Biden Administration Cancels Shipyard Visit Over Physical Concerns

Recently discovered documents show that the Biden administration called off a scheduled visit to a shipyard in Philadelphia in 2023. This decision was reportedly made after officials realized President Joe Biden would have to manage numerous steps in order to board a vessel.

This raises questions about the administration’s understanding of Biden’s physical limitations, considering he is now 82 years old. It seems they were aware of his reduced stamina for navigating steps.

The information was obtained by the watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust through a Freedom of Information Act request. The documents detail the cancellation of what was supposed to be a visit to inspect the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel in July 2023.

The Philadelphia shipyard had previously been awarded a contract by the Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration for building the vessel. However, days before Biden’s visit, staff collected information about the itinerary and ultimately decided against it.

“No visit to the SNMV vessel is planned after the WH realized how many steps were involved to get on the ship,” an official noted in a communication to the Office of the Secretary of Transportation.

“Lots of steps on grating,” the message stated.

The cancellation followed an incident where Biden fell on stage at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation. Reports at the time mentioned he tripped on a sandbag but some attendees disagreed, suggesting the fall was not as trivial.

Additionally, just a week before the shipyard trip, Biden stumbled while ascending the stairs of Air Force One in Finland.

A week after the canceled visit, then-White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was questioned about Biden’s age and mental acuity. Rather than addressing the concerns directly, she shifted the focus to the President’s agenda.

“Look, we’ve been asked this question multiple times,” Jean-Pierre responded. “You have a president who – I just went through his Unity Agenda – what we’ve been able to do in a bipartisan way as it relates to issues that really matter to the American people.”

The report from Protect the Public’s Trust emphasizes the seriousness of the situation.

“The president’s staff was restricting events he couldn’t physically manage more than a year before he withdrew from the re-election race, all while criticizing anyone who suggested he wasn’t fit for the role. Most voters likely prefer a president capable of using the stairs in an emergency,” it read.

A former Biden aide quickly responded to the findings, arguing that the organization’s focus seemed misplaced, shifting attention away from other pressing issues.

“It’s ironic that an organization called ‘Protect the Public Trust’ is more concerned about how many steps the former president took than about the current president’s policies,” the aide noted.

“This group is sharing a misleading narrative based on a single email without context,” they added.

These newly surfaced emails add to the ongoing discussion about Biden’s mental sharpness, a topic acknowledged even by some media figures, including CNN’s Jake Tapper, who has adjusted his perspective following the 2024 election results.