Fact-Check: Reports Claim Biden Suffered A ‘Medical Emergency’ On Air Force One

Wed Jul 10 2024
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WASHINGTON: False reports of President Joe Biden experiencing a “medical emergency” while returning to Delaware on Friday after a campaign stop in Wisconsin circulated widely on social media.  It was alleged that President Biden had a “medical emergency” aboard Air Force One on Friday. However, an Associated Press reporter traveling with Biden confirmed there were no signs of any medical emergency on the flight. Air Force One arrived at Delaware Air National Guard Base in New Castle, Delaware, at 7:22 p.m.

The president disembarked independently, saluted, conversed with an officer at the base of the stairs, and answered a reporter’s question before leaving the airport.

The Associated Press reporter noted that there were no indications of an emergency aboard Air Force One, and the press had full access to the plane throughout the flight from Wisconsin to Delaware. The press could move about the plane freely, and a door separating them from Biden’s top staff remained open for most of the flight.

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates labeled the claim “100% false” in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Other posts suggested that the press did not see Biden when the presidential motorcade arrived at his home and that his campaign had canceled upcoming events due to the supposed emergency.

The AP reporter who was part of Biden’s motorcade confirmed that a press pool was present when he was dropped off at his Wilmington home. Although journalists did not see him enter the house, this is routine as his home is set back from the street, and typically, only the motorcade entering the gates is visible.

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