Joe Biden tackles Air Force One stairs with extra caution as he walks very slowly on way down after Covid diagnosis
JOE Biden gingerly walked down the stairs of Air Force One as he landed back in Delaware after testing positive for Covid-19.
The president, 81, was forced to withdraw from a campaign event in Las Vegas on Wednesday due to the health scare.
Pictures showed the doddery commander-in-chief, whose re-election bid hangs in the balance, walking slowly down the plane’s steps.
Biden, who was not wearing a mask as he walked off the plane, seemed to pause several times.
He was clutching the railing as he walked down the small steps that came out of the belly of the jumbo jet.
Biden walked down the smaller set of stairs, rather than the long staircases seen when world leaders meet their counterparts on diplomatic sprints around the globe.
He then got into a black car where he put on a face covering.
Biden headed back to the coastal town of Rehoboth Beach where he will recover.
Biden was due to speak at a UnidosUS Latino event in Nevada – one of the key battleground states the president is defending.
Janet Murguía, the CEO of UnidosUs, told the crowd the president was disappointed not to be there.
“We appreciate very much his wanting to be here – I had a great introduction reminding us of all the actions he’s taken for our community,” she said.
Biden said he was in good spirits and thanked supporters for their well wishes.
The White House revealed he’s suffering from mild symptoms and is self-isolating.
He’s suffering from a runny nose and a cough.
Biden’s health scare comes as pressure mounts from top Democrats to exit the presidential race.
At least 20 Democrats have called Biden to end his campaign.
White House's statement on Biden's health
Joe Biden has contracted Covid and has been forced off the campaign trail. Following his diagnosis, the White House revealed a statement:
“The President presented this afternoon with upper respiratory symptoms, to include rhinorrhea (runny nose) and non-productive cough, with general malaise.
“He felt okay for his first event of the day, but given that he was not feeling better, point of care testing for COVID-19 was conducted, and the results were positive for the COVID-19 virus.
“Given this, the President will be self-isolating in accordance with CDC guidance for symptomatic individuals.
“PCR confirmation testing will be pending. His symptoms remain mild, his respiratory rate is normal at 16, his temperature is normal at 97.8 and his pulse oximetry is normal at 97%.
“The President has received his first dose of Paxlovid. He will be self-isolating at his home in Rehoboth.”
Adam Schiff, a California congressman, cast serious doubt on whether Biden can defeat Trump in a rematch of the 2020 vote.
“A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November,” he wrote in a letter seen by The Los Angeles Times.
Polling suggests Biden is trailing brash tycoon Donald Trump in the crucial battleground states – less than four months from polling day.
Nevada is just one of the battlegrounds Trump has a lead of more than four percentage points if the polls are to be believed.
Trump has clear leads in Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
Those states were carried by Biden in 2020.
But, fears are mounting that Trump could expand the electoral map.
Trump is only trailing Biden by three points in Minnesota – a state that not even Ronald Reagan could win.
Minnesota has not been carried by a Republican presidential candidate since 1972.
And polls suggest Virginia – a state not carried by a GOP presidential candidate since 2004 – could also be in play come November.
The latest stats show it is a dead heat, per Real Clear Politics.
Trump’s lead comes as the Republican National Convention is being held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Trump announced his running mate JD Vance earlier this week – just days after surviving an attempted assassination while on the stump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Shooter Thomas Crooks, 20, opened fire moments after Trump started his rally.