While distributing diplomas at the US Air Force Academy’s graduation ceremony, he tripped over a sandbag.
After falling on Thursday, Mr. Biden, the 80-year-old president who is currently in office, was assisted back to his feet and appeared unharmed.
As he returned to the White House that evening, the president made a joke to the media, “I got sandbagged!”
He had been waiting to shake hands with each of the 921 graduating cadets for about an hour and a half.
As he was being helped up by an Air Force official and two members of his Secret Service detail, Mr. Biden was captured on camera appearing to point at one of the two sandbags used to support his teleprompter.
When the ceremony was over, he was seen jogging back to his motorcade after independently returning to his seat.
Ben LaBolt, the director of communications for the White House, posted on Twitter that there was a sandbag on the stage when the man was shaking hands. He is okay.
Although a reporter pointed out that Mr. Biden did not take questions prior to the flight, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said he had boarded the plane flashing “a big smile.”
Some have argued that Mr. Biden is too old to seek reelection as president.
According to recent polls, the majority of US citizens are worried about his advanced age. If he wins, he would begin a second term at the age of 82.
These worries might be heightened by the fact that he previously fell while riding his bicycle and while ascending the Air Force One stairs.
The incident was addressed by former president Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner to take on Mr. Biden in the 2024 presidential election, who said “the whole thing is crazy” while attending a campaign event in Iowa.
The 76-year-old Mr. Trump, who frequently makes fun of Mr. Biden’s age, said, “I hope he wasn’t hurt.” “That doesn’t inspire me,”
“You must exercise caution in this situation because you do not want that. Even if you have to tip toe down the ramp,” added Mr. Trump, seemingly alluding to his own cautious exit from a stage in 2020 that garnered media attention.
He dismissed the subsequent media inquiries about his health as fake news at the time by claiming that the ramp at the US Military Academy in West Point, New York, was slick.
During a campaign stop in New Hampshire, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, another Republican contender for the 2024 nomination, also addressed the incident: “We hope and wish Joe Biden a swift recovery from any injuries he may have sustained.
But we also hope that the United States of America will quickly recover from the harm caused by Joe Biden’s policies.
The most recent physical exam for Mr. Biden was performed in February.
At the time, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the White House physician, stated: “The President remains fit for duty, and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations.”
Dr. O’Connor continued by stating that Mr. Biden’s condition had not changed since his previous examination in November 2021, despite walking with a “stiffened gait” primarily brought on by nerve damage in his feet and wear and tear on his spine.
Mr. Biden is not the first head of state to stumble in front of the cameras.
President Barack Obama tripped walking up stairs at a 2012 event, while President Gerald Ford fell down the stairs of Air Force One in 1975.
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