Joe Biden, 79, faced yet another public embarrassment Wednesday evening when he appeared to get lost while walking off stage following his remarks at the Global Fund Conference.
As applause ensued, the U.S. president began walking off the stage before abruptly stopping in his tracks and looking around with an appearance of confusion on his face.
He then seemed to ask people on the ground how to get off stage and did a few stuttering steps.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz called the scene ‘terrifying,’ on Twitter, with his communications adviser Steve Guest adding in own own tweet: ‘Joe Biden is completely lost on stage. Scary and sad.’
A man came to the microphone at the event to say: ‘Uh, Mr. President, thank you,’ as he wandered around the stage.
This caused further confusion on the part of the president who slowly inched his way off stage, stopping every few steps to look back at the speaker thanking him for his leadership and remarks.
The clip of the awkward side-steps went viral on social media as another example of doubt regarding Biden’s physical and mental fitness for the presidency. On Sunday during his 60 Minutes interview, Biden shot down suggestions he was too old or unfit to run again in 2024 – and said ‘watch me’.
The speaker at the Global Fund Conference said during Biden’s confusing exit on Wednesday: ‘At the end of such a momentous event, the word ‘thank you’ seems kind of inadequate. But for all the millions whose lives will be saved, for communities where lives will be transformed – thank you, President Biden.’
People on Twitter labeled the clip ‘sad’, and said Biden was acting ‘strange’ and ‘awkward’ and speculated that he appeared to be ‘lost’ or ‘not know where he is.’
The whole ordeal happened after he delivered remarks at the 7th Global Fund Replenishment Conference, which was held in New York and is aimed at fighting AIDS, HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.
Other awkward encounters were also caught on camera, including two different instances where he stuck out his arm to shake hands with an invisible person.
At a White House event fresh out of his COVID quarantine, Biden appeared to forget that he already shook hands with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, sticking his hand out for a second time with a confused look on his face as the New York Democrat turned away.
It happened again in April after wrapping a speech in North Carolina where he turned to his right and stuck out his hand while staring into space and wandering around the stage before exiting.
Many have also pointed to Biden’s mishap in August when he struggled for nearly a minute trying to put on his suit jacket – and continued to have issues even with the help of first lady Jill Biden – as more evidence of his declining physical condition. /Daily Mail, September 22, 2022