US President Joe Biden appeared to freeze at a campaign fundraiser in Los Angeles on Saturday and had to be guided off stage by Barack Obama. 

President Biden and former President Obama stood for applause following a 45-minute interview with Jimmy Kimmel at the Peacock Theatre. Joe Biden momentarily fixated on the crowd for about 10 seconds until Mr Obama took his arm and led him offstage.

That’s a wrap on record-setting Democratic fundraiser for Joe Biden’s reelection campaign (netting $28M). Former President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden offer final waves to Peacock Theater crowd as Obama then grabs Biden’s hand to lead him offstage following 40-minute… pic.twitter.com/xbE2jf3jdz

— Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) June 16, 2024

“This isn’t normal,” a user wrote under the post on X (formerly Twitter). 

This isn’t normal pic.twitter.com/X6bX6RVBrm

— Alex Bruesewitz ???????? (@alexbruesewitz) June 16, 2024

Another called the video “hard to watch.” He wrote, “Joe [Biden] literally froze on stage for 10 seconds before Obama came to his rescue. You tell me who the de facto POTUS is.”

This video is hard to watch

Joe literally froze on stage for 10 seconds before Obama came to his rescue

You tell me who the de facto POTUS is

— Andrew Fisher (@acpandy) June 16, 2024

The incident adds to a series of moments caught on camera where President Biden appeared disoriented or confused about his surroundings. At the G7 summit in Italy recently, he seemed to wander off during a parachute exhibition, resulting in the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to guide him back for a group photo with other world leaders. 

The ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER had to step in and stop Joe Biden from wandering off today

This guy is a TOTAL EMBARRASSMENT on the world stage

He’s totally gone pic.twitter.com/BzAIVw1J1i

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) June 13, 2024

Before that, during a Juneteenth concert at the White House, Mr Biden appeared momentarily disoriented, standing straight and staring into the distance while others danced and sang. 

Pay close attention to Joe Biden’s hands in this video! pic.twitter.com/C5r0ceTNnX

— Matt Wallace (@MattWallace888) June 12, 2024

Last week, US First Lady, Dr Jill Biden, defended President Joe Biden’s age during a campaign speech in Green Bay, Wisconsin. She argued that age should not be a deciding factor in the election, saying her husband and his opponent Donald trump were “essentially the same age.” Jill Biden praised her husband as a “healthy and wise 81-year-old”, claiming that the elections were about the “character of the person leading our country” and not about age.

FILE PHOTO: Celsius Network logo and representations of cryptocurrencies are seen in this illustration
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network said Bitcoin mining is key to the company’s restructuring efforts at a U.S. bankruptcy court hearing on Monday in Manhattan.

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New Jersey-based Celsius received approval from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn to spend $3.7 million in construction costs at a new Bitcoin mining facility and $1.5 million on customs and duties on imported Bitcoin mining rigs. Patrick Nash, a lawyer for Celsius, told Glenn that Bitcoin mining could provide a way for the company, which halted other business operations like its cryptocurrency lending, to repay customers, whose assets its froze in the weeks leading up to its bankruptcy filing.

“In a world where the crypto market rebounds, the mining business has the potential to be quite valuable,” Nash said.

Celsius filed for Chapter 11 protection on July 13, listing a $1.19 billion deficit on its balance sheet. Crypto lenders’ business model came under scrutiny following a sharp crypto market sell-off spurred by the collapse of major tokens TerraUSD [UST] and LUNA in May.

Celsius’ assets shrank amid the extreme volatility, and its freezing of customer accounts was an attempt to stem losses and stabilise its business, Nash said.

Celsius hopes the mining effort will help it repair its relationship with customers, some of whom sent threats and hate mail to some company employees in the weeks before the Chapter 11 filing.

But a group of equity investors previewed a possible fight for control over the Bitcoin mining operations. Dennis Dunne, the investors’ lawyer, said they may argue that the newly mined coins should be considered property of the UK subsidiary that raised the funds for the mining operation, rather than being distributed for the benefit of all Celsius creditors.

Customers might also object to Celsius’ spending on Bitcoin mining vendors at a time when their own recovery is in doubt, the U.S. Department of Justice’s bankruptcy watchdog said.