President Joe Biden’s frequent use of the shorter ladder while boarding Air Force One has raised eyebrows, and a Secret Service agent’s position at the base of the stairs has prompted additional speculation.
Air Force One has two different ladders the president uses to board before flights. One is longer and allows the president to board to a higher point on the plane, while the other, with fewer steps, allows boarding to a lower point.
Biden began using the shorter stairs after various trips and falls last year. And recently, a Secret Service agent has remained posted at the bottom of the staircase, the New York Times reported, ostensibly to keep him from getting hurt.
Former President Donald Trump also used the shorter ladder during inclement weather. Trump was 70 years old when he was elected in 2016.
The added precautions for Biden come in the wake of special counsel Robert Hur‘s report that called Biden’s competence into question. Hur referred to the president as “an elderly man” with a “poor memory.” Hur’s office interviewed Biden last year but found he did not have a “mental state of willfulness” and, therefore, was not worth indicting over his handling of classified documents because “it would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him.”
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The White House denied Hur’s characterization of the president, saying Hur was “inaccurate and inappropriate.” Still, Biden said he was “pleased” with Hur’s decision not to bring charges against him.
Biden is now the oldest sitting president at 81. If he wins, he will be 86 at the end of his second term. So far, Biden has swept every Democratic primary of the 2024 election cycle.
