Current:Home > MarketsFACT FOCUS: Online reports falsely claim Biden suffered a ‘medical emergency’ on Air Force One -Aspire Money Growth
FACT FOCUS: Online reports falsely claim Biden suffered a ‘medical emergency’ on Air Force One
View
Date:2025-04-12 02:22:30
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! (1)
Related
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- Opinion: KhaDarel Hodge is perfect hero for Falcons in another odds-defying finish
- California vineyard owner says he was fined $120K for providing free housing to his employee
- Man fatally shoots his 81-year-old wife at a Connecticut nursing home
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- Devils' Jacob Markstrom makes spectacular save to beat Sabres in NHL season opener
- Retired New Jersey State Police trooper who stormed Capitol is sentenced to probation
- LeQuint Allen scores 4 TDs as Syracuse upsets No. 23 UNLV in overtime
- FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
- Regulators investigate possible braking error in over 360,000 Ford crossover SUVs
Ranking
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Michigan offense finds life with QB change, crumbles late in 27-17 loss at Washington
- Michigan offense finds life with QB change, crumbles late in 27-17 loss at Washington
- North Carolina lawmakers to vote on initial Helene relief
- Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
- Assassination attempts and new threats have reshaped how Donald Trump campaigns
- What’s next for oil and gas prices as Middle East tensions heat up?
- The Supreme Court opens its new term with election disputes in the air but not yet on the docket
Recommendation
Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
In Philadelphia, Chinatown activists rally again to stop development. This time, it’s a 76ers arena
Opinion: KhaDarel Hodge is perfect hero for Falcons in another odds-defying finish
North Carolina lawmakers to vote on initial Helene relief
North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
Barbie releases new doll for Diwali to 'celebrate the power and beauty of diversity'
'I let them choose their own path'; give kids space with sports, ex-college, NFL star says
California vineyard owner says he was fined $120K for providing free housing to his employee