Current:Home > ScamsFACT FOCUS: Online reports falsely claim Biden suffered a ‘medical emergency’ on Air Force One -GrowthInsight
FACT FOCUS: Online reports falsely claim Biden suffered a ‘medical emergency’ on Air Force One
View
Date:2025-04-16 05:53:07
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! (759)
Related
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- Hilarie Burton Accuses One Tree Hill Boss of This Creepy Behavior on Set
- 'A Guest in the House' rests on atmosphere, delivering an uncanny, wild ride
- Son stolen at birth hugs his mother for first time in 42 years after traveling from U.S. to Chile
- Man charged with murder in death of beloved Detroit-area neurosurgeon
- Six St. Louis inmates face charges stemming from abduction of jail guard
- Man who killed 3 at a Dollar General in Jacksonville used to work at a dollar store, sheriff says
- 8 U.S. Marines in Australian hospital after Osprey crash that killed 3
- NCAA hits former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh with suspension, show-cause for recruiting violations
- Retired US swimming champion's death in US Virgin Islands caused by fentanyl intoxication
Ranking
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Leon Panetta on the fate of Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin: If you cross Putin, the likelihood is you're going to die
- Amy Robach Returns to Instagram Nearly a Year After Her and T.J. Holmes' GMA3 Scandal
- Mandy Moore cheers on ex Andy Roddick and his wife Brooklyn Decker: 'So happy for him'
- JoJo Siwa reflects on Candace Cameron Bure feud: 'If I saw her, I would not say hi'
- Why collagen production matters so much – and how to increase it.
- Spring, purified, mineral or alkaline water? Is there a best, healthiest water to drink?
- 'The wrong home': South Carolina student fatally shot, killed outside neighbor's house
Recommendation
JoJo Siwa reflects on Candace Cameron Bure feud: 'If I saw her, I would not say hi'
Wisconsin Supreme Court chief justice accuses liberal majority of staging a ‘coup’
‘Gran Turismo’ takes weekend box office crown over ‘Barbie’ after all
Jessie James Decker Shares Pregnancy Reaction After Husband Eric's Vasectomy Didn't Happen
Drones warned New York City residents about storm flooding. The Spanish translation was no bueno
The Indicator Quiz: The Internet
News outlet asks court to dismiss former Mississippi governor’s defamation lawsuit
Jennifer Love Hewitt Looks Unrecognizable With New Hair Transformation