Current:Home > ContactFACT FOCUS: Online reports falsely claim Biden suffered a ‘medical emergency’ on Air Force One -Infinite Edge Capital
FACT FOCUS: Online reports falsely claim Biden suffered a ‘medical emergency’ on Air Force One
View
Date:2025-04-16 23:36:08
False reports that President Joe Biden had a “medical emergency” while traveling back to Delaware on Friday after a campaign stop in Wisconsin, spread widely on social media on Friday. They were without merit.
Here’s a look at the facts.
___
CLAIM: President Joe Biden had a “medical emergency” aboard Air Force One on Friday.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. There were no signs of a medical emergency on the flight, according to an Associated Press reporter who was traveling with Biden. Air Force One arrived at Delaware Air National Guard Base in New Castle, Delaware, at 7:22 p.m. The president exited the plane on his own, saluted and spoke with an officer at the base of the stairs and took a question from a reporter before leaving the airport.
THE FACTS: As Biden returned to his home in Wilmington, Delaware, after a campaign stop in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday social media users falsely claimed that the president had suffered a “medical emergency” aboard Air Force One.
Air Force One landed in New Castle, Delaware, at 7:22 p.m. about the same time posts started spreading about Biden’s alleged medical emergency.
“I just received a tip from an anonymous source,” reads one X post. “My source says that Joe Biden is currently experiencing a medical emergency on Air Force One as I type this. No further details are known.”
What to know about the 2024 Election
- Democracy: American democracy has overcome big stress tests since 2020. More challenges lie ahead in 2024.
- AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.
- Read the latest: Follow AP’s complete coverage of this year’s election.
Another X post states: “Joe Biden is reportedly having a medical emergency on Air Force One right now. Press access has been removed.” It had received approximately 15,000 likes and 10,900 shares as of Saturday morning.
The posts presented no evidence that such an event occurred. Press access was not removed.
Video shows Biden walking down the steps of Air Force One in Delaware, speaking with an officer, answering a reporter’s question about whether he would watch a highly anticipated interview he did with ABC News’ George Stephanopolous and getting into a car, all without issue.
There were no signs of an emergency aboard Air Force One and the press was not denied access to the plane at any point, according to an AP reporter who was traveling on Air Force One with Biden during the flight from Wisconsin to Delaware. The reporter added that press was able to move about the plane as usual and that a door separating press from Biden’s top staff was open for most of the flight.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates called the claim “100% false” in an X post on Friday night.
Other posts claimed that the press did not see Biden when the presidential motorcade arrived at his home Friday night and that his campaign had canceled upcoming events as a result of the supposed emergency.
A press pool was in Biden’s motorcade when he was dropped off at his Wilmington home, according to the AP reporter who was traveling with the president. The reporter said journalists did not see him enter the house, but they routinely do not see him enter his Wilmington home because it is set back from the street and it is typical to only see the motorcade going through the gates leading to the house.
Biden had no public events planned for Saturday. He was scheduled to speak at a National Education Association convention on Sunday, but canceled after the union’s staff announced a strike on Friday.
“President Biden is a fierce supporter of unions and he won’t cross a picket line,” his campaign said in a statement. “The President is still planning to travel to Pennsylvania this weekend.”
___
Associated Press reporters Colleen Long and Zeke Miller contributed to this report.
___
Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.
veryGood! (58)
Related
- Mets have visions of grandeur, and a dynasty, with Juan Soto as major catalyst
- Deion Sanders adds NFL heft to coaching staff at Colorado
- Tarek El Moussa Reveals How He Went From Being an Absent Father to the Best Dad Possible
- Why a State-Led Coalition to Install More Heat Pumps Is a Big Deal for Climate Change
- Macy's says employee who allegedly hid $150 million in expenses had no major 'impact'
- Good thing, wings cost less and beer's flat: Super Bowl fans are expected to splurge
- Vets' jewelry company feels the 'Swift effect' after the singer wore diamond bracelet
- Carl Weathers' Cause Of Death Revealed
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- 'Wait Wait' for February 10, 2024: With Not My Job guest Lena Waithe
Ranking
- A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
- Carl Weathers' Cause Of Death Revealed
- Millions of clothing steamers recalled for posing a burn hazard from hot water expulsion
- 2024 Lunar New Year: See photos of Asian communities celebrating around the world
- Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
- Lena Waithe talks working at Blockbuster and crushing on Jennifer Aniston
- When the voice on the other end of the phone isn't real: FCC bans robocalls made by AI
- Police search for shooter after bystander shot inside Times Square store
Recommendation
'Most Whopper
Colman Domingo talks 'Rustin' Oscar nod and being an awards style icon: 'Isn't it crazy?'
Chip Kelly leaving UCLA football, expected to become Ohio State coordinator, per reports
Frustrated Taylor Swift fans battle ticket bots and Ticketmaster
The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
Manhunt for suspect in fatal shooting of deputy and wounding of another in Tennessee
Taylor Swift insists that college student stop tracking her private jet's movements
Millions of clothing steamers recalled for posing a burn hazard from hot water expulsion