Joe Biden takes hard fall at Air Force Academy commencement ceremony
President Biden fell on stage Thursday after congratulating graduating cadets at the Air Force Academy in Colorado — drawing gasps from the crowd as onlookers rushed to help the commander-in-chief to his feet.
As the president got up, he pointed at a black sandbag on the stage, indicating that he had stumbled over the object.
Biden, 80, fell as he finished shaking hands with graduates and giving out diplomas after his commencement address.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president was “totally fine” as he boarded Air Force One for his return trip to Washington.
But Biden had another accident shortly after 7 p.m. as he “bumped his head on the doorframe” of his Marine One helicopter upon arrival at the White House, according to a pool report.
Biden then told reporters “I got sandbagged” in reference to his fall.
When reporters asked how he was feeling, Biden smiled and skipped once while walking toward the executive mansion.
Biden is the oldest-ever president and is seeking a second term. He has tripped or stumbled at least four times before on the steps of Air Force One — drawing embarrassing coverage and comparisons to a high-profile 1975 incident involving then-President Gerald Ford.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, 44, wished Biden well after his tumble — before taking a shot at his leadership while on a campaign stop in New Hampshire.
“I don’t know if he sustained injuries, but I just want to say that we hope and wish Joe Biden a swift recovery from any injuries he may have sustained,” he told supporters. “But we also wish the United States of America a swift recovery from the injuries sustained because of Joe Biden and his policies.”
DeSantis’ 2024 Republican rival, former President Trump, 76, responded to Biden’s fall as he spoke to a crowd in Iowa, saying, “He actually fell down? Well, I hope he wasn’t hurt.”
Trump appeared to commiserate with Biden and recalled his own treacherous walks as commander-in-chief.
“You gotta be careful about that because you don’t want that, even if you have to tip-toe down the ramp,” said Trump, recalling a viral moment in June 2020 when he gingerly descended a ramp after delivering the commencement speech at the US Military Academy at West Point.
“That’s a bad place to fall,” Trump later said of Biden’s tumble. “That’s not inspiring.”
Other conservatives were quick to react, with Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton tweeting: “I hope President Biden is uninjured from this fall which dramatically and further illustrates his age-related cognitive and physical challenges.”
Public figures not closely affiliated with Republican politics also expressed concern, with former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey writing, “Open the Democrat primaries and debates. This isn’t fair to anyone.”
Biden allies, meanwhile, rallied around the boss.
“He’s fine,” White House communications director Ben LaBolt tweeted. “There was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands.”
The president received a relatively clean bill of health in February following his annual physical, though a skin-cancer lesion was found and presidential physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor noted Biden’s “spinal arthritis” and stiff gait.
Biden’s “gait remains stiff, but has not worsened since last year,” O’Connor wrote. “After careful analysis… the team concluded that much of his stiffness is in fact a result of degenerative (‘wear and tear’) osteoarthritic changes (or spondylosis) of his spine.”
In a November 2021 report, O’Connor wrote that he investigated Biden’s “perceptibly stiffer” gait and attributed it to “[a] combination of significant spinal arthritis, post-fracture ‘limp and compensation’ and a mild sensory peripheral neuropathy of the feet.”
Biden fractured his foot shortly after winning the 2020 election. He said it happened when he playfully tugged his then-dog Major’s tail following a shower.
Biden would be 86 if he completes a second four-year term and his age looms as a liability. A Washington Post-ABC poll released this month found that just 32% of the public believes Biden has the mental sharpness required to be president.
The president’s mental acuity came under intense scrutiny in September of last year when he asked “Where’s Jackie?” and searched for the late Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) despite publicly mourning her death and even calling her family to offer his condolences in August.
