Joe Biden's Fall Raises Questions About the Secret Service

After Joe Biden fell over a sandbag while handing out diplomas at a U.S. Air Force Academy graduation in Colorado Springs on Thursday, questions have been asked about why the Secret Service did not remove it from his path.

The U.S. President had been greeting graduates in front of a lectern when he turned to walk back to his seat and tripped over the sandbag, which was near one of his teleprompters. He was then helped up by a nearby Air Force officer and two members of his Secret Service detail.

The fall comes just over a month after Biden announced his intention to seek re-election for a second term. At 80, he is currently the oldest serving president in U.S. history, and concerns have already been raised about his age and acuity.

The Democratic commander-in-chief made light of the fall after returning to the White House that evening. Asked by a reporter how he was feeling, he threw his arms up in the air and said: "I got sandbagged." He then mimicked tripping as he walked away.

"He's fine," Ben LaBolt, White House communications director, wrote in a tweet.

Asked about the fall at a campaign event in Iowa, Donald Trump, 76, who is seeking renomination as a Republican presidential candidate, responded: "I hope he wasn't hurt. The whole thing is crazy. You've got to be careful about that."

"The fall happened because the Secret Service left a sandbag obstructing the path he would have to take," Joyce Vance, a former U.S. Attorney in Alabama, wrote. "What's up with the Secret Service? Small errors on their part have become all too common."

"The Secret Service is most responsible for this," Ed Krassenstein, a social media personality, tweeted. "They should have made sure there wasn't anything in his way."

He added: "I would have likely tripped, you would have likely tripped and most people would have likely tripped in this situation too."

Newsweek approached the Secret Service via email for comment on Friday.

However, some demurred from blaming the Secret Service, instead pointing to Biden's advanced years.

"It's unbelievable how many people are blaming the Secret Service for Biden's fall," The Liberty Report, a Twitter-based outlet, wrote. "He's an 80-year-old who doesn't walk well."

David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to Barrack Obama, suggested that Biden's age would make such incidents more important in the minds of the electorate as the 2024 presidential election approaches.

He told Politico: "This is a liability that comes with age. Incidents like these are going to be blown up. They are going to be a greater concern than it would be if he were 20 years younger. This is a burden he is going to have to overcome."

In March, a poll by ABC News and the Washington Post found that 68 percent of 1,006 U.S. adults felt Biden was too old to run for a second term. Were he to be re-elected, he would be 86 by the time he left office.

In February, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the president's physician, said Biden "remains fit for duty, and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations."

While he noted he had a "stiffened gait" because of spinal arthritis and a prior foot fracture, O'Connor added Biden "remains a healthy, vigorous, 80-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency."

Newsweek approached the White House via email for comment on Friday.