A hapless Donald Trump made a show of the Air Force One stairs as he stepped off the presidential jet after a two-week stay at his Mar-a-Lago bolthole.
Trump arrived in Palm Beach County early on Dec. 20 for a 15-day stay and returned to Washington, D.C., via an airbase in Maryland on Sunday evening. But as he descended the steps of AF1 to board Marine One for his onward journey, several possible tell-tale signs of weakness became apparent.
The Daily Beast has dutifully reported on the waning physical power of the 79-year-old president, with major players such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal joining the conversation later. Trump admitted to the latter that he has sought medical help for a myriad of issues.
In that unusually candid interview last week, he conceded that he visited Walter Reed Military Medical Center in mid-July after suffering “mild swelling” in his lower legs and said an ultrasound showed he has “chronic venous insufficiency,” a common ailment in older people that makes it more difficult for the blood to travel to the heart from the legs through smaller veins.
This, perhaps, contributed to Trump making the relatively simple task of walking down some steps and then in a straight line, and then up some even smaller steps, look like a gargantuan effort.
TV footage captured the charade. Trump is seen emerging from the door of the jet before gripping the handrail and appearing to let his legs drop abruptly onto the steps. He gingerly descends before pawing for a second handrail as his eyes remain fixed on the red carpet in front of him.
His hair comedically flaps in the wind as he takes on the second portion of the stairs, even slower than the first. He steps out onto the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews and takes a breather, saluting the gathered officials and waving to the press.
He then embarks on a long arc towards Marine One, where he veers wildly to the left of the door, stopping for chats along the way. The short walk, in which he also drags his right leg, takes what feels like an age. He appears jaded as he ascends the tiny staircase into the chopper, which brought him back to the White House.
Trump has made a hash of the AF1 steps plenty of times in the past and more frequently of late. In a video showing such an instance from just before Christmas, Trump appears at the aircraft door and slaps his right leg three times with his right hand before heading down the stairs cautiously.
Just before the New Year, his old foe—steps—appeared to rankle him once more. The president cautiously climbed down the steps at the main entrance of his Mar-a-Lago estate as he welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the Gaza peace plan.
Trump glanced down at the short staircase before him as he waited for Netanyahu to come forward.
Trump hasn’t been coy about his fear of stairs. In September, he admitted that he was wary of publicly stumbling and falling like his predecessor Joe Biden, who was 82 when he left the White House.
“Every day, the guy’s falling down stairs,” Trump told military generals who were gathered in Quantico. “I’m very careful. You know, when I walk downstairs—like I’m on stairs, like these stairs—I walk very slowly. Nobody has to set a record. Just try not to fall because it doesn’t work out well... Just walk nice and easy. You don’t have to set any record.”
