On Thursday, while speaking at the commencement ceremony for the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado, Vice President Joe Biden experienced an embarrassing fall on stage.
After giving the commencement address and shaking hands with graduates, Vice President Biden tripped and fell near the podium as he was stepping away. He was swiftly pulled back up to his feet by agents from the Secret Service and an Air Force officer. Biden continued with the rest of his day.
Once he was able to stand on his own, the president, who is 80 years old, walked away. During the rest of the ceremony, he remained standing and continued to shake people’s hands and greet them.
According to the pool reporters who were going with him, it appeared as though he tripped on a black sandbag that was being used to stabilize his teleprompter. When he stood up, he gestured back at the sandbag.
“He’s doing well. Ben LaBolt, the director of communications for the White House, tweeted that there was a sandbag on stage when the president was shaking hands as videos of the incident spread around the internet.
After the lengthy commencement, which lasted for many hours, Vice President Biden did not accept any questions as he boarded Air Force One.
According to the reporters who were flying with Vice President Biden, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also indicated that Biden is “totally fine” while she was boarding Air Force One.
When he eventually got back to the White House, reporters yelled questions about how he was doing, and Vice President Biden responded by saying, “I got sandbagged!”
He didn’t elaborate any further than that, but he did some footwork for the media before walking inside the building, so it seemed like he was trying to reassure them that he was feeling fine.
Both Joe Biden’s age and his physical condition have been brought up as issues throughout his campaign for reelection. He is the oldest incumbent president in the history of the United States, and if he were to win another term in 2024, he would finish his second term at the age of 86.
After announcing that he will run for office once more, Joe Biden was asked about his age, and he responded by saying that the voters would decide “whether or not I have it or don’t have it.”
“I respect them for taking a critical look at it; if it were me, I’d take a critical look at it, too. Before making my decision to go for a run, I gave it a lot of thought, and now I’m feeling good about it. In April, he shared his feelings about the situation with Mary Bruce, the Chief White House Correspondent for The Star-Bulletin. “I feel excited about the prospects,” she reported that he said.
During a campaign stop in Iowa, former President Donald Trump, who like Biden would be in his 80s if he were elected, reacted when he heard of the vice president’s fall.
I really hope he isn’t wounded. “The whole thing is crazy… even if you have to tiptoe down the ramp,” he remarked, poking light at his own experience at the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2020 when his cautious descent down a ramp brought him up to similar criticism about his age. At that time, his cautious descent down a ramp left him up to similar criticism about his age.
Where exactly are you, the Air Force Academy? That’s not very motivational,” Trump continued.
During his address to the graduates, Biden praised their accomplishments to this point while also outlining the difficulties that lie ahead.
“We have the finest military in the history of the world,” he stated. “We have the finest military in the history of the world.” “And you certainly deserve it. The time has come to have a party in honor of today. It is an honor for me to be present as your commander-in-chief as you prepare to assume the responsibilities of serving and protecting our nation.
“In the years to come, you’ll have even more asked of you,” he continued. “I’m not kidding.” You will be given more duties, and the challenges you face will be significantly bigger than everything else you have encountered up until this point.
