Fact Check

Did Biden Fall Out of Air Force One as He Disembarked?

The president reportedly had just arrived in Poland.

Published Feb 22, 2023

 (The White House/Flickr)
Image Via The White House/Flickr
Claim:
A video authentically shows U.S. President Joe Biden tumbling down airplane stairs as he disembarked from Air Force One on a trip to Poland in February 2023.

As U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in Warsaw, Poland, on Feb. 20, 2023, ahead of a surprise visit to Ukraine, a video of someone tumbling down the stairs of his official airplane went viral. The video showed a group of people disembarking from Air Force One, until one of them appears to stumble and fall to the bottom of the stairs onto the tarmac.

Sharing the clip, a conservative columnist Benny Johnson asked, "Did Joe Biden fall down the stairs of Air Force One AGAIN when landing for his Ukraine visit?!" 

The individual who fell is not Biden — we're not sure who it is. We reached out to the White House, and an official confirmed he didn't fall. 

Indeed, clips from Sky News and ABC News show Biden disembarking on his own on the stairs, without any signs of falling and stumbling. 

From there, Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine, to reiterate U.S. support for the country against the Russian invasion. He met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and walked around the city as sirens blared. In a speech in Poland on Feb. 21, 2023, after the trip to Ukraine, he made the case that Russia's war in Ukraine had been a failure, and that the U.S. "will not waver" in its support for Ukraine.

Given that the White House and independent media footage has confirmed Biden safely disembarked the airplane, we rate this claim as "False."
 

Sources

"Biden in Poland: US, Allies 'will Never Waver' in Ukraine." AP NEWS, 21 Feb. 2023, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-biden-kyiv-politics-united-states-government-5dc78c468ca866733ab7dff8651d8535. Accessed 22 Feb. 2023.

Interview with White House Official. Email, 22 Feb. 2023.

Pres. Biden Arrives in Warsaw, Poland, to Meet with NATO Allies after Surprise Stop in Ukraine. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MJpPhz3ivD4. Accessed 22 Feb. 2023.

Twitter, https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1627923574635008001. Accessed 22 Feb. 2023.

Nur Nasreen Ibrahim is a reporter with experience working in television, international news coverage, fact checking, and creative writing.