Jill wrote that Joe Biden would have stepped away if he were cognitively impaired and insisted he was “nowhere near” that point during the reelection campaign. She also described worrying he might have had a stroke during the debate and said she didn’t rush to the stage, which drew public criticism. The Bidens maintain Joe’s prostate cancer diagnosis was disclosed after he left office; Jill blamed a missed test by White House medical staff. Hunter defended his father, describing the illness as metastatic bone cancer that spread from the prostate, treated with radiation and hormone therapy and currently under control, while urging empathy from critics.