President Joe Biden struggled to get off stage at a rally in Pittsburgh on Thursday, the second time in a month, once raising questions about his mental health. Biden, 79, was seen turning to his right to leave the stage after delivering his address when he paused and asked his staff a question while raising his hands.
Soon after that, he turned and exited the stage from the left. Thursday was one of those bad days for Biden when nothing seemed to go right for him. He was also slammed for berating journalists after they asked about his campaign stops and abortion restrictions after he stopped to speak to reporters before leaving for Pittsburgh.
Biden Does It Again
Biden raised questions about his health and cognitive ability once again on Thursday as he struggled to get off stage at a rally in Pittsburgh. Biden was seen turning to leave the stage to his right after finishing his speech.
However, he walked a few steps to his right and then abruptly paused to talk to his team, raising his hands to ask a question. He then soon turned around and exited the stage from the left side.
Biden's latest gaffe comes less than a month after a similar incident following a United Nations speech. He looked disoriented and got confused about where the exit was and struggled to get off.
The President made a stop in Pittsburgh to assess how the $25.3 million Fern Hollow Bridge renovation was coming along. In January, the bridge collapsed, injuring 10 people and swallowing a number of vehicles. The bridge is expected to be completely rebuilt by the end of the year, an achievement Biden praised.
"Normally, you'd be looking at two to five years to rebuild a bridge like that," Biden said. "By Christmas, God willing, I'm coming to walk over this sucker."
Seven other bridges in Pennsylvania are due to be repaired, according to Trib Live.
However, it was one of those bad days for Biden. He made a rare stop to talk with reporters before traveling to Pennsylvania, but instead of simply answering to their questions, the president berated them for asking about his campaign stops and abortion regulations.
Biden branded one reporter a "kid" while telling another reporter to "educate" themselves. The president also raced over to the line of reporters waiting for his departure and yelled replies to them over the noise of Marine One as he and Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman left for rallies in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
"John Fetterman's gonna appear with you today in Pennsylvania, but there haven't been that many candidates campaigning with you —" CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang began.
Biden cut her off and yelled over the sounds of Marine One to say: "That's not true!" "There've been 15," he insisted. "Count, kid, count!"
Biden's Struggles Continue
Biden's latest gaffe brings back memories of a similar struggle in September. After giving a speech at the UN in late September, Biden appeared to make a similar stage mess. The president started to leave the stage as there was applause, but stopped in his tracks and looked around with a confused expression on his face.
He then appeared to ask onlookers how to exit the stage before taking a few halting steps.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz described the situation on Twitter as "terrifying," and his spokesman Steve Guest added, "Joe Biden seems completely lost on stage. Scary and sad."
The video of the uncomfortable side-steps quickly gained popularity on social media, as yet another evidence of doubts about Biden's physical and mental fitness for the presidency Biden is not widely seen as being qualified for the position, and many people are "slightly concerned" about the president's mental health.
The claim that he is too old and psychologically unfit to serve as president was refuted by Biden.
"Some people think you are unfit for the job," CBS correspondent Scott Pelley began, "and when you hear that, I wonder what you think."
"Watch me," Biden replied in September. "Honest to God that's all I think."
"If you think I don't have the energy level or the mental acuity, then you know, that's one thing. It's another thing, you know, just watch and, you know, keep my schedule. Do what I'm doing," he said.
Biden also suffered a nasty accident while biking during his trip to Delaware's Rehoboth Beach when he fell off his bike and crashed to the ground.
