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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/01/us/politics/biden-fall-air-force-commencement.html
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| Version 6 | Version 7 |
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| Biden Falls Onstage at Air Force Commencement | Biden Falls Onstage at Air Force Commencement |
| (21 days later) | |
| President Biden tripped and fell after delivering a speech and handing out diplomas to graduates of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs on Thursday. Mr. Biden, who is 80 years old, was helped up and appeared to recover quickly. | President Biden tripped and fell after delivering a speech and handing out diplomas to graduates of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs on Thursday. Mr. Biden, who is 80 years old, was helped up and appeared to recover quickly. |
| Mr. Biden’s fall was captured on video and spread on social media. He appears to trip, fall to his knees and catch himself with his hands on the floor of the stage. He was helped up by several Air Force officials and Secret Service agents, and he walked back to his seat. | Mr. Biden’s fall was captured on video and spread on social media. He appears to trip, fall to his knees and catch himself with his hands on the floor of the stage. He was helped up by several Air Force officials and Secret Service agents, and he walked back to his seat. |
| Mr. Biden had just delivered an energetic speech to the Air Force graduates before helping to hand out the diplomas. He fell after he distributed the final diploma and was headed back to his seat. | Mr. Biden had just delivered an energetic speech to the Air Force graduates before helping to hand out the diplomas. He fell after he distributed the final diploma and was headed back to his seat. |
| “He’s fine,” Ben LaBolt, the White House communications director, said in a tweet Thursday afternoon. “There was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands.” | “He’s fine,” Ben LaBolt, the White House communications director, said in a tweet Thursday afternoon. “There was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands.” |
| Embarrassing moments are not uncommon for presidents, who spend much of their tenure in front of cameras. President Gerald Ford was repeatedly roasted by comedians for frequently tripping during his presidency. | |
| President Donald J. Trump, a day before his 74th birthday in 2020, appeared slow and unsteady as he walked down a ramp from the stage after the West Point commencement ceremony, prompting online speculation about his health. |