Former U.S. President Joe Biden sparked emotional reactions during his appearance at the Nebraska Democratic Party’s Ben Nelson Gala on Friday, November 8, where he reflected on his late son Beau Biden and expressed that Beau “should’ve been president, not me.”

Biden, who appeared at the event with a visible bandage on his head, delivered a heartfelt speech connecting his family’s battle with cancer to his criticism of the Trump administration’s cuts to cancer research funding.

“Folks, I know what cancer research means. Cancer hits every family. It’s hit my family hard,” he said.

He went on to recall his son’s military service and tragic death from brain cancer (glioblastoma) in 2015.

“When the love of my life, my oldest son, the attorney general of the state of Delaware—who should’ve been the president, not me—volunteered to go to Iraq for a year, he came back with stage four glioblastoma because he lived near a burn pit just like those guys did on 9/11, and he died.”

Biden, who earlier this year disclosed a stage four prostate cancer diagnosis, thanked doctors and researchers for recent medical breakthroughs before sharply accusing President Trump and his allies of undermining health care.

“Trump and his Republican friends are cutting government funding for health care, making it more expensive,” Biden charged.

The 46th U.S. President, who turns 83 on November 20, appeared passionate and visibly emotional as he addressed ongoing political and economic challenges. He slammed Trump over the prolonged government shutdown, saying:

“Trump better get the damn government open. We have a president who is deliberately making hunger worse for Americans. In the United States of America, 1 in 5 children go to bed hungry every night!”

While the reason for the new bandage on Biden’s head remains unclear, it comes months after he underwent Mohs surgery in August to remove skin cancer from a different area.

Biden ended his speech on a triumphant note, celebrating recent Democratic victories in states such as Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, New York, Georgia, and Mississippi, declaring:

“The Democratic Party is back — not hyperbole.”