Biden takes tumble during bike ride in Delaware
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REHOBOTH BEACH (Delaware) • President Joe Biden said he was fine after briefly falling off his bicycle while coming to a stop to meet onlookers after a morning ride near his Delaware beach home.
"I'm OK," Mr Biden said after the tumble at Rehoboth Beach on Saturday, which was witnessed by reporters and the small crowd gathered at the end of his ride.
A White House official said the President was fine, did not require medical attention and looked forward to spending the rest of the day with his family.
The 79-year-old President, flanked by Secret Service agents providing security, was approaching the group when his foot got caught in a pedal cage and he landed on the ground. After answering questions about tariffs on Chinese goods and gun control legislation, he got back on his bike and finished the ride.
Some seven hours later, Mr Biden sought to convey that he was none the worse for wear. When a reporter shouted a question about how he was feeling, the President hopped up and down on both feet, smiled and pumped his fists while leaving St Edmond's church after attending an afternoon mass.
Mr Biden often takes bike rides during visits to his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, where he was spending the weekend.
On Friday, he and the first lady, Dr Jill Biden, celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary. Mr Biden will stay in Delaware until today for a long weekend that includes the Juneteenth public holiday.
He is only the latest American president to take a tumble on the public stage. In 1975, president Gerald Ford fell while descending the stairs from Air Force One during a visit to Austria. Nearly a decade later, president Ronald Reagan slipped climbing aboard his plane.
And Mr Biden himself tripped last year while boarding the presidential aircraft.
His misfortune on wheels was not without precedent, either. In 2004, president George W. Bush took a spill while mountain biking on his ranch in Crawford, Texas.
And in 2015, John Kerry, then the secretary of state, broke his leg while biking in the French Alps.
BLOOMBERG, NYTIMES
