Former President Biden was seen gripping his wife Jill and a priest as he walked down a set of steps at Pope Francis‘s funeral on Saturday.
Biden, 82, clasped onto the priest’s forearm as he made a rare public appearance at the Vatican’s Saint Peter’s Square.
Wearing a pair of his favored aviator sunglasses and a black suit, he was joined by the former First Lady as they took their seats several rows behind world leaders.
Biden’s apparent struggles in traversing the steps comes as he was forced out of his re-election bid last year over concerns for his age.
The former commander-in-chief has maintained a low profile since leaving the White House in January, making only one major public speech where he criticized his successor, Donald Trump.
On Saturday, Trump took center stage as he paid his respects to the deceased pope alongside leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
At one point during the service, Biden was seen staring at the back of Trump’s head from several rows back, while the man who usurped him in the White House conversed with Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
Daily Mail’s body language expert Judi James said Biden’s appearance at the funeral was telling, as it portrayed a ‘near-obsessive desire to watch his successor in the role he still clearly believes should be his.’
Former President Biden was seen gripping his wife Jill and a priest as he walked down a set of steps at Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday
Biden, 82, clasped onto the priest’s forearm as he made a rare public appearance at the Vatican’s Saint Peter’s Square
At one point during the service, Biden was seen staring at the back of Trump’s head from several rows back, while the man who usurped him in the White House conversed with world leaders
‘Biden’s most recent speech showed no abatement of the resentment and animosity and disbelief that this man is in his job,’ James added.
It’s also of interest how Trump manages to stuff some kind of food or gum into his mouth before the procession begins. Later he did seem to be chewing but gum at a funeral seems a potential step too far in terms of tradition.
The moment came as President Trump and other world leaders dominated the coverage of Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday.
On his way to Italy earlier this week, Trump told reporters that he wasn’t even aware his predecessor was going to the funeral, and said a meeting with Biden was ‘not high on my list.’
Rumors swirled earlier in the week that Trump would only receive a ‘third-tier seat’ at the funeral, but he found himself eventually seated in the front row in a much-scrutinized seating plan.
The seating plan has been described as a ‘master plan’ in stage-managing ‘big egos’, with the US president sat 11 seats down from Zelensky – who he was pictured having an intimate conversation with before the funeral began.
In an awkward moment during the service, First Lady Melania Trump was spotted stepping in to offer her husband a word of advice as he narrowly avoided a faux pas with fellow leaders.
Trump was sat in the front row alongside (L-R) French President Emmanuel Macron, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and First Lady Melania Trump
Before the funeral began, Trump was pictured in an intimate conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Trump seen with Zelensky, Macron and United Kingdom Prime Minister Kier Starmer, with the day’s logistical plans described as a ‘master plan’ in stage-managing ‘big egos’
At one point during the three-hour Catholic mass, the congregation was invited to ‘offer each other a sign of peace’ by shaking hands with one another.
A clip from the funeral service showed Trump watching the proceedings around him without participating in the ‘Sign of Peace’ ritual before Melania came to his rescue.
Forensic lip reader Nicola Hickling told The Daily Mail that Melania instructed her husband to start shaking hands before Trump grudgingly offers his hand to the French president Emmanuel Macron.
‘You should do it,’ Melania whispered in Trump’s ear before repeating herself.
‘Oh, alright,’ the American president replied.
He then stuck out his hand to greet Estonia’s president Alar Karis and Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, before turning his attention to Macron.
The pair shared a prolonged handshake as Trump, who has been accused of breaking the event’s strict dress code, very narrowly avoided what would have been a terrible blunder.
