US President Biden trips, falls during graduation ceremony

By Peter Ochieng

United States (US) president Joe Biden tripped and fell during a graduation ceremony on Thursday.

The first term US Head of State had handed out the last diploma at a graduation ceremony at the US Air Force Academy, before the unexpected happened.

He was on his way back to his seat when he tripped and fell, as clearly captured in a short video clip widely shared online.

The 80-year-old president quickly got up, as he was assisted by about three people and walked back to his seat.

As he walked back to his seat unassisted, the president seemingly pointed behind to show what he tripped over.

According to White House communications director Ben LaBolt, Biden is fine.

"There was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands," he said on Twitter.

Biden is serving as the 46th US president, after being elected in 2020.

He is running for re-election in 2024. Doctors declared him healthy for duty, after a physical examination in February, 2023.