Joe Biden is still having trouble navigating White House grounds almost two years into his presidency.
The aging president joked that he appreciates “how much freedom I have” after Secret Service was once again forced to redirect his path on the White House lawn, Breitbart reported.
Secret Service redirects confused Biden
A video of the concerning incident showed Biden stiffly moving off in one direction after a tree-planting ceremony honoring groundskeeper Dale Haney.
“Where are we going?” Biden asked.
“This way sir,” agents replied, turning Biden in the other direction. Biden then joked, “How about if I want to go that way?”
Over audible laughter, one of the agents said, “You can go that way if you want,” while Biden’s wife Jill said, “You can do whatever you want.”
The scene finished with an uncanny remark from Biden about feeling imprisoned: “Yeah, I notice how much freedom I have.”
Puppet?
Biden has been dogged by speculation of cognitive decline since the beginning of his presidency and even before that when his rival Donald Trump labeled him a “puppet.”
The president has appeared to validate the “puppet” label with occasional unnerving jokes about being controlled, among other unusual habits, like shaking hands with invisible people.
Biden is also known to lose his temper, has a tendency to lose his train of thought, and frequently loses his whereabouts. In a recent highly publicized incident, he called out for a deceased lawmaker.
The president, who turns 80 in November, raised more concern Sunday when he said he could “drop dead tomorrow” in a softball interview and froze up awkwardly when asked about his 2024 plans.
“Dr. Biden thinks that uh, my wife thinks that uh, that I uh, that, that we’re, that we’re doing something very important,” Biden said.