former president is speaking publicly since his cancer diagnosis.

He found out about that just two weeks ago today. Biden is facing an aggressive form of prostate cancer, which has spread to his bones. His office has yet to detail whether he has started or decided on what kind of treatment he will decide on to pursue this.

But this was the first time that we are seeing the former president out in public. And we'll get back to you if he does stop to speak with us.

BASH: And I think we see him over your shoulder. You are very good, Arlette, but I don't think you have eyes in the back of your head. So we'll tell you that. As --

SAENZ: No.

BASH: -- I do ask you this question, which is, of course, there was a lot of scrutiny about the former president's health while he was in office. House Republicans want an interview with his physician and some of his aides. What is his team saying?

SAENZ: Well, the House Oversight Committee has been in contact with the former president's physician during his time at the White House and at least four other aides about potentially coming in for voluntary interviews. They say that those discussions have been ongoing with his physician and aides, but that if they do not sit or agree to come in for a voluntary interview, there is a chance that they will be subpoenaed.

It does come at a time when there has been a lot of renewed focus on the former president's mental and physical capabilities while he was in office, as well as the role that the aides around him had played at that time.

BASH: OK, we're going to let you go, Arlette. Let us know if you get a chance to speak with the former president. Thanks for that report.

And coming up, it is getting crowded in there. Several Democrats are dropping some really big hints about 2028, who's doing what, and more importantly, where they're doing it after a break.

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[12:39:15]

BASH: Welcome back to Inside Politics. We were talking about whether or not Arlette Saenz was going to get the former President Biden to stop and talk. The answer is yes, she did. We're waiting to hear the entirety of his remarks.

As we do, I'm going to talk to my terrific panelists here about the moment that we are in, first and foremost, about the former president's health.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes. I couldn't hear everything as it was coming in, so we'll hear it play out. But he seemed to be in a positive outlook about the diagnosis. And we'll hear what he has to say about that. But he suggested to Arlette that treatment has started, and he said that he had a pretty optimistic outlook.

I want to hear him talk more about that, of course. But also, the moment we find ourselves in with a former president, obviously all the reporting that has gone on about Democrats and what they were thinking, serving in his administration, some outside at the time of his decision to run for re-election, and now sort of looking back on that.

[12:40:15]

It's hard to remember a time where six months out from office, a former president was still as much sort of a part of the central news conversation going on in American politics as Joe Biden is right now.

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: And it's not just from the reporting, it's also from the current president himself. Not a week goes by, barely a couple days go by.

BASH: Jasmine, I'm sorry to interrupt you. We are now able to go to it. Listen to the exchange that former President Biden had with our own Arlette Saenz in its entirety.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You look good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You look good.

BIDEN: Well, the prognosis is good. You know, we're working on everything. It's moving along. So I feel good.

SAENZ: Have you decided on your treatment options?

BIDEN: Yes, we have. And they're underway and everybody's -- all the folks are very optimistic.

SAENZ: And so you've started treatment?

BIDEN: Oh, yes. Yes.

SAENZ: What is -- can you -- would you be willing to share what exactly that entails?

BIDEN: Yes, it's all a matter of taking a pill. One particular pill. And for the next six weeks and then another one. The expectation is we're going to be able to beat this.

There's no -- it's not in any organ. It's -- my bones are strong. I haven't penetrated, so I'm feeling good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, why was it important to --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like everybody expect -- sorry. BIDEN: I've done it all because I'm loyal. I do it every damn year. From the very beginning. I'll never forget where I came from, that's why.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like everybody didn't know what to expect of you today. And then you get here and you're speaking powerfully. You look good. You're confident. What do you say to all those people? Don't count you out.

BIDEN: Well, I say lots of luck on your senior year.

SAENZ: What has this been like for your family? Obviously, this is also an emotional time. This is the 10-year anniversary of your son Beau's passing. And you received this diagnosis just two weeks before that.

BIDEN: Well, we're all optimistic about the diagnosis. Matter of fact, one of the leading surgeons in the world was working with me. And he had diagnosed the same exact thing 32 years ago. He's alive and well and doing very well. So we're optimistic. We're optimistic.

SAENZ: And there's also been a lot of discussion recently about your mental and physical capabilities while you were in office.

BIDEN: You can see that. I'm mentally incompetent and I can't walk. And I can beat the hell out of both of them.

SAENZ: Do you want to reply to any of those reports and also to the fact that there are some Democrats who are now questioning whether you should have run for re-election in the first place?

BIDEN: Why didn't they run against me then? Because I would have beaten them.

SAENZ: Do you have any regrets?

BIDEN: No, I don't have any regrets. Look, there's a -- we have a -- there's a lot going on. And I think we're in a really difficult moment, not only in America, but in world history. I think we're in one of those inflection points in history where the decisions we make in the next little bit are going to determine what things look like for the next 20 years.

I've been talking about that for a long time. And I'm very proud. I'll put my record as president against any president at all. You notice that 12 of the 10 leading presidential historians rated me pretty good up on that list. And the guy I ran against, I rated him the last. So we'll see. Watch me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, you have your grandson with you today. What's it mean to have your family here and be able to look out at him while you're talking?

BIDEN: Well, look, that's good. Look, that's my son, Beau's son. And Beau started coming here with me about the same age. And so he's, you know, he wanted to be where his dad had been. And what he's doing, he just graduated from high school. He's going off to college in the fall. And I'm really proud of him. He is the son of his father, so.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have anything to say to the press secretary?

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BASH: OK, we heard for the first time there from former President Biden, first of all, about his treatment, saying that he takes a pill and that he is being treated by a surgeon who also had prostate cancer and is, he said, still around. And fought back against the questions and reporting about the issues relating to his ability to be president, to his cognitive ability, to his mental ability, to his physical ability when he was still in the White House.

We're going to have to take a quick break. We're going to talk about that and get to those viewer questions after a break.

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[12:49:07]

BASH: Welcome back. Now we asked you, our terrific viewers and audience members, to send us your questions on everything D.C. and political from the White House to the Hill, the courts, the campaign trail. So we want to get to some of your questions now.

And, David Chalian, I'm going to start with you. This is from John in Kansas City who says, "With the 2024 elections now well in the rearview mirror, what will it take for Democrat -- for the Democratic Party to have a successful midterm election showing in hopes of having at least a decent fighting chance for the 2028 elections?"

CHALIAN: It sounds like John is a Democrat rooting for a team here to win at the end. I would say that the Democratic Party -- and you hear this in the conversations they're having right now, two things need to happen. They have to galvanize every bit of anti-Trump energy that exists in the country in this midterm election. That's going to be one way they have a successful midterms.

And they have to work on their now cycle upon cycle upon cycle decay with working class voters and some minority voters and the tuned out voter. That is their project as a party. I think they need both of those things to be successful.

[12:50:21]

BASH: Yes. And well, the tuned out voter and the voter who has, of many different demographics, who don't think that the Democratic Party represents them anymore, which is basically what you were trying to say, what you did say successfully.

Nia, Harvey in Florida writes, "Why doesn't anyone ask Trump how much a gallon of milk costs or a loaf of bread or a dozen eggs or a jar of peanut butter?" He does talk about the eggs a lot.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, he does talk about the eggs. The eggs have dropped a little bit. You know, I think maybe some reporters have tried to ask him what the price of these common grocery goods are. He likes to explain what groceries are. He thinks that's an old fashioned word.

You know, this gets at what Donald Trump promised, right, which was he would lower the price of everything immediately. Day one in office, this was why he was elected, because of inflation. But in reality, the average voter hasn't seen that much of a decrease in price in these sort of everyday goods.

And there is worry about these tariffs, whether or not there's going to be a sustained price increase on, you know, everyday goods or things you buy at Amazon. And so there is a lot of anxiety out there, and that's what that voter is getting at. And Donald Trump's answer to it has been like, you know, wait and see. There might be some pain initially, but all will be well at some point in the not-too-distant future.

BASH: I'm kind of dying to know if Harvey in Florida is old enough to remember the George H.W. Bush --

HENDERSON: Yes, got you.

BASH: -- right, moment when he didn't really understand what the scanner was at the grocery store. But then, obviously, the big question was whether or not he knew what the price of milk was.

HENDERSON: And whether or not he was in touch with the average voter.

BASH: Yes, yes, that didn't go so well.

HENDERSON: Yes.

BASH: OK, Jasmine, I'm going to go over to you. You get this from Kathy in Michigan. "In a democracy, the people get to vote on many things. Why can't the American people vote on having a military parade that will cost us $40-plus million? I don't see the outrage or the backlash from those who believe it is wasteful spending."

WRIGHT: Well, Ms. Kathy, I think that if you were to pit that question to the White House, they would say, you did vote on it. This is -- this didn't just appear out of thin air. This is something that Donald Trump talked about on the campaign trail, maybe not as much as immigration, but he certainly talked about it.

And also, he's kind of been long envious of other countries that have had military parades, maybe some that are more authoritarian or autocratic, but certainly he likes that kind of flashy show of country pride. And so when I talk to the White House about what they're planning and what they're expecting, they're insanely excited about this.

They think it's going to be huge. They want to really shock people and show them just what Donald Trump has envisioned. But it will be costly.

BASH: It's also one of those glaring examples of the second term versus the first.

WRIGHT: Yes.

BASH: Where he doesn't have people who tell him no --

WRIGHT: Yes.

BASH: -- on these things. He wanted to do this, and Trump --

WRIGHT: Yes.

BASH: -- won.

CHALIAN: Yes. Plus this kicks off the whole 250th anniversary of the country, a year-long project for the White House that he's talked about time and again, that he's excited about, and to celebrate the history of the Army.

WRIGHT: And his birthday, and his birthday.

HENDERSON: And, listen, one of those people who told him no was Muriel Bowser, who isn't, you know, engaging with Donald Trump visco around in the way that she was --

BASH: The D.C. mayor.

HENDERSON: -- the D.C. mayor. Exactly.

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LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: To your point, Dana --

BASH: Yes.

BARRON-LOPEZ: -- generals inside of the military told him that dictators do this. That's what they said to him.

BASH: Laura, I want to give this one to you, and that is a question from Jim, who says, "I don't understand something, actually many things nowadays. I hear that almost no people are coming into the U.S. now because the border is secure, and that's a good thing with the border secure. Why isn't Congress working on a comprehensive immigration bill?" That is a really good question.

BARRON-LOPEZ: Well, that's right, crossings are down, but Congress is not working on one because Congress doesn't want to work on one. The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are not interested in working on a comprehensive, you know, compromise deal.

What they want right now is more funding for ICE, and more funding to be able to deport more immigrants, be it undocumented immigrants that crossed illegally, or be it legal immigrants. And you've seen, and they got a victory on that today with the Supreme Court, saying that they could strip legal status away from a number of immigrants that were given and came with that legal status. And so they want -- what they want is more funding for all of this deportation apparatus to be able to deport more immigrants, be them legal or undocumented.

WRIGHT: I also think that if a comprehensive deal was to be made, that would have a negative effect on him trying to expand his presidential power, because then he would have to cede some of that power, potentially, back to Congress, and that is not what this White House wants to do. They want to be able to do everything unilaterally, and Congress follows behind them.

[12:55:04]

BASH: Yes. And they have the benefit of Congress not getting their act together, so it makes their job a lot easier to achieve that goal.

Thank you all. Happy Friday.

CHALIAN: Happy Friday.

BASH: But don't go anywhere, because you're going to stay with us, including on Sunday. State of the Union this Sunday, I will be in the chair. My guests include the House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, and Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, as well as White House Budget Director, Russell Vought.

I hope to see you this Sunday at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

CNN News Central starts after the break.

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