White House communications director Ben LaBolt said in a statement that “there was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands”
President Joe Biden fell on stage shortly after delivering a commencement address at the United States Air Force Academy on Thursday. Per a White House pool report, the president, who is 80, “fell down on stage after handing out the last diploma to the Air Force cadets.”
“He appeared to slip and fall going down on his knees,” the pool report detailed, adding: “He was helped up by Air Force officials. POTUS appears to be ok and continued to stand until the ceremony ended a few minutes later.”
A follow-up pool report clarified that the president had been walking back to his seat after delivering his address, when he fell. “He appeared to have tripped on a black sandbag on the stage. When he fell, pointed to the black sandbag suggesting that’s what he tripped on,” the pool report detailed.
Reached for comment, the White House directed PEOPLE to a statement from communications director Ben LaBolt, who echoed the pool report on Twitter. “He’s fine,” LaBolt wrote. “There was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands.”
Axios reporter Alex Thompson took to Twitter to share that some sources have privately worried about Biden falling or tripping in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential race.
“Some top Democrats have privately been saying for months that they’re nervous about Biden tripping again on the trail. Today he did,” Thompson wrote.
