White House denies Biden has new cancer diagnosis after speech flub

Christian Datoc, White House correspondent for The Washington Examiner

The White House shot down speculation on social media Wednesday over whether President Joe Biden revealed a new cancer diagnosis based on an awkwardly worded phrase in a speech.

The president was speaking in Massachusetts to announce $2.3 billion in new funding to combat climate change when he detailed a story from his childhood about air pollution.

“That’s why I and so damn many other people I grew up [with] have cancer,” Biden said. “For the longest time, Delaware had the highest cancer rate in the nation, but that’s the past.