Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Biden Diagnosed with Prostate Cancer; Pro-E.U. Centrist Defeats Ultra-Nationalist in Romanian Presidential Race; New Book Discusses Biden's Health While in office. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired May 19, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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

BEN HUNTE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello. Wherever you are in the world, you are now in the CNN NEWSROOM with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta. It is so good to have you here.

Coming up on the show, love and support are pouring in for former President Joe Biden. The latest on his cancer diagnosis.

A barrage of drone strikes coming on the eve of a crucial call between President Trump and Vladimir Putin.

And Romania picks a new president. What the election results there mean for the rest of the E.U.

We're beginning this hour with breaking news. Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with cancer. In a statement, his personal office calls it an aggressive form of prostate cancer and says it has spread to his bones.

Eighty-two-year-old Biden is now said to be reviewing treatment options.

The news is being met with well wishes from those who served alongside the former president, and even from those who have opposed him. That includes President Donald Trump, who took to social media to write, "Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden's recent medical diagnosis. We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery."

Former President Barack Obama also sending his support, saying, "Nobody has done more to find breakthrough treatments for cancer in all its forms than Joe, and I'm certain he will fight this challenge with his trademark resolve and grace. We pray for a fast and full recovery."

And this message from Biden's former vice president, Kamala Harris, who said, quote, "Joe is a fighter, and I know he will face this challenge with the same strength, resilience, and optimism that have always defined his life and leadership. We're hopeful for a full and speedy recovery."

CNN's Arlette Saenz has more now from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The 82-year-old Biden was at his home in Wilmington, Delaware --

SAENZ (voice-over): -- when this news was made public, and his family is now working to determine what treatment options will look like going forward.

The statement from his office said, quote, "Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms. On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone. While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone- sensitive, which allows for effective management. Biden and his family are reviewing treatment options with physicians going forward."

We're still trying to learn where exactly President Biden might be treated after receiving this diagnosis.

SAENZ: But this all comes as questions about Biden's physical and mental capacity while he was in office have returned to the public spotlight.

SAENZ (voice-over): Our colleague, Jake Tapper, and Axios reporter Alex Thompson are about to roll out a new book which details some signs of decline in the former president while he was serving as commander in chief.

SAENZ: But setting that aside, for the Biden family, this is just the latest in a long history of them dealing with some tragedy and some personal setbacks.

Biden himself lost his daughter and wife in a car accident when he had just been elected to the U.S. Senate.

SAENZ (voice-over): And then in 2015, his son Beau Biden passed away from brain cancer. In fact, Biden's diagnosis comes about two weeks before they were about to mark the 10th anniversary of Beau Biden's passing.

And Biden, as president, also did a lot of work on what he called the cancer moonshot, trying to boost funding for cancer research, as he had really zeroed in on that as a key issue in his presidency.

But right now, for the Biden family, this is something -- a very difficult moment that they are going through.

SAENZ: And for many aides, as well, I've heard from many who are simply devastated by this news of this cancer diagnosis for the former president. But now we will be waiting to hear what the next steps will look like as his family is evaluating the treatment options at this time.

Arlette Saenz, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HUNTE: There has been an outpouring of bipartisan support on Capitol Hill following Biden's cancer diagnosis.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson called it sad news, saying his family will be "joining the countless others who are praying for the former President."

[00:05:09]

Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene also offering prayers and saying, quote, "Cancer is truly awful. My dad passed away in 2021 with cancer."

And Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote on social media, quote, "Joe Biden has worked for years to advance the cause of beating cancer, and now we have his back in this fight."

CNN's chief political correspondent, Dana Bash, has extensively covered the former -- former president since his time as a Delaware senator. She says his hallmark character traits will help him navigate the weeks ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (via phone): A Democrat who has known him for a very long time, who just said simply, this was already going to be a tough week, and this makes it much harder.

And that is a reference to the fact that our colleague Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson of Axios, they, of course, have a book that's set to publish on Tuesday, talking about not -- some of former President Biden's physical fitness while he was in office, but also about his mental acuity.

And the idea that now the sort of -- the world is looking at President Biden and knows the fact that he has a very, very big physical challenge ahead of him, which is -- which is cancer and fighting cancer.

But what has occurred to me is that the stubbornness that is kind of a hallmark of his personality, one that I witnessed covering him when he was a United States senator for, you know, ten plus years when I was covering Capitol Hill, when he was still there, before he became a vice president, and then continued to -- to have that sensibility, in -- in all ways, that's going to serve him well here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Joining me now from L.A. is CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein. He's also a Bloomberg opinion columnist.

Thank you for being with me. Let's just get into this. Former President Biden is 82.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. HUNTE: So, some health concerns are obviously expected. But today's announcement has sparked a real public concern. What's your assessment of what all of this means?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, Ben, Joe Biden was elected president 50 years after he was first elected to his first public office in 1970, in Delaware.

I mean, the other -- a couple months ago, early in his presidency, I calculated that was the biggest gap for any president in our history.

And what it meant was that Joe Biden grew up, you know, lived his life on the public stage. He lived his life in front of us. And in many respects, he lived a life with a lot of suffering in it in front of us, you know, losing his wife and daughter in an accident right after he was elected to president [SIC] -- elected as -- to Senate in the 1970s.

He had a brain aneurysm in 1987 when, shortly after he left the presidential race, when he ran the first time, might have killed him if he was still in the race and was in a, you know, kind of remote part of the country.

And, of course, losing his son in 2015. I mean, he has really, you know -- whatever else people think about Joe Biden, he has shown a perseverance, grace, dignity, and a real consciousness of -- of the role that he has as a public figure in really providing an example and empathy and kind of assistance to others who are going through similar circumstances. And I suspect that's what we're going to see from him again.

HUNTE: And we have seen bipartisan support for former President Biden, including from President Trump, who put out a supportive statement.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

HUNTE: What does that say about how serious this moment is?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, I mean, you know, look, I mean, you know, President Trump has, you know, done everything he can to keep Biden in the public eye and, essentially, to blame him for whatever people don't like about what is going on now. It's kind of similar to what happened to Jimmy Carter after he left office in 1980. And that's politics.

And then you have this, as Dana Bash was talking about, this kind of intensifying debate among Democrats about whether he should have gotten out of the race earlier, whether he really was fit to serve another term as president, and all of that.

And what you can lose sight of, Ben, beneath that is that there's actually a person beneath these concepts about whether he did the right thing politically or whether, you know, the continued high prices at the grocery store are his fault or Trumps. There's an actual person underneath that.

And I do think that this diagnosis is a reminder of that and might help him. One thing that is, I think, common among virtually all ex- presidents, they have very different goals for about after they leave the presidency.

But generally speaking, they don't want to be in the political crossfire anymore. And Biden, because of those unusual circumstances, has been, I think, to an extreme extent. [00:10:03]

And maybe this allows him to begin to get, you know, a step back toward his privacy, toward getting through this, if he can, and getting on to the next stage of his life, which I think is what every ex-president wants.

HUNTE: Biden's team has been super-transparent in releasing this news, especially --

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

HUNTE: -- when you look at President Trump's more guarded approach to his own health. Why do you think team Biden made this call?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, as I said, I think it's -- it's consistent with the way he has lived his life. You know, I mean, he has really been in front of us since he was, what, 29 years old, I think, was when he was when he was first elected. He's gone through a lot of suffering on the public stage.

And I think he's always had an awareness that, by being transparent and visible about what he is going through, he can help other people in what they are going through: that you know, that his loss, his losses over his life are a very -- a very inescapable part of the human condition, you know.

And when he talks about remembering his son or, you know, his -- his first wife and talks about how, eventually, they will bring a smile to your lips before a tear to your eye, I think that is the kind of vision he has of his role as a public figure: talking about these very personal experiences that we all go through, sooner or later.

And I suspect that motivated this decision and will motivate the way that he -- that he deals with this going forward, as well.

HUNTE: One question I'm seeing a lot on social media is what would have happened if Biden had run again and won. Now, obviously, that's hypothetical, but what would this diagnosis have meant then in terms of leadership and succession?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, I mean, you know, first of all, I mean, I'm not, you know, neither one of us are doctors. But most of the coverage that I've seen have said this is very treatable.

And I saw one doctor quoted, I believe, in "The New York Times" saying that, you know, I've seen people in this circumstance for five, seven, ten years. So. It's not clear this would have been debilitating.

But, you know, look, I mean, it goes to the underlying issue. When you get into your 80s, I mean, there are obviously -- you know, your -- your odds get worse on a whole lot of health problems.

And one thing that was so striking about the whole last couple of years in all of this was that, for all of the division in the Democratic Party, there really wasn't a lot of division in the public.

I mean, there was an overwhelming consensus among Americans watching him every day that they thought it just wasn't a good idea for him to run again. And they didn't -- they weren't sure that he could do the job for another four years.

So, you know, in some ways, the wisdom of crowds is validated here, I suppose. But it's not clear that this will be debilitating in that sense. You know, everybody has to wish him well. And based on the medical diagnoses that, you know, at least you read about from the experts in the immediate reaction, there's a lot of reason for optimism.

HUNTE: And we definitely do wish him well. Ron Brownstein, for now, thank you for joining us. Appreciate it.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

HUNTE: Still to come, President Donald Trump will speak with Russia's Vladimir Putin about the Ukraine war in the coming hours. What we could expect from that discussion, that's next.

And Romanian voters reject a hard-right, ultra-nationalist presidential candidate in an election that could drive the future of the NATO member country. Details ahead on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:17:58]

HUNTE: U.S. President Donald Trump is set to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone later today. The German chancellor says Mr. Trump is expected to speak with the leaders of Germany, Britain, France, and Poland before that call. Still, Trump and his advisers insist that he alone can secure peace in Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: I believe that the president is going to have a successful call with -- with Vladimir Putin. They know each other. The president is determined to get something done here. And hopefully -- if -- if he can't do it, then nobody can. So, I leave it to the two leaders to have that call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: The call will take place the day after Russia launched its largest known drone attack on Ukraine since its full-scale invasion in 2022.

Ukrainian Air Force officials counted 273 drones early on Sunday, many of which targeted the Kyiv region. Ukraine's parliament leader says the attack shows just how sincere Vladimir Putin is about pursuing peace.

Ukraine's president sat down with the U.S. vice president and secretary of state in Italy on Sunday. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is calling it a, quote, "good meeting."

He says he reiterated his country's willingness to engage in genuine diplomacy with Russia and called again for an unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible.

Vice President J.D. Vance's office says the leaders discussed their shared goal of ending the war. It was their first meeting since February, when Vance berated Zelenskyy at the White House for not showing enough gratitude for American support.

The Ukrainian president also met with Pope Leo at the Vatican after his inaugural mass on Sunday. Pope Leo called for a just and lasting peace in martyred (ph) Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nicusor! Nicusor! Nicusor! Nicusor!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nicusor! Nicusor! Nicusor! Nicusor!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nicusor! Nicusor! Nicusor! Nicusor!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: In a surprising turnaround, Romania's pro-E.U. candidate, Nicusor Dan, has won the country's presidential election.

With almost all of the votes counted, Dan won at least 53 percent, clearly defeating his hard-right, ultra-nationalist rival George Simion.

[00:20:09]

Sunday's election drew more than 10 million Romanians to the polls and was widely seen as a litmus test for the rise of Trump-style nationalism in Europe.

Simion is a Donald Trump fan who swept the first round of voting earlier this month but later faltered in a televised debate.

Dan, meanwhile, is a strong supporter of Romania's NATO membership, who has pledged to continue providing aid to Ukraine.

Let's dig deeper with CNN European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas. Thanks so much for being with me. How are you doing?

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Great. Very good. Thanks for having me on.

HUNTE: You're so welcome. Good to see you again.

With Nicusor Dan's victory over far-right candidate George Simion, what does this outcome tell us about the current state of democracy in Romania and where Romania stands on E.U. values?

THOMAS: Yes, well, this election in so many ways is indicative of what's been really happening in Europe for a good decade, which are elections that essentially pit diametrically opposed candidates in the question of Europe and the broader kind of multilateral order, and also the commitment, really, to democratic institutions and values and so on.

And in this particular case, the folks have spoken out against the latter and in favor of a pro-European Union party.

This was an important election, given the fact that in the neighborhood, thinking about Hungary and Slovakia, you've got some significant detractors on the political landscape. And so, this is a win in the category for support for the E.U. moving forward.

HUNTE: And while Romania rejected far-right nationalism there, are other European nations have seen the opposite, right? In Portugal, even though the far right came up short, they still have made significant gains in popularity. What are your thoughts there?

THOMAS: Yes, you're absolutely right. And we've seen that in many places around Europe.

What's interesting is across these different electoral systems, right, from semi-presidential systems to parliamentary systems, we see similar outcomes and disruptions.

In the case of Portugal, it's very -- you know, reminds us of the situation in, say, the Netherlands and in Germany, where you've got sort of complex coalition formations going on, a proliferation of smaller parties, and real disruption to the process by the far right.

So, even though in this particular case, the far right has not emerged ahead in these particular elections, the parliamentary configuration moving forward remains as problematic as it was going into what was effectively the third snap election in recent months in -- in Portugal.

So, a lot of uncertainty moving forward, particularly when it comes to the configuration of a coalition and whether or not they can actually hold on to power, then.

HUNTE: Oh, yes. And just because everything's happening, let's talk about Poland as well. The results in Poland are still up in the air.

But what can these results there tell us about the future of the E.U. and what people want in these times of so much uncertainty around migration, security, money?

THOMAS: Yes. Well, the polish situation is really kind of an area of Europe in which the sort of fake news, disinformation and so on have been amplified particularly by the Law and Order Party that has resulted in kind of voter disaffection and so on.

It's also a very particular context, because of course, you've got this sort of sharing of power between the presidency and the prime ministership, which is, of course, is currently occupied by Donald Tusk. So, the former president of the E.U. Council, who would very much like to see a president from his party emerge in this particular context.

But we have a runoff, two political entities and everything that we've been talking about diametrically opposed, on the one hand, supporting the European Union and on the other, this would be another detractor.

And let's not forget, the situation is all the more paradoxical in Poland, because even though this opposition group here is E.U. skeptic, Poland remains the greatest net beneficiary of E.U. funding. So, there are a lot of sort of ironies here. And of course, uncertainty moving forward -- Ben.

HUNTE: Uncertainty, yes, it is all happening. We'll see what happens next. Dominic Thomas, thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

THOMAS: Thank you.

HUNTE: Mixed messages coming from Hamas's upper ranks.

On Sunday, a senior Hamas leader told CNN the militant group had agreed to release up to nine Israeli hostages in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 300 Palestinian prisoners.

But just hours later, another senior leader denied that proposal.

Meanwhile, Israel says it will allow, quote, "a basic amount of food" to enter Gaza as a U.N.-backed report warns the enclave remains at critical risk of famine amid Israel's 11-week aid blockade.

[00:25:05]

Israel is pushing ahead with its new offensive, Gideon's Chariots, in the enclave. Palestinian health officials say more than 100 people were killed overnight on Sunday amid an extensive ground and air operation across Gaza.

Still to come, a new book set to be released this week looks at what aides knew about Joe Biden's health during his time in office. Well look at the debate it's generating about his decision to run for reelection.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:30:14]

HUNTE: Welcome back. I'm Ben Hunte. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

U.S. President Donald Trump will speak with Russia's president by phone in the coming hours. This comes after Russia launched its largest ever drone attack on Ukraine in the war.

Israel announced on Sunday that it will allow, quote, "a basic amount of food" to enter Gaza. The decision comes after a U.N.-backed report warned the enclave remains at critical risk of famine amid Israels 11- week blockade on aid.

Former U.S. President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. That news, coming in a statement from his personal office, which says the cancer has spread to his bones. Biden, who is now 82, is reviewing treatment options.

Biden's health was very much in the news even before the cancer diagnosis was announced on Sunday. That's because of a new book by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios journalist Alex Thompson.

CNN's chief media analyst, Brian Stelter, looks at a controversy the book is already generating ahead of its release on Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: The timing of former President Joe Biden's cancer diagnosis is certainly dramatic, coming on the eve of a blockbuster new book about his health and his time in the White House.

That book is --

STELTER (voice-over): -- "Original Sin" by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson.

The book has been getting a lot of pre-publication publicity and buzz, as well as a lot of preorders because of the damning new details it contains about Biden's time in office and his decision to seek reelection in 2024.

At its heart, this is a book about mortality, about aging, about sickness, and it is framed by the authors --

STELTER: -- as a tragic story. So, we'll see if that has more resonance in the wake of this cancer diagnosis news.

The book has also dredged up a lot of debate about Biden and the 2024 election.

STELTER (voice-over): If you search his name on social media, you'll see what I mean.

Many progressives defending Biden, saying that this is unfair to him and saying they don't want to hear about the past. Many conservatives saying they knew all along about Biden's infirmities, and arguing there was a cover-up by the Biden White House.

Now, it will be interesting to see if this book is received in a new light. Now that this cancer diagnosis is public. I'm sure some observers will say that the reporting in the book is even more important now, and that the diagnosis underscores the reporting.

Others might say it's unwelcome or unpleasant and unfair for the Bidens.

STELTER: It is notable that nothing in the book should be surprising to the Biden family, since everyone mentioned in the book was asked for comment ahead of time.

On Sunday night on CNN --

STELTER (voice-over): -- David Axelrod said that conversations about Biden and about what the Democrats did in 2024 should be, quote, "more muted now." He said those should be set aside for now, as Biden is struggling through this health crisis.

I've certainly seen others on social media making those same kinds of comments, and yet there are already conspiratorial ideas taking shape as well. Donald Trump Jr., for example, on social media suggesting that this is being announced now, this cancer diagnosis being announced now so that Biden will be viewed more sympathetically.

So, those arguments are going to keep going back and forth. And there are other books in the works, as well. At least one more big look back at 2024 decisions is coming out this summer.

So, while the conversations may be more muted for the time being, they will still be taking place in the days, weeks and months to come.

Brian Stelter, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Still to come, authorities in New York plan their next steps as they investigate how a Mexican navy training ship crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:38:32]

HUNTE: Police in California have now identified the suspect in the bombing outside a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California.

Authorities say 25-year-old Guy Bartkus is the suspected bomber, and they believe he died in the blast. Authorities say the suspect left behind an anti-pro-life manifesto and was attempting to livestream the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AKIL DAVIS, FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN CHARGE, LOS ANGELES: The subject had nihilistic ideations, and this was a targeted attack against the IVF facility. Make no mistake: we are treating this, as I said yesterday, as an intentional act of terrorism.

We were able to save all of the embryos at this facility. Good guys, one; bad guys, zero.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNTE: Four other people were injured in Saturday's blast, and they've all been treated and released.

Authorities in New York are working to move a Mexican navy training ship so it can be repaired, while they try to figure out what caused it to crash into the Brooklyn Bridge late on Saturday.

Early evidence suggests there was a mechanical issue with the ship's rudder. The captain has said they lost power, and he was unable to steer.

At least two people were killed after falling from one of the ship's masts, which hit the underside of the bridge and broke apart. Nineteen others on board were injured.

Officials in Louisiana are asking for the public's help to recapture seven inmates still on the run after escaping from jail in New Orleans.

Ten inmates broke out on Friday, and only three have been found so far. Authorities believe jail employees may have helped the men escape, and friends and family have been helping them while on the run.

[00:40:05]

Police warned the inmates may have left the state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLONEL ROBERT HODGES, LOUISIANA STATE POLICE SUPERINTENDENT: These fugitives may not just be in New Orleans. They've possibly moved out to other parishes and to other states. And the combination of local, state, and federal law enforcement working collectively to ensure the capture and safety of everyone is our top priority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Officials said defective locks allowed the inmates to leave their cells. Then, they breached a wall behind a toilet, leaving behind a message mocking their escape as, quote, "too easy."

Well, thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. WORLD SPORT is next. See you after. Bye.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:45:27]

(WORLD SPORT)