Trump Holds On to Melania for Dear Life While Descending AF1 Stairs
The president has said he is extra cautious on stairs to avoid tripping like his predecessor.
President Donald Trump made another careful descent of the Air Force One stairs Friday afternoon following his arrival in Palm Beach, Florida, this time clutching Melania’s hand all the way down.
Trump, 79, disembarked with the first lady, and the two then climbed into the Beast, the armored presidential vehicle. Trump is spending the weekend at Mar-a-Lago, the de facto winter White House.
Trump grips the handrail and his wife’s hand while descending Air Force One ahead of Valentine’s Day weekend. It remains to be seen whether the two have any plans together for the 14th.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
It wasn’t immediately clear what plans—if any—the two had to mark Valentine’s Day; the White House did not respond to the Daily Beast’s question about that.
As for Trump’s health, spokesperson Davis Ingle sent a recycled statement: “President Trump is the sharpest, most accessible, and energetic president in American history. While the deranged and failing Daily Beast has their lightweight, glue-sniffing ‘reporters’ push baseless conspiracy theories—President Trump spent the day meeting with military families and putting the American people first.”
Since taking office for the second time, Trump has been seen making many cautious descents of both Air Force One and Marine One, which is even less elevated.
In an interview earlier this month with former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, who appears to have missed his life as a podcaster, Trump explained that his deliberate steps are to avoid tripping as Joe Biden did in 2021, when the then-president was 78 years old.
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“I’ve got to be very careful going in,” Trump said about walking up the stairs. “Ever noticed how slowly I am these days? Nice and slowly—I’m not looking to set any records. You don’t want to go down. Could happen, could happen. But it can’t happen three times in one shot, OK?”
Another factor at play is how Trump has been seen with swelling around his ankles. In 2025, the White House announced that the president had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a condition common in seniors, which makes it difficult for blood to return to the heart from the lower extremities.
Trump takes aspirin—a higher than normal dosage—which acts as a blood thinner. This, combined with his frequent and vigorous handshaking, regularly causes bruising to the president’s hands, according to the White House.
It remains to be seen if Melania’s grip will have the same effect.
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