On Sunday, President Joe Biden stumbled over a black sandbag on the stage at the Air Force Academy in Colorado, eliciting gasps of surprise from those assembled. After quickly regaining his footing, he pointed to the bag that had caused him to trip, indicating that it was what he had stumbled over. Shortly after, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed that the president was “totally fine” and boarded Air Force One for his return trip to Washington without incident.
Jill Biden has a feeble old husband named Joe Biden who created a drug addict #HunterBidenLaptop
pic.twitter.com/djGjGVtxjU— mike (@MikeOneshot) June 2, 2023
However, once back at the White House later in the evening, Biden reportedly “bumped his head on the doorframe” of Marine One when exiting the helicopter. Upon hearing this news, former President Donald Trump commented on Biden’s mishap: “You gotta be careful about that because you don’t want that even if you have to tip-toe down the ramp.” Trump referred to an infamous moment in June 2020 when he attempted to gingerly descend a ramp after delivering a commencement speech at West Point Military Academy. He jokingly warned Biden not to take such risks due to his age-related physical and cognitive challenges.
The event also sparked reactions from other public figures not closely affiliated with Republican politics. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey wrote: “Open the Democrat primaries and debates. This isn’t fair to anyone.” Meanwhile, President Biden’s allies expressed their support for him following his accident; White House communications director Ben LaBolt tweeted “He’s fine.”
Presidential physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor noted Biden’s “spinal arthritis” and stiff gait as far back as February 2021 during a routine physical examination. Further investigation revealed that Biden’s stiffness was caused by a combination of degenerative osteoarthritis of his spine as well as post-fracture limpness and mild neuropathy of his feet which occurred after he fractured his foot while playing with his dog Major in November 2020.
Age has become an increasingly pressing issue for the 80-year-old president since taking office; a Washington Post-ABC poll released this month found only 32% of people surveyed believe he has sufficient mental sharpness for presidential duties. Last September sparked yet more speculation into whether or not Biden is fit for office when he asked “Where’s Jackie?” searching for late Representative Jackie Walorski despite having publicly mourned her prior death and contacting her family regarding condolences just months before.