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Inside Biden's 48 hours at the G7 where alarmed allies noticed he was 'losing focus and tired' after missing dinner, wandering off and snapping at the press
President Joe Biden had a hug and kiss for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni when he saw her at the G7 meeting but he skipped a dinner hosted by the country's President Sergio Matterella.
Biden has attended group planning sessions at the gathering of the world's biggest economies but had few one-on-one meetings with his fellow heads of state. The favored few who got individual time with him include Meloni, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Pope Francis.
He did have good moments - joining his fellow G7 leaders in wishing a happy birthday to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday, signing a weapons deal with Ukraine, and getting time with the head of the Catholic Church.
'In the Biden family we sing happy birthday,' the president told Chancellor Scholz and then led his fellow leaders in the song even though they protested they had already done so.
But outweighing the good have been moments that became PR disasters, strengthening perceptions that his health and mental capabilities have gotten worse during his three years in office - a perception the White House strongly denies.
The visuals, however, have taken root: Biden appeared to wander off during a demonstration by parachutists, he's been staged managed by the Italian prime minister, and he snapped at a reporter who asked him about the war in the Middle East because he wanted to talk about Ukraine instead.
Biden, 81, has had a rough 48 hours in Italy, battling the 80-degree weather and a brutal schedule of jammed-packed days. The president is also coming off a five-day trip to France and seeing his son Hunter convicted of three felonies tied to a 2018 handgun purchase, which has aides worried about the personal toll on the commander-in-chief.
President Joe Biden attends a flags ceremony and skydiving display during the G7 where he appeared to wander off
And it's been noticed. There are reports in the foreign media from their diplomats that the president is 'losing focus' and appearing 'tired.'
The White House has defended Biden vigorously, messaging reporters at all hours - officials both in Washington D.C. and Italy - to push back at stories questioning the president's stamina.
Sensitive to any criticism of Biden's cognitive abilities, administration officials were particularly quick to slam a video that appeared to show Biden wandering off during the parachute demonstration on Thursday.
They released a wider-view of the shot, pointing out the president was walking over to congratulate other jumpers.
White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said the critics used 'an artificially narrow frame to hide from viewers that he just saw a skydiving demonstration. He's saying congratulations to one of the divers and giving a thumbs up.'
And British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Biden was just being 'polite.'
'He went to go and shake all their hands,' the prime minister told British reporters. 'Because they had all landed. And he was being very polite. And he just went over to kind of talk to all of them individually and Giorgia [Meloni] was saying 'Don't worry, they're all coming to [us]'.'
Sunak added: 'We were meant to stand in one place rather than go and say hello individually, because everyone wanted to try and talk to their person who jumped with their flag.'
But it's not just the wandering off. Biden hasn't been seen much during his time at G7, neither by the public nor by his fellow leaders.
He skipped a major dinner on Thursday night at the castle in the harbor city of Brindisi, keeping to his recent practice of missing social time at big summits (he skipped a big dinner in Bali last year at the G20).
The Italian media reported Biden was 'tired' after a full day of events.
But administration officials tout the president's busy schedule and note he was meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday evening, while the dinner was taking place, to sign a security agreement and hold a joint press conference.
President Biden, at times, appeared stage-managed by Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
President Joe Biden joins other G7 leaders in wishing German Chancellor Olaf Schoz a happy birthday
President Biden skipped a dinner with G7 leaders on Thursday night: European Council President Charles Michel, his wife Amelie Derbaudrenghien, Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Heiko von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, his wife Britta Ernst, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife Yuko Kishida
France's President Emmanuel Macron drives a golf car with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as they attend a dinner at Swabian Castle
The leader dinner took place seaside with a wooden sailing ship lit up in the colors of the Italian flag visible.
The leaders were in a jovial mode during the event. French President Emmanuel Macron even took the wheel of his golf cart, giving British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a ride.
The White House, of course, sets the president's schedule and chooses what he will do, when he will do it and who he will meet with.
'These are very intense days filled with lots of meetings. And we try to see as many leaders as possible. It's obviously impossible to see everybody who's here. So we prioritize the best we can,' a senior administration official told reporters on Friday.
But Biden didn't hold one-on-one with an array of other leaders who were invited to the G7, including Sunak and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who just won re-election.
'Look on these trips there's always a lot of leaders and very little time. Most of the day is spent up with participation in the G7 sessions,' the senior administration official said. 'There's very little time and so we have prioritized just a few bilateral meetings.'
Biden did chat with Modi when the leaders took a family photo with the pope but only for about 30 seconds.
In contrast, Pope Francis has multiple one-on-one meetings on Friday: the pontiff met with President Biden, Zelensky, Modi, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Truduea, President Lula da Silva of Brazil, President William Ruto of Kenya, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and President Abdelmadjid Tebboune of Algeria.
Biden, himself, defended his schedule.
When asked if he was snubbing Sunak at the summit because Sunak appears to be doing badly in UK elections, the president replied 'No.'
But this year's meeting in Italy features the weakest gathering of leaders the group has seen in decades. All but Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni face tough elections, domestic crisis, or political peril - in some cases all of the above.
Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz saw their party face massive losses in last week's European Parliament elections. Trudeau and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are deeply unpopular.
And it's widely assumed Sunak is going to loss next month's election.
President Biden greets Pope Francis at the G7
Biden with Italian PM Meloni - she has been taking an active hand guiding leaders at the G7
Biden has his own political worries ahead of November's election, including low approval ratings and perceptions about his age. The White House has tried to turn his age into an argument for experience but rival Donald Trump, who turned 78 on Friday, leads in the polls and doesn't face the same questions about his advanced years.
Not helping matters for the incumbent president is that he appeared stage managed by Italian Prime Minister Meloni.
When the two met on Friday morning, as the press came into see them, Biden asked her: 'They're just taking pictures?'
She nodded.
Meloni, whose party did well in last week's elections, is one of Europe's stable leaders. She's shown she's attuned to PR and photographic elements of the hosting the G7.
During a joint event with world leaders to view a parachuting demonstration on Thursday, Meloni walked over and guided Biden, 81, after he strolled away from a photo opportunity.
Some of the leaders were still clapping as one blue-clad parachutist unhooked some of his gear, when Biden started slowly walking away toward another skydiver.
The president waived and gave a thumbs up to another military parachutist who was on the ground gathering his gear.
Meloni then walked over to the president to guide him back to the shot which would show all the leaders together, as other leaders huddled around.
Meloni also guided Biden, as well as other leaders, when she welcomed each of them individually to the luxurious site in Italy's Apulia region. She gesticulated with her arms to send them in the direction of a 'family photo' where all the leaders gathered.
The long days - his schedule runs from early morning hours to late at night - may be wearing on the president.
He has gotten testy at times.
He snapped at a reporter for failing to 'play by the rules' at his press conference Thursday when he asked about a stalled Gaza ceasefire deal instead of Ukraine.
Biden lashed out a reporter for Bloomberg News who asked him about the situation in the Middle East, even while he was touting a 10-year U.S. security commitment to Ukraine alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
'I wish you guys would play by the rules a little bit,' Biden harrumphed.
There is no such agreement by the media to stay on a certain topic at press conferences.
'I'm here to talk about a critical situation in Ukraine. You're asking me about another subject,' Biden complained. 'I'll be happy to answer in detail later.'
President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands after signing a bilateral security agreement on Thursday
French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, US President Joe Biden Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, attend a Flag ceremony, during of the G7 summit
The White House Correspondents' Association issued a rare statement in response to Biden's claim about a rule violation.
'While the White House does determine the number of reporters the president will recognize, it is up to professional journalists to decide what to ask,' said the statement.
'Any leader may prefer that reporters ask only one question or ask only about a topic that is of most interest to the president or another world leader, but a free press functions independently,' the WHCA said.
Biden's schedule is jam packed because he is only spending two days at the G7. He leaves Friday night for Los Angeles to rake in millions of dollars for his re-election campaign.
Other leaders will head out Saturday after bilateral meetings and closing news conferences.
While on the West Coast, Biden will attend a star-studded fundraiser in Los Angeles on Saturday night featuring George Clooney, Jimmy Kimmel and Julia Roberts.