Trump responds to Biden’s fall on stage: ‘Well, I hope he wasn’t hurt’
Former President Trump appeared to commiserate with President Biden over his fall at Thursday’s Air Force Academy commencement, recalling his unsteady walk down a “slippery” ramp at the West Point commencement in 2020.
“Well, I hope he wasn’t hurt,” Trump said during one of several appearances in Iowa on Thursday, after a member of the crowd informed him of the incident to a chorus of cheers.
“You gotta be careful about that because you don’t want that, even if you have to tiptoe down the ramp,” he added.
Trump faced scrutiny over his tentative walk down a ramp at the close of commencement exercises at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in June 2020.
“That was the best speech I think I’ve ever made, and it was pouring rain and it was horrible and cold and windy,” the former president said Thursday. “And they have a ramp that was pure like an ice-skating rink, and it was like 25 feet long.”
“I’m talking to the general,” he continued. “He has boots on, you know big combat boots and their rubber soles. I have nice, leather [shoes], and I say, ‘You know what general, get ready. If I grab you, you just get ready cause I have this stupid ramp that somebody put up.’”
He added that he “tiptoed down” and news coverage of his speech “suffered for that.”
“They never covered my speech,” the former president decried.
Trump claimed after the 2020 event that the ramp was “very slippery,” although The Washington Post reported at the time that it was sunny and clear-skied.
Biden fell on stage after congratulating the last graduate from the Air Force Academy on Thursday. The 80-year-old president, who has been plagued by questions about his age and fitness for office amid his reelection bid, was helped up by Air Force officials.
The White House said he was uninjured in the tumble, which was blamed on a sandbag on stage.
“That’s too bad,” Trump said, adding, “That’s a bad place to fall. … That’s not inspiring.”
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