Biden takes a spill on a morning bike ride at the beach

He fell while approaching a waiting crowd and, after popping back up, he spent several minutes talking with onlookers and then answered a few questions from reporters.

Asked about lifting tariffs on China in light of stresses on the U.S. economy, he joked, “I’m not going to talk to you on my vacation.”

He added that he plans to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping “soon” and said that he’s still determining what to do about tariffs.

He also said that he was “happy with the progress” on gun legislation before getting on his bike and riding away.

The president and the first lady, Jill Biden, are in Rehoboth Beach, where they have a vacation home, as they mark their 45th wedding anniversary.

The two were bike riding together Saturday morning on paths around Cape Henlopen State Park, but the first lady had gone ahead before the president fell.

It isn’t the first time Biden has taken a spill. He fell in December 2020 while chasing his dog Major at his home, resulting in an injury that required him to wear a medical boot for several weeks. He has also tripped while walking up the steps of Air Force One.

Critics use each instance to raise doubts about the fitness of the nation’s oldest president, although, in this case, it was an occurrence that many cyclists who clip in or have a toe cage have experienced.

“My foot got caught,” Biden said.

He fared better than John F. Kerry, who, in 2015, tumbled over a parking lot curb in the French Alps while clipped in and fractured a femur. That fall resulted in surgery and a months-long recovery that complicated the Iran nuclear negotiations, which Kerry was leading for the United States.

Biden bore no visible scrapes from his fall, and a White House official said later that “he is fine” and that “no medical attention is needed.”

“The president looks forward to spending the rest of the day with his family,” the official said.