A video of President Biden almost stumbling up the steps of Air Force One Tuesday has sparked further concerns about his age, with social media casting doubt over the Democrat’s fitness and stamina.
RNC Research shared a clip of the 81-year-old struggling to make his way up to the presidential plane, and swiping at Democratic defenses of his recent gaffes, writing: “VIGOR: Biden almost trips (twice) as he boards Air Force One – despite using the short stairs to avoid tripping.”
After Biden offered a salute to military personnel standing to attention at the bottom of the new, shorter stairs to Air Force One, the Commander-in-Chief appeared to stumble as he climbed up the steps, before catching himself with the handrail.
X account Citizen Free Press also shared a clip, adding: “The man is falling apart in real-time.”
Another user quipped that eventually, Biden would have to be transferred up the stairs in a “stretcher.”
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Biden’s mental fitness has come under scrutiny following Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report on the 81-year-old’s mishandling of classified documents last week, in which Hur claimed the president had a “poor memory.”
“We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” Hur wrote in the report, as he explained Biden would not face any charges.
Biden called a press conference to address the claims and insisted his memory is “fine” but mixed up the presidents of Mexico and Egypt during comments about the humanitarian crisis raging in the Gaza Strip.
Former President and GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, has also come under scrutiny for various gaffes, and recently appeared to confuse Republican nomination rival Nikki Haley with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Paul Quirk, a political science professor at the University of British Columbia in Canada, claims Trump’s recent verbal stumbles have shown that his mental decline is “more apparent” than Biden’s.
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The academic told Newsweek: “The legitimate concern about Biden’s age is that by the end of a second term, he would be almost five years older than he is now.
“There is obvious potential for serious cognitive failure by then. And if it occurred, the real danger is that Biden would fail to recognize it, and refuse to let his vice president take over.
“From the standpoint of the campaign, Biden’s age should be less of an issue than Trump’s more apparent cognitive decline – displayed in slurred speech and gross, repeated errors in one campaign rally after another.”
Biden’s aides have insisted the President remains sharp and engaged, while Trump has claimed he purposely conflated Pelosi and Haley, and his sarcasm was willfully misinterpreted by the media.
