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Joe Biden promises to cure cancer … but only if Americans elect him president

June 12, 2019 | | Print Article

Politicians are pretty ballsy when it comes to promising things in exchange for your vote, but a cheeky Joe Biden took that to a whole other level Tuesday, promising that he will cure cancer if elected president.

With cancer touching the lives of every American in some way, Biden was talking about the difficulties of losing a family member while speaking at a campaign event in Ottumwa, Iowa.

Biden’s son, Beau, died in 2015 from brain cancer.

“You know, people come up to you and tell you, ‘I understand,’ if you lose a husband, a wife, a son, a daughter, a family member,” Biden said. “And lots of times you feel like saying — they say, ‘I know how you feel’ — you look at them and you know they mean well, but you have no idea how I feel.”

 

“But when it happens to you, you know,” he continued. “That why I worked so hard in my career to make sure that — I promise you, if I’m elected president, you’re going to see the single most important thing that changes America, we’re gonna cure cancer,” he then declared.

All of which prompted the obvious response online:

Cancer is a somber tone for the campaign trail when you’re out to generate energy, but Biden seems to be appealing for the sympathy of Iowans, finishing with a bold promise.

Not that cynical Americans expect politicians to keep their campaign promises — that’s one thing about President Trump that infuriates his critics, his commitment to follow through on the things he has promised.

Seldom are politicians held accountable for broken promises, other than President George H.W. Bush, who promised at the 1988 Republican convention, “Read my lips: No new taxes!’’

Bush raised taxes after being elected later that year and was defeated in 1992 when he ran for reelection.

Other broken promises that had little effect include President Franklin D. Roosevelt promising American mothers in October 1940, “I give you one more assurance. I have said this before, but I shall say it again, and again and again. Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars.”

As for Biden’s promise, seems he’s accustomed to making moonshots, as he oversaw the “Cancer Moonshot” program during the Obama administration, an initiative that was to bring new energy to the fight to find a cure for cancer.

After leaving office, the former vice president launched the Biden Cancer Initiative to advocate for cancer prevention and research — he stepped down from the group after announcing his run for president, according to the Washington Examiner.

Speaking if cynical, here’s a sampling of responses to Biden’s promise from social media users:

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Tom Tillison
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