US President Joe Biden, 81, appears to FREEZE again – before Barack Obama comes to his rescue to usher him off stage
By Harry Cole, political editor
WE need to talk about Joe Biden.
The White House has been trying to hide it for months, but here in Italy it was clear the elderly leader of the free world is not in a good way.
The annual G7 gathering for once actually achieved more than warm words, but the unprecedented $50billion (£39billion) seizure of Russian assets to aid Ukraine will not be why Puglia ’24 will be remembered.
“It’s the worst he’s ever been,” one seasoned diplomatic source whispered to me yesterday, and the whole world can see it now.
Questions about the lucidity of the most powerful man in the world have been bubbling around for years, but on the eve of the US elections they have exploded.
On the fringes of the summit, hushed discussions are taking place about Biden, 81, and his worrying lack of mental clarity.
Another insider told me that while the President had at times shown sharpness during meetings, he also appeared to display a troubling loss of “focus” and concentration.
But it was the moment that the Italian PM Giorgia Meloni put on a skydiving display for her fellow world leaders on the luxury Borgo Egnazia estate that the penny finally dropped . . .
Has the Commander in Chief gone gaga?
This gem of olive groves on the Adriatic coast, nestled in Italy’s heel, used to be most famous for Justin Timberlake’s 2012 wedding.
Now it could go down in history as the place where the West realised the game was up for Sleepy Joe.
Meloni’s photo op show of unity and military prowess was quickly overshadowed when Biden decided to turn his back on the G7 group as they clapped for each parachute jumper displaying a national flag.
He stood grinning for a few seconds before deciding to shuffle away from the powerful pack.
After taking several small and limbering steps he began to talk to someone and offered them a thumbs-up.
The other leaders stood watching the President with puzzled looks on their faces.
Emmanuel Macron, Rishi Sunak and Giorgia Meloni stared in his direction before catching each other’s eye with a knowing glance.
Quick-thinking Meloni then made a beeline for the President before tugging on Biden’s arm.
By this point the President was facing in the total opposite direction, with his back to everyone else, clearly not sticking to the script.
As if helping a confused elderly relative, Meloni gently shepherded Biden back towards the photographers, as the rest of the G7 leaders all made an obvious movement to surround the befuddled-looking Joe.
As all fixed smiles and looked towards the cameras, Biden then decided to slowly put on his shades.
The White House quickly went into full spin mode, attempting to say a viral video of the moment had been edited.
But they know the truth, and have had to stop their boss walking alone, instead flanking him with aides to try to disguise his physical frailty.
Biden’s stroppy press secretary, Andrew Bates, claimed his boss was simply congratulating a diver on the floor who was collecting his things.
He went on to blame the “desperate” media for using “an artificially narrow frame” to make Biden look bad.
When quizzed, Rishi Sunak tried to put on a brave face yesterday morning, repeating the line that the President was just “being very polite” in thanking the jumpers.
The PM claimed his key ally “just went over to kind of talk to all of them individually”.
He told me: “As far as I know, he went over to talk to some of the parachute jumpers and say thank you or hello to them.”
But the video, from whatever angle you watch it, shows a different story.
And people have eyes, and their own minds, to make up.