COLORADO, US
President Joe Biden tripped on a sandbag and fell as he completed handing out diplomas at the US Air Force Academy commencement in Colorado on Thursday.
Biden appeared fine afterward,
walking without assistance to his seat in the stands. He was seen smiling and
jogging toward his vehicle at the ceremony’s conclusion.
The White House said the
president was fine after the fall and he later joked about it, yelling “I got
sandbagged!” to reporters after stepping off Marine One Thursday evening.
The stumble began as Biden was
jogging away from center stage, where he earlier delivered a commencement
address to the academy’s graduates. He spent more than 90 minutes handing out
diplomas and congratulating hundreds of cadets.
As he was moving toward his
seat, he tripped, falling to the ground. The president landed on his right hip
before lifting himself up on his right hand.
A group of men, including an
official with the Air Force Academy and two Secret Service agents, grasped onto
Biden’s arms to help him back to his feet.
As he got back up, Biden
pointed back toward the ground where he tripped, indicating something had
gotten in his path. Video of the moment showed sandbags placed in front of the
podium near where Biden had been standing. Earlier, the sandbags had been used
to weigh down two teleprompters.
The president returned to his
seat in the stands without assistance, and appeared in good spirits as the
ceremony concluded.
“He’s fine. There was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands,” communications director Ben LaBolt wrote on Twitter.
The president didn’t respond
to questions about the episode as he departed Colorado about an hour after he
tripped.
Biden is 80 years old, the nation’s oldest president, and is running for a second
term. He’s had previous stumbles in public, including falling to the ground
during a bike ride last year in Delaware. He’s also been seen slipping on the
stairs as he boards Air Force One.
Despite those incidents,
Biden’s doctor has said is physically fit to serve in office. In recent
physicals, Biden’s doctor has examined the president’s stiff gait, determining
it was a result of “wear and tear” changes on Biden’s spine.
The most recent physical
determined the condition was unchanged, albeit with “possibly tighter
hamstrings and calves.”
Biden’s aides say his schedule
remains busy, and point to lengthy days on foreign trips as evidence of his
continued vigor.
In his speech to graduates,
Biden did make light of his age, which his political rivals have seized upon as
evidence of an inability to serve another term.
“When I was graduating from
high school 300 years ago, I applied to the Naval Academy,” he said to laughter.
Biden told US Air Force
Academy graduates they were entering a rapidly changing world as he stressed
the critical role of US support for its allies and partners and emphasized
ongoing US assistance for Ukraine.
Biden said that the cadets
will have “a lot to deal with” as they enter service amid a changing world with
“proliferating” global challenges from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to
strategic competition with China, as well as climate change and Artificial
Intelligence.
And he stressed how America’s global
partnerships are a “sign of strength” and praised the “incredible” people of
Ukraine.
“The American people’s support
for Ukraine will not waiver. We always stand up for democracies, always,” Biden
said to applause. - CNN
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