Current:Home > ContactFACT FOCUS: Online reports falsely claim Biden suffered a ‘medical emergency’ on Air Force One -Edge Finance Strategies
FACT FOCUS: Online reports falsely claim Biden suffered a ‘medical emergency’ on Air Force One
View
Date:2025-04-15 01:48:21
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! (3)
Related
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Marching bands have been struggling with extreme heat. Here's how they're adjusting
- French judges file charges against ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy in a case linked to Libya
- Chris Hemsworth Shares Lifestyle Changes After Learning of Increased Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- How did Uruguay cut carbon emissions? The answer is blowing in the wind
- Donald Trump’s lawyers seek to halt civil fraud trial and block ruling disrupting real estate empire
- A modest Buddhist ceremony marks the anniversary of a day care center massacre in Thailand
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- Nobel Peace Prizes awarded to Iranian women 20 years apart trace tensions with the West
Ranking
- Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
- Police identify vehicle and driver allegedly involved in fatal Illinois semi-truck crash
- How to watch Austin City Limits Music Festival this weekend: Foo Fighters, Alanis Morissette, more
- Palestinians march at youth’s funeral procession after settler rampage in flashpoint West Bank town
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- German prosecutors say witness evidence so far doesn’t suggest a far-right leader was assaulted
- Britney Spears' Dad Jamie Spears Hospitalized With Bacterial Infection
- A judge rules against a Republican challenge of a congressional redistricting map in New Mexico
Recommendation
A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
Lawyers say election denier and ‘MyPillow Guy’ Mike Lindell is out of money, can’t pay legal bills
Stock market today: Global markets advance in subdued trading on US jobs worries
Security questions swirl at the Wisconsin Capitol after armed man sought governor twice in one day
Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
AI was asked to create images of Black African docs treating white kids. How'd it go?
New Mexico AG charges police officer in fatal shooting of Black man at gas station
Mortgage rates haven't been this high since 2000