Biden ‘Doing 100 Percent Fine’ After Tripping While Boarding Air Force One

President Biden was “doing fine” after falling off balance while boarding Air Force One ahead of his Friday trip to Atlanta, according to a press secretary traveling with him.

“It’s pretty windy outside,” Karine Jean-Pierre, the principal deputy press secretary, told reporters traveling with Mr. Biden to Georgia. “It’s very windy. I almost fell coming up the steps myself. He is doing 100 percent fine.”

Mr. Biden was boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland when he stumbled about midway up the stairs. He leaned down to catch himself, and appeared to fall off balance once more before landing on his left knee. He stood up, dusted off his shin, and boarded the plane.

In Atlanta, Mr. Biden was scheduled to visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and meet with Asian-American leaders following the shooting rampage at Asian massage businesses in the area earlier this week. Ms. Jean-Pierre added the president was “preparing for the trip just fine” after he tripped.

Kate Bedingfield, Mr. Biden’s communications director, said that the president did not require medical attention from staff once aboard the plane. Mr. Biden, she wrote on Twitter, “did not even require any attention from the medical team who travels with him. Nothing more than a misstep on the stairs.”

In late November, Mr. Biden, 78, suffered hairline fractures on his right foot while playing with his German shepherd, and was required to wear a walking boot while he recovered. In February, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the White House physician, said that Mr. Biden’s foot had healed.

“Both small fractures of his foot are completely healed,” Dr. O’Connor said in a statement in February after the president received follow-up X-rays. “These films were obtained while standing, so we could further assess that his ligamentous stability remains fully intact and strong. This injury has healed as expected.”

Ms. Jean-Pierre did not answer when reporters aboard Air Force One asked her if Mr. Biden’s foot caused the stumble, and the White House did not immediately return a request for additional comment on Friday.

In Atlanta, Mr. Biden exited the plane without an issue.