President Biden took a fall while on a bike ride Saturday in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Mr. Biden, 79, tipped as he stopped to speak to a crowd along his route.
The Secret Service quickly came to the president’s aid, telling the crowd to back up. Onlookers asked if Mr. Biden was OK.
Mr. Biden stood up and spoke with the crowd.
“I’m good,” he told reporters who asked if he was OK after the fall. He said the fall was due to trouble unclipping from the bike pedals.
Mr. Biden was wearing a helmet at the time of the fall.
After speaking with the crowd, Mr. Biden remounted his bike and rode off.
“As the President said, his foot got caught on the pedal while dismounting and he is fine,” a White House official told reporters. “No medical attention is needed. The President looks forward to spending the rest of the day with his family.”
In March of last year, Mr. Biden’s stumble as he ascended the steps to Air Force One gripped headlines just months after the then-78-year-old president took office.
Political analysts have noted similar blunders and high-profile gaffes in questioning whether Mr. Biden, the oldest president to be sworn into office, can withstand the pressures of the job through a second term despite his age.
The White House insists President Biden will run in 2024, but speculation is rampant that he will pass the baton to someone on the Democratic bench.
Mr. Biden would be 82 years old at the start of a second term, and his approval numbers are stuck underwater amid high inflation, the unrelenting coronavirus, and crises such as an infant formula shortage.
“I expect Biden to run for reelection. Any hint that he won’t would be counterproductive. Why would he make himself a lame duck any sooner than he absolutely has to?” said David Yepsen, a retired Iowa political reporter for the Des Moines Register and Iowa PBS.
“But it’s not crazy talk given his age, his halting performances on television and his poor job approval ratings,” he said. “Depending on how bad the Democratic losses are in the midterms — and they could be substantial — he may well opt not to run again. Or he may be so weak that some progressive may decide to take him on.”
Mr. Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, were in Delaware to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary and Juneteenth weekend.
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
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