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US President Joe Biden falls on stage at graduation ceremony

Joe Biden tripped and fell while exiting a stage in Colorado. The incident could start a new debate about the age of the US President.

US President Joe Biden fell on an open stage during a public appearance in the state. The 80-year-old spoke to graduates from a military academy in Colorado Springs and attended the graduation ceremony there.

When he was about to leave the stage at the end, he tripped and fell prone to the floor. Security forces helped him up. A White House official then tweeted that the President was fine and suggested that Biden had tripped over a sandbag on stage.

Biden moved into the White House in 2021 as the oldest president of all time. At the end of April, the Democrat announced that he wanted to run for a second term in next year’s presidential election. Biden will be 81 when elected in a year and a half, and he would be 86 at the end of a possible second term.

Biden’s age and suitability to run again for the presidency have long been the subject of debate, including within his own party. Republican rivals regularly use the president’s blunders and minor missteps to question his mental and physical fitness.