President Joe Biden claimed Ireland was his home during a press briefing wrapping up his visit in Helsinki, Finland — and then stumbled as he boarded Air Force One to return to the United States.
Biden — who stopped in Helsinki to meet with Nordic leaders immediately after the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania — delivered remarks alongside Finnish President Sauli Niinistö. Niinistö appeared slightly baffled as Biden struggled to get through his prepared remarks.
WATCH:
What the ????
“The minishing of minishers… The miniseries of cola’s daughter of Ireland… You can tell I’m thinking of home. Of the daughter of Iceland…" pic.twitter.com/puzkXWul5n
— The First (@TheFirstonTV) July 13, 2023
“The ministry of cola’s the daughter of Ireland — daughter of Ireland, you can tell that’s a Freudian slip, I’m thinking of home — the daughter of Iceland,” Biden said as Niinistö watched. “And I want to say, I think we’ve had a very productive summit.”
Biden then proceeded to take questions from two pre-selected reporters in the room, after which he left the press conference without addressing any additional concerns.
Just hours later, as Biden prepared to depart Europe for the United States, he appeared to have some difficulty navigating the stairs to Air Force One – despite the fact that he was using the shorter staircase.
WATCH:
Biden stumbles a bit as he boards Air Force One — using the smaller stairs — en route to the United States. He took no questions. pic.twitter.com/UxCA75kdQP
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 13, 2023
After the first few steps, the president appeared to stumble a bit before righting himself and taking the remaining stairs at a slightly quicker pace.
Biden has reportedly been using the shorter stairs with greater frequency since his fall onstage at the Air Force Academy in Colorado — something that members of the White House Press Corps noticed last month and asked Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about.
Reporters asked whether the shorter stairs — often used by previous presidents when the weather is bad — were being used more often due to the number of times Biden has tripped on the longer stairs or his recent fall in Colorado, but Jean-Pierre deflected.
“I don’t have any decision process to walk through,” she said. “I’m sure there’s a protocol that’s used for Air Force One, I just don’t have one.”