Biden visits Bob Dole after cancer diagnosis

The two served together in the Senate and Dole is a ‘good friend’ of the president, the White House said.

Dole, the 1996 Republican presidential candidate, was one of the most important Republicans to make it clear after the November election that Biden had won.

“The election is over and (Joe) Biden will be president on January 20. I know the president has not conceded and he may never concede, but he will not be in the White House on January 21,” Dole told the Kansas City Star said. mid-December.

He remarked at the time that Biden was a friend and said that the Democrat was “a good chairman” of the Senate judiciary: “He did a good job. the government works and Congress works and all of that will be to Joe’s advantage. ‘

As vice president, Biden paid an emotional tribute to Dole in 2011, who was seriously wounded during World War II, during a ceremony honoring Dole’s tireless efforts to create the National World War II memorial. Biden noted that the two traveled together to the beaches of Normandy in France on the occasion of D-Day.

The then vice-president said he had long admired Dole’s ‘unparalleled commitment’ to the country’s veterans.

“He has always known and taught me what many of us have come to know – that we have many obligations in this country, but that we have only one true sacred obligation. And that is to prepare those we send for war with everything they need to do, and take care of those returning from the war and providing their families with everything they deserve, ”Biden said during the 2011 ceremony.

Dole, 97, announced his cancer diagnosis on Thursday.

“Recently, I was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. My first treatment will start on Monday,” he wrote on Twitter. “While I certainly face some obstacles, I also know that I am joining millions of Americans who are facing their own serious health challenges.”

Dole has contracted a range of health ailments over the past few years. In 1991 he underwent surgery for prostate cancer, underwent surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysm, was hospitalized in 2001 after a fall in his home and was treated in 2009 for a bone infection.

In addition to his unsuccessful bid for the White House in 1996, Dole was also elected president in 1980 and 1988, but was not nominated. He was President Gerald Ford’s running mate in 1976 after Nelson Rockefeller refused to continue as vice president.

He served for 27 years as a U.S. senator from Kansas, including two regions as the majority leader of the Senate. He was also a congressman from 1961 to 1969.

In January 2018, the Congress’ gold medal is awarded to Dole, the highest civilian honor bestowed on Congress.

The visit to Dole was not according to Biden’s public schedule for Saturday.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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