Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) revealed Friday that President Biden didn’t appear to recognize him at a small gathering in France last month, during an overseas trip in which the commander in chief fumbled around on stage with world leaders and appeared confused.
Moulton, 45, noted in a Boston Globe op-ed explaining his decision to call for the 81-year-old president to end his re-election bid that Biden is a longtime “mentor and friend” of his, and had always beamed when they crossed paths.
“More recently, I saw him in a small group at Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day,” the Massachussetts Democrat wrote. “For the first time, he didn’t seem to recognize me.”
“Of course, that can happen as anyone ages, but as I watched the disastrous debate a few weeks ago, I have to admit that what I saw in Normandy was part of a deeper problem,” Moulton explained.
The five-term congressman said he had a “crushing realization” after Biden’s June 27 debate against Donald Trump and his confusion in Normandy weeks prior that the president would be unable to defeat the Republican nominee in November.
“The president should bow out of the race,” Moulton wrote.
“The harsh reality is that all the characteristics that have made Biden an irrepressible force — the energy, the vitality, the sharp, scrappy wit — are flickering,” he added.
Biden awkwardly fumbled for a chair as other dignitaries, including French President Emmanuel Macron, stood during a poignant D-Day commemoration ceremony in France on June 6.
Elsewhere during the ceremony, cameras captured the president with his eyes closed, prompting some to claim he was dozing off, and a clip of Biden appearing lost after shaking hands with Macron went viral on social media.
The following week, Biden’s apparent mental decline “shocked” European allies during his trip to the G7 summit in Italy.
A diplomatic insider told The Sun that the president had been “losing focus” during discussions at the summit and was “the worst he has ever been.”
A senior European official later told the New York Times that Biden seemed “out of it” at points during the gathering and that the president appeared less robust physically than the last time the official had seen him the previous fall.
Earlier this month, Moulton became the third House Democrat to call on Biden to step aside.
Some 30 House Democrats have since echoed Moulton’s concerns, demanding that the octogenarian president no longer seek re-election.
Former President Obama, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have all privately raised concerns about Biden’s ability to beat Trump, according to reports this week.
The president has publicly vowed to stay in the race on several occasions since his disastrous debate against Trump.
