Former President Joe Biden appeared visibly disoriented and unsteady Thursday night during an appearance at a lawyers’ gala in Chicago, just months after publicly acknowledging his battle with advanced, metastatic prostate cancer.

The 82-year-old was greeted with a standing ovation at the 100th annual awards gala of the National Bar Association, a predominantly Black legal organization. Accompanied by two of his granddaughters, Biden walked gingerly across the stage and shook hands with the event emcee before seeming confused about where to sit, according to footage and eyewitness reports.

“Biden was directed back to his place by others on the dais and slowly slouched into his chair before flashing a smile and pointing finger guns at the crowd,” the New York Post reported.

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During his 20-minute speech, Biden repeatedly stumbled over his words and accused President Donald Trump’s administration of engaging in an “existential” struggle against minority communities. He attempted to highlight his civil rights record but struggled with delivery.

“These are dark days, but you’re all here for the same reason I left that prestigious law firm to go to the defender’s office years ago,” Biden said. “It’s because our future is literally on the line and we must be unapologetic of fighting for the future.”

At one point, Biden tried to lighten the mood with a joke about his age:

“When I was elected [in 1972], I had the dubious distinction to be elected the youngest senator in American history and the oldest president in American history. It’s hell turning 40 twice.”

Since vacating the White House in January following his decision not to seek a second term, Biden has largely retreated from the public eye. The Democrat Party’s hopes were handed to former Vice President Kamala Harris, who went on to lose in a historic landslide to President Donald J. Trump.

In May, Biden’s office shocked the public by disclosing that what had been described as a “small nodule” was actually Stage 4 prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.

Dr. Ronny Jackson, a Republican congressman from Texas who served as White House physician under both Presidents Obama and Trump, told the Washington Free Beacon in June that Biden’s prognosis is grim.

“This is not my area of specialty, but I have spoken to multiple urologists since this came out, and the general consensus is like, you know, it could be 12 to 18 months,” Jackson said. “Hopefully it’s longer than that... But it’s far advanced.”

Jackson also suggested Biden may have received the diagnosis well before the May announcement, raising further questions about transparency from the former president’s inner circle.

Despite his condition, Biden was presented with the C. Francis Stradford Award, the National Bar Association’s highest honor. He shared the stage with a lineup of far-left political and legal figures, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, and New York Attorney General Letitia James—many of whom have openly pursued partisan legal actions against President Trump and conservative Americans.

As Biden continues to make rare public appearances, concerns about his cognitive decline and physical health remain front and center. Thursday’s awkward performance only heightened speculation that the Democratic Party is struggling to find a coherent post-Biden path forward.