President Joe Biden once again appeared to stumble while boarding Air Force One – a scene witnessed by the international press on several occasions since he entered the White House in 2021.
The president was preparing to leave the Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport in Finland, following a meeting with leaders of Nordic countries during a two-day NATO summit hosted by Lithuania.
Video footage shared on social media shows how the president missed a step while walking up the stairs to board the plane. Biden narrowly avoided falling over this time, and upon reaching the top of the stairs, he turned to look down at those remaining on the tarmac and waved.
The video was quickly reshared by the Republican National Committee (RNC) Research account, which frequently shares video clips of both the president and vice president making mistakes.
“Biden stumbles a bit as he boards Air Force One — using the smaller stairs — en route to the United States. He took no questions,” the RNC Research account said in a post accompanying the clip.
Compared to some recent incidents involving the president falling over, however, the clip seemed somewhat unremarkable.
Notably, the president appears to have recently begun boarding Air Force One from a shorter set of stairs.
News outlets have noted that the change appears to have occurred since the president experienced a serious fall on a stage at the Air Force Academy in Colorado in June.
Despite the change, however, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed during a press conference last month that she was unaware of any specific decision made to change the stairs used by the president when boarding the plane.
Former President Trump Responds
In a statement issued by the Trump 2024 campaign, the former president slammed President Joe Biden for his decision to mobilize U.S. reserve forces in Europe, arguing that the commander in chief isn’t even capable of walking up the stairs.
“Just last week, Biden shockingly admitted that our arsenals are so badly depleted that the United States is running out of ammunition. Now, we see the ranks are growing so think that reserve troops are being forced to support Biden’s calamitous policy in Europe, while our own border remain undefended,” Trump wrote.
“Joe Biden can’t even walk up the steps of Air Force one without tripping. The last thing this incompetent administration should be doing is pushing us further toward World War Three.”
Biden stumbles a bit as he boards Air Force One — using the smaller stairs — en route to the United States. He took no questions. pic.twitter.com/UxCA75kdQP
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 13, 2023
Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
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