Former President Bill Clinton sparked health concerns Wednesday after video showed him struggling to walk and nearly collapsing on camera trying to step over a small curb in New York City.
The elderly Clinton needed assistance to pull himself up from the street outside a Manhattan book event, just months after he was hospitalized for the flu.
Clinton, 78, was captured on video desperately grabbing hold of a pole to pull himself up from the street to the sidewalk outside the 92NY cultural center, where he was promoting his new political thriller “The First Gentleman.”
His left leg immediately buckled as he planted his foot on the pavement, causing him to stumble.
The 42nd president then slowly limped his way over to autograph seekers, where his wife Hillary was already signing items for fans. Despite the former president’s obvious physical difficulties, his wife didn’t appear particularly concerned by his condition — she “left him in the dust” according to one observer.
The video, posted on X, immediately drew alarm from social media users who noted Clinton’s frail appearance and unsteady gait.
“Bill can hardly walk,” conservative columnist Buzz Patterson wrote on X, sharing the clip of the incident.
“Bill Clinton ain’t looking well,” Texas Patriot tweeted.
Take a look —
Bill Clinton ain't looking good. pic.twitter.com/oFLzzewtDW
— Texas Patriot (@Texasbrn) June 11, 2025
Multiple users compared Clinton’s physical decline to that of former President Joe Biden.
“Bill Clinton is starting to stumble around like Joe Biden,” said one user, while another described the ex-commander-in-chief as looking “very Bidenlike – unsteady, sleepy.”
The troubling appearance comes less than six months after Clinton was rushed to the hospital in December for a sudden illness. Clinton was admitted to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital on a Monday after experiencing a fever and was released the following Tuesday morning on Christmas Eve.
“President Clinton was discharged earlier today after being treated for the flu,” his deputy chief of staff Angel Urena claimed at the time. “He and his family are deeply grateful for the exceptional care provided by the team at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and are touched by the kind messages and well wishes he received.”
He had reportedly experienced dehydration so badly that he required hospital care, but was described as “awake and alert” when he arrived.
In 2004, Clinton underwent quadruple heart bypass surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University after doctors discovered heart disease and arterial blockages of over 90 percent. While the procedure was described as “relatively routine,” it lasted over four hours.
A year later, in 2005, he required surgery for a collapsed lung. In 2010, he returned to the same Manhattan hospital where surgeons inserted two stents into a clogged artery during open heart surgery.
More recently, Clinton spent about a week hospitalized in California during the COVID-19 pandemic after suffering from a urinary tract infection that spread to his bloodstream.
Despite his health challenges, Clinton has held a firm grip on the levers of power within the Democratic Party machine. In the 2024 election, he went on tour for Vice President Kamala Harris and delivering remarks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Clinton has spoken at every Democratic National Convention since 1976.
Wednesday’s event was related to Clinton’s new book “The First Gentleman,” which he co-authored with James Patterson. The book is described by 92NY as “a propulsive, white-knuckle ride through the West Wing, the media, and the American psyche.” The political thriller takes place in a world where the United States has elected its first female president and her husband is put on trial for murder.