Frail Bill Clinton, 79, Sparks Health Fears After Ex-Prez Looks Unsteady and Struggles to Speak at Rare Public Appearance
Bill Clinton sparked new health fears after a recent appearance.
May 7 2026, Published 11:21 a.m. ET
Bill Clinton has sparked new health fears after the 79-year-old looked frail and unsteady while making a rare public appearance, RadarOnline.com can report.
The former president seemed to struggle to speak during the groundbreaking of a new $18 million men's drug rehab facility in Brooklyn.
Clinton and 'Second Chances'
The former president looked frail as he spoke at the groundbreaking for a drug treatment facility.
Clinton was on hand for the groundbreaking of a 70-bed expansion of the Anchor House Men's Addiction Rehabilitation Facility.
The former president, who turns 80 in August, spoke in a hushed, gravely tone as he noted the center's personal significance, praising it as a place for addicts to get clean and start over.
"I believe in the God of second chances, and I've needed a lot of them," Clinton quipped. "So this is a place of second chances. As long as there's one person dying unnecessarily, keep going. Everybody counts, and everybody deserves a chance."
Clinton confessed the cause was crucial to him, and mentioned his brother Roger's own battle with substance abuse.
"I have a brother I’m very proud of who was in rehab four times, was in prison 14 months, and was very near death after battling it for 50 years, almost," he continued. "And just when it seemed that all of our time had gone out, he decided he wanted to live. And there were people there who wanted to help him stay alive."
Supporters Say the Aging President is 'Sad to Watch'
Concerns for the 79-year-old's health have inreased.
Concerns for Clinton's health have grown over the past few years, especially as people continually point out his especially soft-spoken voice.
Late last year he appeared disheveled and groggy at a glitzy New York City Gala. Some in the audience noted the near-octogenarian's hands seemed to shake as he turned the pages of his speech.
"It was a bit sad to watch," one attendee said. "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."
Health and Hospitalizations
Bill Clinton was seen with wife, Hillary, towing a defibrillator
Clinton has experienced several health setbacks in recent years.
He suffered a heart attack that required bypass surgery in 2004 and sparked concerns after he was photographed with a defibrillator last August. The former president had been spotted alongside wife, Hillary, 78, leaving the Hamptons with the device in tow.
The former president was hospitalized on Christmas Eve at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC, after developing a fever and was treated for the flu.
That episode came just two years after Clinton was hospitalized in 2021 with a urological infection that spread to his bloodstream, a scare that raised alarms again about his fragile health.
History of Heart Problems
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Clinton has had a history of heart problems.
A few years after leaving the White House, Clinton had a quadruple heart bypass.
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.
In 2010, he suffered discomfort in his chest and was taken to the hospital in New York, the same hospital where he had his quadruple bypass.
There, he had a stent inserted into his artery, which is a fairly common procedure.
