Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni escorted US President Joe Biden back to the group of G7 leaders on Thursday (Picture: X/@RNCresearch)
US President Joe Biden had another embarrassing moment with European leaders as he appeared to wander off at the G7 summit – before being pulled by Italy’s prime minister.
Biden, 81, stood with dignitaries during a skydiving demonstration in southern Italy on Thursday. As leaders clapped for a parachuter on the ground, Biden looked in another direction and began walking that way.
He wandered for more than five seconds and flashed a thumbs up, seemingly to an officer packing up a parachute.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni walked up to Biden backwards so she still faced the group, and touched him on the right arm to gesture for him to rejoin them.
Biden immediately turned around, squinted and slowly put on his signature aviator sunglasses as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other leaders walked around behind him for a group photograph.
The 2024 General Election – Metro style
Not sure what to make of the General Election? We got you.
In your inbox
Follow the battle for No 10 with our free weekly newsletter, bringing you easy-to-read breakdowns and straightforward analysis.
What really matters to you
We focus on the issues that our readers care about. Explore parties’ policies on immigration, LGBTQ+ rights and more.
On mobile
Join us on WhatsApp for a daily selection of news and opinion as the election madness gets underway. And don’t forget to turn notifications on!
On TikTok
Fact-checking? Yes. Voters’ opinions? Yes. Dogs at polling stations? Also yes. Follow us on TikTok.
The clip was posted on social media by the Republican National Committee’s RNC Research X (formerly Twitter) account with the remark, ‘WHAT IS BIDEN DOING?’
It was re-shared by the Trump campaign, which also posted a story by The Washington Times with the headline, ‘Biden kisses Italian leader Giorgia Meloni’s hair in awkward embrace at G7’, along with the accompanying picture.
The awkward incident happened during a skydiving demonstration in southern Italy on Thursday (Picture: X/@RNCresearch)
The strange moment happened three days after Biden sparked concerns by appearing to freeze as Vice President Kamala Harris and others danced around him during a Juneteenth celebration at the White House.
And just a week ago, Biden raised eyebrows when it looked like he tried to sit on an invisible chair or poop during a ceremony honoring the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Biden’s fitness to serve a second term has repeatedly been questioned by Republicans and been a matter of concern among Democrats.
President Joe Biden flashed a thumbs up away from the group of G7 leaders after walking away from them (Picture: X/@RNCresearch)
While Biden was at G7, former president and the presumptive 2024 Republican nominee Donald Trump returned to Capitol Hill for the first time since the January 6 insurrection.
His remarks to Republican lawmakers reportedly included wondering why pop star Taylor Swift would endorse ‘this dope’ Biden.
‘He doesn’t know how to get off a stage,’ Trump apparently said.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.