President Joe Biden has been at the center of a new episode that fuels the debate about his (un)fitness for office. During a speech in Somerset, Massachusetts, the president wanted to blame oil refineries for the cases of cancer that "he and others he grew up with" would suffer from.
President Joe Biden says he has cancer because of oil pollution in his home state of Delaware: https://t.co/BRzNvCuJM0
"That's why I and so damn many other people I grew up with have cancer." pic.twitter.com/oGJ3LKGj94
— Newsmax (@newsmax) July 20, 2022
To address the alleged damage caused by oil refineries, Biden exemplified with his childhood in Delaware and the health consequences. "You had to put the windshield wiper on to get the oil stain off the window. It's why I and so many people I grew up with got cancer, and it's why Delaware long had the highest cancer rate in the country," the president said in his speech.
Unsurprisingly, the reactions were immediate. If Biden has cancer, we could be looking at a major revelation for the future of the presidency and the country. If he has lied, it would be a fabrication too serious to justify his attack on the oil industry. And if it is a 'slip of the tongue', what is wrong with the president to make such a statement?
Did Joe Biden just announce he has cancer?
“That’s why I — and so damn many other people I grew up with — have cancer.” pic.twitter.com/lkm7AHJATX
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 20, 2022
If Biden DOESN’T/DIDN’T have cancer, this isn’t “misspeaking” or a speech impediment. It’s just the latest in a long line of fabulist talking points everyone has let him off the hook for over the years.
— Ellen Carmichael 🌻 (@ellencarmichael) July 20, 2022
The establishment media have been quick to come to Joe Biden's rescue. Several journalists have been quick to point out that the president had several skin tumors removed before taking office. White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates was quick to share this information on social media.
This is what the President was referring to. https://t.co/8F0NGTei6f
— Andrew Bates (@AndrewJBates46) July 20, 2022
The White House took the opportunity to confirm that Biden was referring to that skin cancer of the past and that it had all been a mistake in the use of verb tenses. He was referring to the past and not to the present. Analysts, however, do not overlook the fact that this is not the first time that Biden has used an illness for his political objectives.
We've heard this story before...
BIDEN IN APRIL: "I have asthma and 80% of the people who, in fact, we grew up with have asthma."
BIDEN TODAY: "That's why I and so damn many other people I grew up with have cancer." pic.twitter.com/8farOJVAfl
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 20, 2022
Biden and climate change
The president's remarks come in the midst of an alarmist discourse on climate change. Biden detailed in Massachusetts a package of measures that includes an expenditure of more than 2,000 million dollars in the construction of cooling centers against the heat. An expense that does not convince several Democratic legislators who, aligned with environmental organizations, are calling for the declaration of a 'Climate Emergency'. This would mean a greater disbursement of funds in the so-called 'green' policies.
This emergency declaration does not currently have the necessary legislative support to go ahead. However, Biden did not rule out enacting it in the short term. "As president, I will use my executive powers to combat the climate crisis in the absence of congressional action," Biden warned.
