President Biden appears to claim he has cancer in speech on clean energy Wednesday

President Joe Biden indicated that he may have cancer in a speech on clean energy Wednesday, sparking controversy online. It remains unclear whether or not President Biden meant that he indeed currently has cancer, is speaking about his experience getting non-melanoma skin cancers were removed in 2015, or just misspoke.

The president said that he and “so damn many other people I grew up with have cancer,” while speaking at an event in Wilmington, Delaware.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it: the climate crisis is real, it is urgent, and it is happening right now,” Biden said. “We have a moral obligation to leave this world in a better place for our children and grandchildren.”

President Biden spoke about his time growing up in Claymont, Delaware. “After the first frost, residents of Claymont had to turn on the windshield wipers to get the oil slick off the windshields of their cars because of the pollution,” he said.

Biden also spoke about how cancer has affected his own life, saying that “so damn many” people he grew up with have the disease.

“I know what it’s like to lose a loved one to cancer,” he said. “I know what it’s like to see the fear in their eyes.”

The former vice president has made fighting cancer a key part of his platform, and he has proposed a $1.8 billion investment to double the number of Americans receiving cancer screenings.