President Joe Biden was standing still and staring out at the crowd at the end of his star-studded campaign fundraiser when his former boss, Barack Obama, softly grabbed his wrist and led him offstage.
The captured-on-camera moment came at the conclusion of the pair’s 45-minute interview with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Saturday night. After waving to the crowd, a smiling Biden appeared to stand still for more than five seconds, until Obama took his wrist, patted him on the back, and led him away from the event.
Videos of the incident circulating online reignited scrutiny against Biden, the oldest sitting president in U.S. history, and accusations that he is unfit to lead the country, especially for another four years after November’s election.
“Biden is an old 81 who can’t find his way off a stage or stay present and focused at a G7 conference. Is that who should be the leader of the free world for the next five years?” hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman wrote on X. “A president should not have to be led off stage by hand or with an arm wrapped around him. That is not the image of strength and leadership we need as a country.”
The president was also criticized last week for appearing to wander away from other world leaders during a G7 meeting in Italy, to which Ackman alluded. However, footage shared online edited out a skydiving demonstration, and Biden was not wandering off but rather going to greet those who landed via parachute, according to his campaign spokeswoman Adrienne Elrod, who condemned the “disinformation” of an edited video.
The video from Saturday night, shared by the Hollywood Reporter’s Chris Gardner, appears to be a live recording from the writer’s phone. While many speculated as to what Biden’s mental state was at the time of the recording, the Washington Examiner’s Byron York suggested it was the person closest to the president, Obama, who answered that question with his actions.
“What can be said with certainty about this scene is that there is one person who seemed to think Joe Biden needed help and direction leaving the stage,” York wrote on social media.
Both the White House and Obama’s camp pushed back on the idea that Biden needed to be helped offstage. In a comment to the Washington Examiner, White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates took aim at the New York Post and its owner, Rupert Murdoch, accusing the outlet of “lying about President Biden” regarding the G7 controversy and “disrespecting it’s readers & itself once again” concerning the newer video.
“By pretending the President taking in an applauding crowd for a few seconds is somehow wrong, all they’re really admitting is – once again – is they can’t take on the leadership that’s fueling the strongest economic growth in the world, bringing violent crime to a 50 year low, restoring manufacturing jobs from overseas, and strengthening our alliances,” Bates added.
“this did not happen,” wrote Eric Schultz, senior adviser to Obama, in response to the outlet’s tweet, which included its article and the description, “Biden appears to freeze up, has to be led off stage by Obama at mega-bucks LA fundraiser.”
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Saturday’s California fundraiser featured Hollywood stars such as George Clooney, Julia Roberts, and Jack Black. The Biden campaign announced that the night raised more than $30 million.
In the presidents’ discussion with Kimmel, Biden criticized his chief political opponent, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, saying Trump’s rhetoric on the campaign trail has been “outrageous.”
