President Joe Biden appeared to freeze up on stage and had to be led off by Barack Obama at the conclusion of a star-studded campaign fundraiser in Los Angeles on Saturday night.
The awkward moment took place after Mr Biden and his predecessor sat for a 45-minute interview with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel at the Peacock Theater.
As the men stood for applause, Mr Biden’s gaze seemed to become fixed on the crowd for a full 10 seconds until former President Obama took his wrist and led him offstage.
“So embarrassing,” British talk commentator Piers Morgan wrote on X.
“The Democrats can’t let this go on, surely?”
The incident follows a spate of caught-on-camera moments where Mr Biden appeared dazed or confused about where he was, including when he appeared to wander off at the G7 summit in Apulia, Italy, during parachute exhibition.
In that instance, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stepped in to gently take Mr Biden’s hand and lead him back in time for a group photo with other world leaders.
The Biden campaign raised more than $US30 million ($45 million) at the event, which was attended by Hollywood luminaries like George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Barbra Streisand.
The event was also swarmed by hundreds of anti-Israel protesters, who attempted to block entry to the ritzy gala — tickets for which ranged from $US250 ($378) to $US500,000 ($756,000).
Dozens of police clad in riot gear formed a line outside the theatre to prevent the protesters’ advance, who shouted jeers at the President including “Biden, Biden you’re a liar, we demand a ceasefire”.
The group also waved Palestinian flags and chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will live forever”, a slight variation on a slogan the Anti-Defamation League says calls for the eradication of Israel.
No arrests were made, according to the LAPD.
The $US30 million haul — reportedly the most a Democratic candidate has ever raised in a single night — comes at a time when the Biden campaign is trying desperately to blunt the fundraising momentum of former President Trump.
Mr Trump raised more than $US50 million ($76 million) during an April fundraiser in Florida, and took in tens of millions more after he was found guilty last month in his historic “hush money” trial.
Mr Biden and Mr Obama, as well as First Lady Jill Biden, stirred up the crowd with a collection of common talking points.
The trip hit Mr Trump on everything from the January 6 Capitol riot, to moving the Supreme Court to the right, to threatening retaliation against his political adversaries.
Troubling polling for the Biden administration in recent weeks shows the incumbent lagging Mr Trump in key states such as Arizona, Nevada and Florida.
A particularly ominous survey from Marist College earlier this week even shows Mr Trump has carved out a small lead even in Mr Biden’s boyhood state of Pennsylvania, with a majority of registered voters saying they were better off under the former president.
In an email, the White House hit back at critics who were troubled by the Biden footage, claiming they were, “once again by pretending the President taking in an applauding crowd for a few seconds is somehow wrong”.
This article originally appeared on NY Post and was reproduced with permission
