Watch: US President Joe Biden Appears Frozen For Several Seconds At White House Event

US President Joe Biden raised eyebrows after appearing to stand motionless during an event at the White House to commemorate the Juneteenth holiday. The 81-year-old was seen on camera hardly moving as Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman, and Vice President Kamala Harris clapped and danced. The clip was captured during gospel singer Kirk Franklin’s Monday night concert.

In the video, Biden was seen standing motionless for around thirty seconds before Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, whose death in 2020 sparked countrywide protests, saw him and wrapped his arm around him. Biden then smiles as Floyd comes in to utter something, and following a brief exchange of words, they bump fists.

The president later fumbled over a few difficult-to-understand words when he spoke about Juneteenth, which is celebrated as a federal holiday the following week.

Republicans used the incident to attack Biden over alleged cognitive deterioration.

The war room account of the Donald Trump campaign tweeted on X, saying, “Lights are on but no one’s home.”

Saying this was simply another “ordinary day” in Joe Biden’s life, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) attempted to raise a point on immigration policy in a post on X. He cited the story of Rome, in which Nero performed fiddle music while it burned. “While America was being invaded, Biden did … whatever he’s doing in this video.”

The White House quickly responded to Republican claims that the president was too old to serve a second term, as per Daily Beast.

Senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates of the White House claimed in a statement that Republicans were “falsely claim[ing] someone who never stops moving in a clip ‘froze’ because they simply weren’t dancing.”

Others may be seen doing the same thing in the video, they stated.

This follows the publication of a Wall Street Journal report last week that stated scores of high-ranking officials have been made aware of Biden’s cognitive impairment in recent months.

The 81-year-old is still seen as a prominent leader by the White House, despite criticism that the bulk of the sources used to compile the Wall Street Journal piece were Republicans, as per The Standard.

Biden is the oldest president in the history of the US, having taken office at the age of 81. If he gets reelected in November, his second term will conclude when he is 86 years old.

Meanwhile, former President Trump, a probable Republican presidential contender, is only four years younger at 77.