The Audrain Newport Concours d’Elegance & Motor Week at Fort Adams State Park drew an unannounced guest on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026: former President Joe Biden, 83. The rare public outing pulled in a crowd and set off a wave of commentary. His slow, stiff walk across the show field in Newport, R.I., has reignited concern about his health less than two years after he left the White House. Biden is living with stage 4 cancer.
Video circulating online showed Biden lifting a hand toward the crowd. He then made his way at a cautious pace, his movements stiff, to a waiting blacked-out SUV, with agents of his Secret Service detail flanking him on either side. Local reporters called out for him to say a few words; he waved and offered nothing but repeated thanks in reply. He stayed beside the vehicle for a moment, turning back to hold up a jacket embroidered with his name before an agent held the door and he eased himself slowly into the seat.
Just before stepping in, Biden turned toward former “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno, the event’s chairman, and muttered, “I don’t want to go.”
A Surprise Arrival at Fort Adams
Rumors had built all morning. A 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray in Goodwood Green, parked by itself near the entrance, got people talking, and word about its owner moved across the grounds. By midday spectators had massed outside a cordoned-off area around the two-seater, where agents kept them at a distance. The visit fell on the closing day of Audrain Motor Week at Fort Adams State Park.
Leno hosts the classic car series “Jay Leno’s Garage” and has kept ties for a number of years to the Audrain Automobile Museum in downtown Newport. It was he who had invited Biden to bring the car and show it off. A welcoming ceremony followed, at which Biden was handed 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.
Along for the day was his grandson Robert Hunter Biden II, son of the late Beau Biden and his wife, Hallie. Much of the afternoon found Biden behind the wheel with a smile, shaking hands and greeting well-wishers.
The Corvette From Wilmington
Few objects 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 of ownership have put more than 200,000 miles on the odometer. Biden has said he once pushed it to 132 mph, and his sons Beau and Hunter had the engine rebuilt for him as a Christmas gift.
Leno’s orbit already included the car and its owner. Biden brought the Corvette onto “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
Treatment for stage 4 cancer continues for Biden. In August, his son Hunter Biden said the disease had advanced, describing 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 come in New York City at the 25th anniversary commemoration of the 9/11 attacks. Every other living former president joined him there, and he looked frail and at moments pained standing at Ground Zero next to his wife, Jill Biden. The Rhode Island video brought a harsh reaction on X. “Ask him today if he remembers even BEING THERE yesterday…go ahead! Ask him!” one user wrote. Another wrote, “Funny. Someone had Biden’s name stitched on his clothing so he remembers what his name is.” Others took a gentler line, noting that he is fighting cancer.
Biden himself gave no sign of unease about the day. A message he posted to Instagram on the afternoon of Oct. 4 said he enjoyed spending the day in Newport with his grandson Hunter, his friend Jay and some incredible vehicles. He added that the green 1967 Corvette from Wilmington was looking especially nice, and he thanked Nick Schorsch and his team for hosting the event. A Facebook post from the concours organizers called it an honor to welcome him and said it was clear he is a true car enthusiast at heart.
