A video of the US President Joe Biden seeming lost and confused on stage during an event has shocked the internet. He was addressing the Global Fund's Seventh Replenishment Conference in New York on Wednesday. The event was organized to raise funds to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
Biden delivered his address and thanked participants for the contributions made. He announced that the fund has managed to raise a staggering $14.25 billion to date – the highest amount ever pledged for a multilateral health organization.
President Biden turned to leave the podium but stopped and looked lost. He also uttered some words where was inaudible because of the thunderous applause at the event venue. This video has been received over two million views on Twitter.
RNC Research's twitter handle which is handled by Republican National Committee shared the video with the caption "Where ya going, Big Guy?"
Twitter user Weaponized Nerd Rage said the man looks completely terrified and unaware of what the hell is going on, like he's looking for someone to help him.
Another user shared concerns about the president's mental health. "Simply sad, but I no longer have any hope he has the mental facilities to walk off a stage without an escort."
Some critics jumped at the opportunity saying that this was just another instance where the president looked lost. Some pointed out that Biden's cognitive abilities were declining. But supporters said they feel much safer with Biden in charge than Trump.
Like past US presidents, Biden has also been fighting health conditions behind closed doors. In July, the 79-year-old recovered from COVID-19. Dr Kevin O'Connor, Biden's physician for more than a decade, acknowledged that the president had several localized, non-melanoma skin cancers removed with Mohs surgery before he started his presidency. The physician, as per the November 2021 memo, was following the increasing frequency and severity of throat clearing and coughing while Biden makes speeches, and the fact that his ambulatory gait is perceptibly stiffer and less fluid than it was a year or so ago. The memo also highlighted that Biden has atrial fibrillation – this is a condition in which the heart beats a bit abnormally.
In April, a video of Biden doing an "invisible handshake" after ending a speech at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro went viral. He continued to roam around the podium looking confused.
Political commentators and fellow Americans agree that they are raising legitimate questions because there is so much at stake in any administration. It is very important for any president of the United States to be at the top of his or her game in order to guide the nation through crises. As such, it makes sense for a simple cognitive or neuro-psychiatric assessment to be part of a routine presidential physical, irrespective of age, and especially for those over the age of 75.
