Joe Biden scales back book tour as cancer ‘slows me down’

Former US President Joe Biden has said he is scaling back plans to promote his upcoming memoir as he battles aggressive prostate cancer, acknowledging that the illness sometimes leaves him struggling.

The admission was made in a post on X on Sunday, ahead of the November 17 release of “Promise Me, America,” ValidViewNetwork reports.

THE ADMISSION

Biden did not hide the toll the disease is taking. “Some days are better than others. It hasn’t stopped me. But sometimes it slows me down,” he wrote .”What that means is, unfortunately, I won’t be able to do as many conversations about my book as I’d hoped. However, I’m hopeful the words on the page speak for themselves”.

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THE DIAGNOSIS

Biden announced in May 2025, four months after leaving the White House, that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones .

He has since undergone radiation and hormone therapy. His son, Hunter Biden, said in August that the disease had spread further and was causing considerable pain.

“The cancer has spread, metastasized into his bones and further,” Hunter told the BBC. “It’s very painful and it’s very debilitating in many respects”.

Biden said his doctors “continue to be encouraged” by his response to treatment.

THE BOOK

The memoir chronicles his four years in the White House, including his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, and his controversial decision to seek reelection in 2024 before withdrawing.

In an excerpt published by The Atlantic, Biden delivered a blistering attack on his successor, Donald Trump, over the January 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol.

“What Trump did on January 6, 2021, should never be forgotten. It should follow him to his grave,” Biden wrote.

THE ANALYTICAL LENS

There is something profoundly human about this story. A man who spent his life in public service, who served as vice president and then president, is now 83 years old. He has cancer. It is in his bones. It is slowing him down. And he is trying to sell a book about his time in office.

The book is meant to be a defence of his presidency, a rebuttal to the critics who said he was too old, too frail, too out of touch. It is meant to explain why he ran again in 2024, and why he ultimately stepped aside.

But the timing is cruel. The book tour is being scaled back because the man who wrote it is too ill to promote it. The very vulnerability that his critics used against him is now limiting his ability to answer them.

Biden’s allies will say this is a testament to his resilience. His critics will say it is confirmation of what they warned about all along. Both may be right.

What is certain is that the book will be released. The words on the page will speak for themselves. And Joe Biden, whether he is on tour or not, will be remembered as a president who served in a time of crisis, and who is now fighting a crisis of his own. ValidViewNetwork reports.