Where is my chair? Bizarre moment Jill covers her mouth as Joe suddenly bends down during the 80th anniversary D-Day speech

President Joe Biden crouched down during ceremonies commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday, awkwardly assuming the position before correcting himself as other dignitaries continued to defend his defense minister.

The strange moment came during an interlude after Biden and the French president Emmanuel Macron greeted the surviving heroes of the Normandy invasion, as a military band played somber music.

Biden, 81, then bent his knees as if preparing to sit down.

Just as he prepared to plop down, the music suddenly cut out and a loudspeaker told the assembled “distinguished guests” that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin would be speaking.

That prompted Biden to pause mid-chair while others on stage were still standing. Then he straightened up a little, as if he wanted to stand. He then lowered himself as other standing notables did the same.

Never stand when you can sit: President Joe Biden moved to take a seat just as a loudspeaker announced that his Secretary of Defense would deliver remarks. He paused for a moment, stood up slightly, and then sat down with other dignitaries. It was a strange moment during solemn ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion

Biden may have received secret stage directions from first lady Jill Biden, who was also stands next to him, and who sometimes accompanies him to the exit during his public events.

After Biden began to squat, the first lady covered her mouth and scratched the area above her upper lip. It was hard to tell if she had let him know that it wasn’t the right time to sit down yet.

Biden is attuned to the comfort of guests at major public speaking events. He regularly tells his own listeners standing in front of him to please sit down if they have one.

The unusual moment came during a day of moving encounters with some of the last members of the ‘Greatest Generation’.

Biden met with about two dozen American vets who landed in Normandy in 1944 and served in what he called a “crusade” that ultimately liberated Europe from Nazi tyranny.

First lady Jill Biden sometimes gives motion signals to the president during public events

The moment followed individual meetings with World War II veterans

Biden presented vets with specially made coins to mark the occasion

First lady Jill Biden covered her mouth and scratched under her nose as the president prepared to sit down

Just as Biden prepared to take his seat, an announcer told guests that Defense Secretary Austin would deliver remarks

Biden greeted veterans before and after the ceremony, but Emmanuel Macron stayed longer

With several thousand vets and servicemen and women in the crowd, along with dignitaries including Macron and French first lady Brigitte Macron, Biden may have put into practice an old military adage: ‘Never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie . Lie down, never lie down when you can sleep.”

The president may also have dabbed his eyes a few times during the ceremony, in honor of those who made sacrifices on the beaches of Normandy. He clenched his fist passionately after a military flyover.

The poignant ceremony, amid a time of other brutality in Europe that the president referenced in his speech, had some other light moments, such as when veterinarian Robert Gibson, 100, told Biden: ‘Don’t grow old.’

Jill Biden seemed eager to keep things moving. After the event, she led Biden off the stage. The couple left after Biden shook hands with a few more vets while holding hands. Even as Biden left, Macron stayed behind to greet more of them.

Biden’s trip to Europe – the first of two within days – is being closely watched for signs of weakness this election year, while his first presidential debate with 77-year-old Donald Trump is just weeks away.

This week, the Wall Street Journal published an investigative piece that painted a disturbing picture of a president who sometimes… misses meetings and mixes up policy details. The story quotes Republican leaders and drew criticism from Democratic senators who said their statements were not recorded.

Its publication led to new calls from some medical experts for Biden to take a cognitive test.