Former Vice President Joe Biden stepped out in Austin, Texas, on Sunday to speak at the city’s famed SXSW festival about his Cancer Moonshot initiative.
During his appearance, Biden revealed that Cancer Moonshot — which aims to accelerate cancer research and make more therapies available to patients — began during an “off-hand comment” that he made following the 2015 death of his son Beau, who died from brain cancer.
“We want to spare what our family and what so many other families go through,” Biden said.
Since leaving the White House, Biden has kept a relatively low-profile (and is taking a well-deserved break), making only a few public appearances, including stepping out to support his daughter Ashley Biden’s debut of her clothing line last month.
As Biden himself has stepped back from the spotlight, members of his family have been thrust into it. Earlier this month, Hallie Biden, the widow of Biden’s son Beau, and Beau’s brother, Hunter Biden, confirmed that they were dating. Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, offered a statement of support to the couple at the time.
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“We are all lucky that Hunter and Hallie found each other as they were putting their lives together again after such sadness. They have mine and Jill’s full and complete support and we are happy for them.”
Hunter’s divorce proceedings from his estranged wife, Kathleen, have also made headlines. In the original February filing, Kathleen accused Hunter of spending the family’s money on prostitutes, drugs, alcohol and strip clubs.
Last week, they filed a consent motion to move forward with the divorce more amicably.