‘Frail’ Joe Biden Makes Appearance at Classic Car Show (Video)

Former President Joe Biden made a rare public appearance Sunday at a Rhode Island car show, where his slow, stiff movements quickly drew attention as he showed off his prized 1967 Corvette Sting Ray alongside Jay Leno.

Biden, 83, turned up at the Audrain Newport Concours d’Elegance in Newport on October 4, surprising spectators who gathered around the former president and his classic sports car.

Video from the event showed Biden waving to the crowd before moving slowly toward a waiting Secret Service vehicle. His noticeably careful gait became one of the most talked-about aspects of the appearance.

The outing came as Biden continues treatment for an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, a diagnosis his office revealed in May 2025.

Despite the renewed scrutiny over his condition, Biden appeared upbeat as he posed for photos, spoke with attendees and spent time with comedian and longtime car enthusiast Jay Leno.

Leno was among the featured personalities at the event and was seen chatting with Biden near the former president’s famous Goodwood Green Corvette.

The car ultimately received the Spirit of Audrain Award.

Organizers also presented Biden with a personalized quilted jacket bearing his name along with a lifetime membership to the Audrain Automobile Museum.

Biden held the jacket up for spectators as the crowd applauded.

“We love you!” one woman shouted as he prepared to leave.

The former president attended the event with his grandson Robert Hunter Biden II, the son of Biden’s late son Beau Biden and Hallie Biden.

For Biden, the Corvette is far more than a collector’s item.

His father gave him the 1967 Sting Ray as a wedding gift decades ago, and Biden has repeatedly described the car as one of his most treasured possessions.

The vehicle features a V8 engine and four-speed manual transmission and has appeared in numerous interviews, campaign videos and television segments over the years.

Biden’s sons Beau and Hunter later paid to have the Corvette’s engine rebuilt as a Christmas gift.

The former president has said the car brings back powerful memories of both his father and Beau, who died from brain cancer in 2015.

“I love this car. Nothing but incredible memories,” Biden said in a 2020 campaign video.

Biden and Leno also share a history with the vehicle.

During Biden’s time as vice president, he appeared on “Jay Leno’s Garage” and took the Corvette out for a high-speed drive at a Secret Service training facility in Maryland.

But Sunday’s appearance carried a different tone.

Biden has largely remained outside the political spotlight since leaving office, and every public appearance now brings fresh scrutiny of his health and mobility.

He abruptly ended his 2024 reelection campaign in July of that year after months of questions about his age, stamina and ability to serve another term.

Then-Vice President Kamala Harris replaced him as the Democratic nominee but lost the November election to Donald Trump, who returned to the White House on January 20, 2025.

Months later, Biden’s office announced that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer with bone metastasis.

Doctors assigned the cancer a Gleason score of 9, indicating an aggressive disease, though his office said it was hormone-sensitive and therefore potentially manageable with treatment.

That health battle has made Biden’s public appearances increasingly rare and closely watched.

Sunday was no exception.

While the former president came to Newport to celebrate one of his lifelong passions, the sight of the 83-year-old moving slowly through the crowd ensured that the attention was not only on the gleaming Corvette beside him.