US president Joe Biden tripped and fell during the US Air Force Academy graduation ceremony on Thursday in Colorado.
Biden, 80, fell after finishing giving out diplomas. He had been standing for about an hour and a half to shake hands with each of the 921 graduates.
Secret service agents and officials at the academy however immediately helped him to get back on his feet. He was then seen walking back to his seat effortlessly without any help and jogging back to his motorcade after the ceremony, smiling and looking totally okay. The president did not respond to queries about the incident as he was leaving from the ceremony, an hour later.
White House Communications director confirmed that he is fine and Biden’s doctor also said he is fit to serve in office. An examination on him indicated that the fall was a result of “wear and tear” changes on his spine. The president joked about the incident saying he was ‘sandbagged’.
Florida Governor Ron De Santis wished Biden a swift recovery from any injuries he might have sustained while immediate former Us president Donald Trump hoped he wasn’t hurt and told him to be careful.
It’s not his first accident in public, for there were previous stumbles from falling from a bike ride last year in Delaware and slipping on the stairs as he boarded Air Force One. He is also not the first commander-in-chief to have a trip on public. President Obama, tripped walking up stairs at a 2012 event, while President Gerald Ford fell down the stairs of Air Force One in 1975.
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In his speech, the nation’s oldest president, told the cadets that they have a lot to deal with as they are entering a rapidly changing world with global challenges from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to strategic competition with China.