- Biden boarded Air Force One on Tuesday while en route to California
- He stumbled and regained his balance as he climbed the small stairs of the plane.
President Joe Biden briefly lost his balance while boarding Air Force One on Tuesday, in the latest near-miss while boarding the presidential plane.
The incident occurred shortly after Biden greeted a military aide at the bottom of the stairs Tuesday at the start of his trip to California for a fundraiser and public event.
He took about five steps towards the stars and suddenly lost his balance. He avoided stumbling and then leaned on the handrail, which he had been using intermittently the entire way.
It happened a day after the president was spotted wearing new high-end black Hoka sneakers while returning to DC from Delaware on President’s Day.
On Tuesday, Biden, 81, wore black dress shoes with what appeared to be a rubber sole.
President Joe Biden lost and then regained his balance while boarding Air Force One using the stairs that drop from beneath Air Force One.
As has often been the case in recent months, Biden used the smaller ladder that can be dropped from under the plane, rather than the longer ladder that can pose a problem on windy days and where Biden has experienced stumbles in the past. .
On the way to California, DailyMail.com asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about a report the White House has been pushing back on in the New York Times over coverage of the man’s age and physical condition. president.
“You all ask me quite frequently about the president’s age,” Jean-Pierre said. He cited former New York Times public editor Margaret Sullivan, who wrote that “perhaps the Times and other major media outlets should look in the mirror.”
Biden regained his balance and continued moving, keeping his hand on a handrail.
The incident comes amid continued polling concerns about Biden’s age.
It came after Biden spoke about Russian and US security funding for Ukraine at the White House.
“Unfortunately, self-examination and course correction are not among the main strengths of big media,” he said, citing a recent article in his substack.
“I’ll leave it there,” Jean-Pierre concluded.
The Biden incident follows a report that the Secret Service is now placing an agent at the bottom of the ladder, after a series of missteps.
On Tuesday, a plainclothes officer could be seen standing at the bottom of the stairs as Biden walked up the stairs.
The White House has been defending itself against the president’s age after special counsel Robert Hur included language in his report explaining the decision not to charge Biden in the classified documents investigation. One passage described him as an “old man” who sometimes had a “fuzzy” memory.