President Joe Biden Stumbles Down Shrine Steps as He Runs Late for G7 Meeting
President Joe Biden lost his footing and stumbled down the steps of the Itsukushima Shrine as he ran late to meet with G7 leaders in Japan, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Biden arrived in Hiroshima on Thursday for the anticipated global leadership meeting.
Prior to boarding Air Force One, the Democrat president announced that the scheduled trip would be cut short so that he could get back to Washington D.C. for debt-ceiling negotiations before the June 1 default deadline.
As Republican lawmakers criticized Biden's trip amid the debt negotiations time-crunch, the president appeared overwhelmed when he arrived in Japan.
The president was behind schedule on Friday. As fellow G7 leaders waited on the president for their tour of the holy shrine to start, Biden rushed to greet Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
While he hurried down the shrine's steps, Biden tripped over himself and narrowly avoided a fall.
Luckily for Biden, PM Kishida brushed off his misstep as if the blunder never occurred.
Biden assumed his position alongside the fellow global leaders as they took in the shrine's marvelous "floating" gate.
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The first day of the G7 summit concluded with a dinner that featured the heads of state from the U.S., Japan, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, the U.K., and European Union.
Biden had other plans for the ritzy private dinner — and he cut his time at the table short, so that he could receive a debt negotiation update from Washington D.C.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre revealed that it was always the "plan" for Biden to leave the dinner early.
Despite the claim, critics blamed Biden's stumble and inability to stay for the entire dinner on his age.
Since Biden announced his campaign for a second term in the Oval Office, concerns about his age and cognitive abilities have grown.
Last month, Biden appeared to dodge questions about his age, as he joked with reporters, "I can't even say the number, it doesn't register with me."