President Joe Biden fell on stage during Thursday’s graduation from the US Air Force Academy and is “doing fine,” a White House aide said.
After Biden shook hands with more than 900 graduates, the president turned to return to his seat and started moving as if he was going for a jog. He then appeared to trip and fell onto the stage.
Biden, 80, was helped by two US Secret Service agents and an Air Force official, then turned around and pointed to something on stage that he might have tripped over.
White House communications director Ben LaBolt retweeted a reporter who published an article about the incident and said Biden was fine.
After Biden returned to his seat, he continued talking with the graduates, taking photos and selfies. As he left the event, he started running several times.
He then boarded Air Force One to return to Washington. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters “he was doing very well” and noted that Biden boarded the plane smiling.
Last year, Biden fell off his bicycle while spending the weekend at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Biden’s re-election bid has faced questions about whether he is fit to run for another four-year term. A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 33% of adults in the United States think Biden is physically fit enough to serve effectively as president, while 64% said former President Donald Trump, who is 76 and is also running for a second term in the White House.
The president’s doctor, however, said in February that Biden remains “fit” to serve as president.
“President Biden remains a healthy, vigorous 80-year-old man who is fit to successfully perform the duties of the presidency,” White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor said in a memo. five pages.
O’Connor said his assessment was based on a “comprehensive review” of Biden’s medical history and a detailed physical examination that included specialist consultations at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com