Biden says he got sandbagged during graduation ceremony

President Joe Biden quipped yesterday that he got sandbagged Thursday after he tripped and fell - but was uninjured - while onstage at the U.S. Air Force AcademyAir Force Academy graduation.

Biden had been saluting the graduates in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the front of the stage with salutes and handshakes, and turned to jog back toward his seat when he fell. He was helped up by an Air Force officer and two U.S. Secret Service members.

At the end of the ceremony, onlookers, including some members of the official delegation, watched in concern as Biden, who is the oldest U.S. president, returned to his seat to view the end of the ceremony.

The president said he got sandbagged when he arrived back at the White House on Thursday evening before pretending to jog into the residence. Two small black sandbags were onstage supporting the teleprompter used by Biden and other speakers at the graduation.

White House Communications director Ben LaBolt, White House Communications Director, tweets after the incident. He was shaking his hands while he was playing the sandbag on stage. The question of his age and fitness to serve has dominated Biden's campaign in 2024, and his missteps have become fodder for political rivals as he campaigns for a second term in 2024. He has stumbled before going up the stairs and onto Air Force One, and he has once caught up in his bike pedals while stopping to talk to reporters near his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

After the president's most recent physical exam in February, his personal doctor said Biden remains a healthy, robust 80-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency. Dr. Kevin O Connor also document the president's stiffened gait, which O Connor said was the result of spinal arthritis, a previously broken foot and neuropathy in the Biden's feet.

The first national leader to stumble in public has been Biden.

In 1975, President Gerald Ford fell down while walking off Air Force One. Bob Dole, the Republican presidential nominee at the time, fell off the stage at a campaign rally in 1996. Barack Obama tripped while walking up the stairs to a stage at a 2012 event. I was so fired up, I missed a stair, he told the crowd.

President Donald Trump's gingerly walk down a ramp at the 2020 West Point commencement also caused concerns about his health.

Donald Trump, 76, was campaigning in Iowa when he heard about Biden s stumble and alluded to his own episode.

How did he fall down? I hope he wasn t hurt, Trump said after an audience member told him about what had happened to Biden. You gotta be careful about that because you don t want that, even if you have to tiptoe down a ramp. The audience laughed as Trump told a story about what he said had been a slippery ramp at the U.S. Military Academy graduation.

If he fell, it s too bad, the former president said. We gotta just get this thing back on track, he said. That's not inspiring. The Republican presidential candidate and Florida governor, Mr. Donald Trump, were among those who turned out to show support for the GOP presidential candidate. Ron DeSantis used the opportunity to take a political shot at Biden during a campaign event in New Hampshire.

We hope and wish Joe Biden a swift recovery from any injuries he may have sustained, but we also wish the United States of America a swift recovery from the injuries it has sustained because of Joe Biden and his policies.