During a three-day journey that included a stop in Ukraine, President Joe Biden stumbled once more as he ascended the stairs of Air Force One in Poland.
On the tarmac in Warsaw on Wednesday evening local time, Biden, 80, staggered as countless dignitaries bid him farewell.
Video footage shows Biden walking up more than a dozen steps of the stairs and reaching a flat platform. On the next incline, he stumbles on his second step and falls forward and catches himself.
Biden continues up the flight of stairs and upon reaching the top, turns around and pauses a moment before waving to the officials and walking inside Air Force One.
Joe Biden trips on airplane stairs leaving Warsaw
It was not clear what caused Biden to trip. The White House did not immediately comment.
Biden is returning to Washington, DC, after a whirlwind Eastern Europe trip that started with a surprise visit to Ukraine on Monday. In remarks from Kyiv and Warsaw ahead of the one-year anniversary Friday of Russia’s war on Ukraine, Biden ripped Russian President Vladimir Putin and assured that NATO will continue united.
Wednesday was not the first time Biden has stumbled on Air Force One. He fell on the jet steps at Joint Base Andrews in March 2021, two months into the start of his presidency.
‘It’s pretty windy outside, it’s very windy. I almost fell coming up the steps myself. He is doing 100% fine,’ White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at the time.
Biden is not the only American official who has tripped. On Monday, a female White House staffer fell down the Air Force One stairs as Biden arrived in Warsaw.
The US president has faced criticism back home for visiting Ukraine instead of East Palestine, Ohio, where a February 3 toxic train derailment forced about 4,000 residents to evacuate.
‘That was the biggest slap in the face,’ East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway told Fox News on Monday night.
‘That tells you right now he doesn’t care about us.
‘He can send every agency he wants to, but I found out this morning that he was in Ukraine giving millions of dollars away to people over there and not to us… on Presidents’ Day in our country, so I’m furious.’
Meanwhile, Trump Force One, the name of former President Donald Trump’s jet, trended on Twitter on Wednesday morning. Videos showed Trump, who has announced his 2024 bid for the White House, flashing a thumbs up and walking up stairs without incident to board his plane.
Trump headed to the East Palestine trail derailment site, where he reportedly planned to meet with officials and donate thousands of gallons of cleaning supplies and water.