Ailing former President Bill Clinton stunned guests at a glitzy New York City gala with multiple obvious issues that suggested he is increasingly poor health.
The 79-year-old wore a Band Aid on his nose, visibly shook as he went to turn pages of his speech and made at least one uncomfortably-long pause during the Headstrong to Support Free Mental Health Care for Veterans event on Wednesday.
It is unclear why Clinton was sporting the Band Aid, although he has previously been treated for a pre-cancerous lesion on the same body part.
The frail former commander-in-chief spoke in a low, halting voice as he handed out an award to former Navy SEAL Frank Larkin, who was part of his own security detail.
An onlooker who was at the event told the Daily Mail: ‘It was a bit sad to watch. The room went dead silent when he spoke because he had a low voice and was speaking slowly so everyone wanted to hear what he had to say.
‘He was admirable and everyone stood up for him to clap before and after his speech.’
The Daily Mail has approached representatives for the former president for comment on his use of the band-aid.
Clinton is widely-regarded as one of the most charismatic presidents in recent history.
Bill Clinton donned a Band Air for an appearance a Manhattan gala on Wednesday, triggering health concerns
The former president shook and stumbled, sparking fears he may be on his last legs.
He charmed multiple mistresses into bed, famously had an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and was notoriously good friends with pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
But that old sparkle has now long faded. Clinton suffered a heart attack that required bypass surgery in 2004 and sparked concerns after he was photographed with a defibrillator in August.
He had been spotted alongside wife Hillary leaving the Hamptons with the device in tow.
Last year, he was discharged from the hospital on Christmas Eve after being treated for the flu.
He was hospitalized on December 23 at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC, after developing a fever.
Prior to that, he had a health scare in 2021 and was also hospitalized after a urological infection spread to his bloodstream.
A few years after leaving the White House, Clinton had a quadruple heart bypass at the Vivian and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center of Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan in 2004.
Doctors said he had a nearly 100 percent blockage in some of his arteries when he underwent surgery and had narrowly avoided having a major heart attack.
Clinton is seen here in August leaving the Hamptons with a portable defibrillator
Bill and Hillary are seen here in January of this year arriving at the US Capitol for the inauguration of Donald Trump
In 2010, he suffered discomfort in his chest and was taken to hospital in New York – the same where he had his quadruple bypass.
There, he had a stent inserted into his artery, which is a fairly common procedure.
The Clintons, and more specifically Bill, have made headlines recently after being subpoenaed by House Republicans to testify about his ties to Epstein.
They were scheduled to appear earlier this month to testify but neither appeared for their original dates requested by the committee.
A source told the Daily Mail that they were negotiating dates with Clinton attorneys, leaving the chances of testimony still possible.
In his memoir that came out last year, Bill admitted to flying on Epstein’s private jet, but claimed he had no knowledge of his crimes and said he regrets ever having met him.
A tranche of Epstein files released in January 2024 included a quote attributed to Epstein, saying: ‘Clinton likes them young.’
The former president denied doing anything illegal and has since complained that trips aboard Epstein’s private jet were not worth the ongoing reputational damage.
Clinton wrote: ‘The bottom line is, even though it allowed me to visit the work of my foundation, traveling on Epstein’s plane was not worth the years of questioning afterward. I wish I had never met him.’
