Obama escorts a motionless Biden offstage following a high-profile fundraiser
At a high-profile fundraiser for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, which successfully raised $28 million, a moment caught on camera showed former President Barack Obama assisting Biden offstage after a joint appearance. The incident happened at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles following a 45-minute interview with Jimmy Kimmel. Videos of the event circulated online, leading to renewed scrutiny and criticism of Biden, who at 81 is the oldest sitting U.S. president. Critics questioned his fitness for office, citing this and a previous incident at a G7 meeting where Biden appeared to wander off but was, in fact, greeting parachutists from a demonstration. Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman voiced a strong critique on social media, questioning Biden’s capability to lead effectively given these instances.
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 who knew what he had to do: Obama.
“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.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Biden campaign for comment on the viral video.
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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, “institutions matter” and that Trump’s comments in the past have been “outrageous.”
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