Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) chided that President Joe Biden's onstage fall at a graduation ceremony Thursday is symbolic of the state of the country.
"Isn't it kind of just symbolic about the state of the country? You have a president who lacks energy, who's stumped, stumbling around. No leadership for the country's future. And unfortunately, you see an incident like that," DeSantis said during a radio interview. "I'm running for president because we need to change all that."
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Biden tripped on what aides later identified as a sandbag while handing out a diploma at a United States Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in Colorado Thursday. The president was quickly helped back up to his feet by Secret Service and Air Force officials.
"I got sandbagged," Biden later quipped to reporters when he returned to the White House. His team said he was uninjured after the fall.
BREAKING: Biden takes a big fall on stage just now at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation pic.twitter.com/GxkMbpyoNo
— Jake Schneider (@jacobkschneider) June 1, 2023
At age 80, Biden is already the oldest president in United States history. Should he win a second term in office, he will be 82 on inauguration day and 86 by its conclusion. DeSantis, 44, is considerably younger than both Biden and his chief GOP primary rival, former President Donald Trump, 76.
"We need an energetic executive. We need somebody that's going to get in there on day one and spit nails and really take Washington by storm. Washington, D.C., has been imposing its will on us for so long. It's about time we, the people, impose our will on it," DeSantis added.
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DeSantis announced his campaign for president via Twitter last week. Biden announced back in April. The Florida governor is swinging through South Carolina to jump-start his 2024 bid following stops in Iowa and New Hampshire earlier this week.
Biden previously took a tumble while on his bike in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, last June. There have also been multiple instances of him slipping up while walking up the stairs to Air Force One. Biden appeared fine afterward in all those cases.