President Joe Biden fell onstage Thursday at the Air Force Academy’s graduation ceremony and is “fine,” a White House aide said.
After Biden shook the hands of more than 900 graduates, he turned to head back to his seat and started to motion as if he were going to jog. He then appeared to trip and fell down on the stage.
Biden, 80, was helped up by two Secret Service agents and an Air Force official, and he then turned and pointed to something onstage that he might have tripped over.
Ben LaBolt, the White House communications director, retweeted a reporter who posted about the incident and said Biden was OK.
After Biden returned to his seat, he continued to talk with graduates, taking photos and selfies. As he was leaving the event, he started to jog several times.
He later boarded Air Force One to fly back to Washington. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters “he’s totally fine” and noted that Biden boarded the plane smiling.
Last year, Biden fell off his bike on a weekend trip to his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Biden’s re-election bid has faced questions about whether he is fit to seek another four-year term. A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 33% of adults in the U.S. think Biden is in good enough physical shape to serve effectively as president, while 64% said that about former President Donald Trump, who is 76 and also running for a second term in the White House.
Biden’s physician said in February that he remains “fit” to conduct his duties as president.
“President Biden remains a healthy, vigorous 80-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency,” the White House physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, said in a five-page memo.
O’Connor said his assessment was based on a “comprehensive review” of Biden’s medical history and a detailed physical examination that included specialty consultations at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
Original Article:https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-fine-fall-stage-us-air-force-academy-rcna87331
