Concern about former President Joe Biden’s health has flared again after the 83-year-old, who is living with stage 4 cancer, crossed a show field in Newport, R.I., with a slow, stiff gait less than two years after he left the White House. His unannounced appearance at the Audrain Newport Concours d’Elegance & Motor Week at Fort Adams State Park pulled a crowd and set off a wave of commentary. Show coverage dates the rare outing to Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, while one account places it on Saturday, Oct. 3.
A blacked-out SUV waited for him at the edge of the field, and video that spread online caught his slow, stiff progress toward it after he raised a hand to onlookers, an agent of his Secret Service detail flanking him on each side. Local reporters called out for him to say a few words; he waved and answered only with repeated thanks. A jacket embroidered with his name went up in his hands as he paused by the vehicle and turned back toward the crowd, and he eased himself down into the seat while an agent held the door.
Just before he stepped in, Biden turned toward the event’s chairman, former “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno, and muttered, “I don’t want to go.”
A Surprise Arrival at Fort Adams
The stop at Fort Adams State Park fell on the closing day of Audrain Motor Week. Rumors had gathered strength through the morning, fed by a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray in Goodwood Green parked alone near the entrance; word about its owner moved across the grounds. By midday, spectators had gathered outside a cordoned-off area around the two-seater, where agents kept them at a distance.
Leno hosts the classic car series “Jay Leno’s Garage” and has had ties for a number of years to the Audrain Automobile Museum in downtown Newport. He invited Biden to bring the car and show it off. At a welcoming ceremony, Biden received a lifetime museum membership numbered No. 46 — a nod to his being the 46th president — plus a quilted jacket that Myron Wood of Warwick had embroidered with his name. The Spirit of Audrain Award went to his Corvette, and the crowd applauded politely as the ceremony ended.
His grandson Robert Hunter Biden II — the son of the late Beau Biden and his wife, Hallie — came along for the day. Well-wishers got handshakes and greetings from Biden through part of the afternoon, much of which he passed smiling behind the wheel.
The Corvette From Wilmington
Few possessions in Biden’s life carry more sentiment. His father, Joe Biden Sr., who managed a major Chevrolet dealership in Delaware, gave him the convertible as a wedding gift when he married his first wife, Neilia Biden, in 1966. A 327-cubic-inch V8 and a four-speed manual transmission came with the car, which carried an original sticker price of $5,700. Nearly six decades later he still owns it, and the odometer now reads more than 200,000 miles. A top speed of 132 mph is one he has said he once reached in it, and a rebuilt engine was the Christmas gift his sons Beau and Hunter arranged for him.
Neither the car nor its owner was a stranger to Leno. The Corvette joined Biden on “Jay Leno’s Garage” in October 2016, when he was vice president; he told Leno he had driven it only three times since becoming vice president in 2009, then lit up the rear tires in a burnout. More than 4.6 million views on YouTube have gone to that episode. Automotive photographer Larry Chen met Biden at the concours and wrote on Instagram that he told the former president he is the only one to have held the office who knows how to do a burnout.
Concerns Over Biden’s Health
Biden was diagnosed with prostate cancer shortly after he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, and treatment for stage 4 cancer continues for him. His son Hunter Biden said in August that the disease had advanced, and he described it as painful and debilitating. “The cancer has spread, metastasized into his bones and further,” Hunter Biden said, adding that he wished his father would complain more about his condition.
Before Newport, his last major public appearance had been the 25th anniversary commemoration of the 9/11 attacks in New York City. Every other living former president joined him there, and he looked frail and at moments pained beside his wife, Jill Biden, at Ground Zero. Online, the Rhode Island video drew mockery aimed at his memory. “Ask him today if he remembers even BEING THERE yesterday…go ahead! Ask him!” one user wrote. “Funny. Someone had Biden’s name stitched on his clothing so he remembers what his name is,” another wrote. Others took a gentler line, noting that he is fighting cancer. Unease about the day was something Biden himself never showed. In an Instagram message posted the afternoon of Oct. 4, he wrote that he enjoyed spending the day in Newport with his grandson Hunter, his friend Jay and some incredible vehicles. The green 1967 Corvette from Wilmington, he added, was looking especially nice, and he thanked Nick Schorsch and his team for hosting the event. The concours organizers, in a Facebook post, called it an honor to welcome him and said it was clear he is a true car enthusiast at heart.
