At Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday, former President Biden was seen walking down a flight of stairs while holding his wife Jill and a priest.
During a rare public visit in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Biden, 82, held onto the priest’s sleeve.
The former First Lady joined him, dressed in a black suit and his favorite set of aviator sunglasses, and they sat down a few rows behind international leaders.
Biden’s apparent difficulties climbing the stairs coincide with the fact that he was disqualified from running for reelection last year due to age-related issues.
Since departing the White House in January, the former commander-in-chief has kept a low profile, criticizing his successor, Donald Trump, in only one significant public address.
Alongside leaders including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump took center stage on Saturday as he paid his respects to the departed pope.
During the ceremony, Biden was seen from a few seats back looking at the back of Trump’s head as the man who had supplanted him in the White House spoke to Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
The opportunity arrived on Saturday, when Pope Francis’s burial was heavily covered by President Trump and other international leaders.
Trump told reporters earlier this week while traveling to Italy that he had no idea his predecessor was attending the burial and that meeting with Biden was “not high on my list.”
Earlier in the week, there were rumors that Trump would only be given a “third-tier seat” for the funeral. However, after considerable scrutiny,
He was finally placed in the first row. In stage-managing “big egos,” the seating arrangement has been referred to as a “master plan.”
The US president is seated eleven seats away from Zelensky, with whom he was seen having a private talk before to the start of the burial.
During the event, First Lady Melania Trump was seen intervening to give her husband some guidance after he barely missed making a mistake in front of other leaders.
The crowd was asked to shake hands with one another in order to “offer each other a sign of peace” at one point during the three-hour Catholic service.
Before Melania saved him, a video from the burial service showed Trump observing the events around him without taking part in the “Sign of Peace” ceremony.
Before Trump reluctantly extends his hand to French President Emmanuel Macron, Melania persuaded her husband to begin shaking hands, according to forensic lip reader Nicola Hickling,
Who spoke to The Daily Mail. Before repeating herself, Melania whispered in Trump’s ear, “You should do it.” “Oh, okay,” the president of the United States said.
Before focusing on Macron, he extended his hand to welcome King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain and President Alar Karis of Estonia.
Trump, who has been accused of violating the event’s rigorous dress code, barely missed making a disastrous mistake as the two shook hands for a lengthy time.