Joe Biden no longer uses Air Force One’s grand staircase after questions were raised about his health following several awkward tumbles.
The US President will instead almost exclusively use shorter retractable stairs to board the aircraft in the run-up to his re-election campaign in 2024.
Biden, 80, looks likely to face-off against predecessor Donald Trump, 77, in a rerun of the last election, recent primary opinion polls have suggested.
The decision taken to shorten the Commander-in-Chief’s staircase was made intentionally to ensure easier travel and minimise the chances of Biden taking any more falls.
U.S. President Joe Biden disembarks from Air Force One to board Marine One and return to the White House
Reuters
The 46th President has the option of using a 26-step staircase on wheels or a 14-step staircase which folds into Air Force One.
Biden occasionally uses the lengthier staircase when he makes grander entrances at various destinations.
It took just two months into Biden’s administration for the President to slip up when he headed to Atlanta in Georgia.
He suffered a similar tumble earlier this year when he briefly tripped up the steps during his departure from Warsaw in Poland.
U.S. President Joe Biden disembarks from Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware
Reuters
A third fall came in March when Biden stumbled as he boarded Air Force One en route to Selma, Alabama.
Concerns about Biden’s health appear to have cut through with US voters.
An NBC News poll from June revealed that 68 per cent of voters have concerns about the 46th President having the necessary mental and physical health to sit in the Oval Office.
More than half of respondents also described their concerns as “major”.
U.S. President Joe Biden walks to board Air Force One for travel to Chicago from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland
Reuters
Despite concerns about Biden’s health, the 80-year-old remains the clear frontrunner in the Democratic Party primary race.
An opinion poll by Quinnipiac University last week put Biden’s support at 70 per cent.
Robert F Kennedy Junior, the nephew of ex-President John F Kennedy, languishes behind in a distant second on just 10 per cent.
The same pollster suggested Trump was leading the crowded pack of potential Grand Old Party candidates on 54 per cent.
Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who is considered Trump’s main rival, received just 24 per cent support.
National surveys indicate a 2020 rerun remains too close to call, with Trump in touching distance of his successor in YouGov’s latest poll.
