Joe Biden appeared to be completely zoned-out at the end of his first campaign speech of 2024 on Friday night.
The president, 81, had just finished speaking at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania, where George Washington organized an army to fight the British in 1777.
Biden had just concluded his remarks when he turned to leave the stage only to have his wife, first lady Jill Biden rush up to him to take him by the hand.
As she approached her husband, she appeared to whisper something in his ear but smartly managed to avoid the view of television cameras that were recording the awkward moment.
Dr. Jill then attempted to lead her husband off the stage only to have her husband suddenly turn to the crowd and began speaking once again, talking over the exit music that was already playing over the loudspeakers.
Biden finished speaking on Friday night and was left standing at the podium seemingly dazed
Biden continued to remain at the podium at Jill Biden raced to chaperone him from the stage
Joe Biden, 81, seemed zoned-out at the conclusion of his first campaign speech of 2024 on Friday night at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania, which saw his wife rush on to lead him offstage
After finishing his speech, Biden turned to leave the stage, only to be intercepted by his wife, first lady Jill Biden who rushed up to him and whispered in his ear
Joe Biden appeared to be lost for a moment as wife, Jill, looked to go one way while her husband faced the other direction
Jill was standing alone at the podium as the president went off on his own looking for a way out
Jill Biden attempted to pull her husband offstage but Biden continued to speak despite exit music playing
Eventually the pair walked offstage with Jill leading her husband by the hand
‘I understand power!’ Biden said. ‘Thank you all so very much…’ he said before the music drowned him out.
It was Biden’s first public event since his Caribbean vacation.
Biden, the oldest president in American history when he took office in 2021, has faced doubts from pundits and polls whether he is still fit to lead.
The Democrat’s age has become an issue as he seeks reelection in November with his administration deploying a ‘Bubble Wrap’ strategy to stop him from falling in public.
The President has seen repeated questions over his fitness for office, with polls and pundits claiming it is a huge problem with just less than eleven months to go to the 2024 election.
Some of his staffers still believe he needs protecting, with a new strategy being set out to stop him falling or getting lost on stage like he has on multiple occasions.
President Joe Biden is helped up after falling during the graduation ceremony at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado in June. He fell while handing out diplomas to cadets
The commander-in-chief stumbled, hit the floor and had cadets and Secret Service rush to grab his arms while he was handing out diplomas in Colorado
‘He’s fine,’ White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt tweeted afterward. ‘There was a sandbag (seen left) on stage while he was shaking hands.’
Some described it as putting the president in bubble wrap until November 2024 to make sure he doesn’t trip or fall in public again, like he did at an Air Force Academy commencement in June.
Yet other current and former administration officials vehemently disagree and called for him to hit the campaign trail to ‘show his vigor’ and ‘boast about his age rather than ignore it.’
Veteran Democrat strategist Simon Rosenberg is in the latter camp, saying Biden should hit home his age and experience even harder.
‘He’s been successful because of his age, not in spite of it,’ Rosenberg said.
‘We’re all going to have to make that case because it’s true. We can’t run away from the age issue.
‘It’s going to be a major part of the conversation, but we would be making a political mistake if we don’t contest it more aggressively.’
But John B. Judis, a longtime political strategist and author, suggested Biden’s age has made him look less presidential.
In June 2022 Biden fell off his bike during a ride near his beach house in Delaware and then hopped around in an effort to prove he wasn’t injured in the accident
After about 10 seconds on the concrete, Biden was able to hoist himself up with help from his security detail – yielding a round of applause from the onlookers
In March 2021, he was caught tripping up the stairs as he boarded Air Force One
‘He doesn’t look and speak the part,’ Judis said. ‘He’s not a commanding or charming presence on a presidential or presidential election stage.’
Judis praised many of Biden’s legislative achievements, including infrastructure and fighting climate change but said that his ‘public performance’ has been poor.
‘I think a lot of voters, and young people in particular, who are not at all put off by his political positions or accomplishments, are put off by his utter failure as a regal persona,’ Judis said.
‘And I don’t know how that can be fixed. Not by bicycling. Biden’s best hope in that regard is the voters’ perception of Trump as a bad or even evil father who wants to wreck the family.’
The consternation over Biden’s age comes as polling has never been worse for the president.
A furious Joe Biden called Donald Trump ‘sick’ and a ‘loser’ in his first campaign speech of 2024 saying ‘we nearly lost America’ on January 6
The president, 81, launched an incensed attack on his predecessor and potential 2024 general election rival at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania , where George Washington organized an the army to fight the British in 1777
In a head-to-head matchup, Biden has seen a two-point lead turned into a three-point deficit
During his speech, Biden said ‘democracy is on the ballot’ as states around the country launch bids to kick Trump off.
A furious Biden called Donald Trump ‘sick’ and a ‘loser’ saying ‘we nearly lost America’ on January 6.
The president launched an incensed attack on his predecessor and likely 2024 general election rival.
Biden condemned the Republican frontrunner for his ‘lies’ and for making his White House campaign about ‘himself’ in the remarks marking the third anniversary of the Capitol Riot.
He said Trump invoked Nazi Germany when he referred to his enemies as ‘vermin’ and compared him to a dictator who could destroy the U.S. if re-elected in November.