Donald Trump has come up with a reason why he walks down the steps of Air Force One so carefully—it’s all Joe Biden’s fault.
The 79-year-old president took a swipe at his predecessor during a “surprise guest appearance” on The Dan Bongino Show, joining the former FBI deputy director as he resurrected his podcast.
Bongino earned a reputation for his willingness to share outlandish conspiracy theories before he was tapped by Trump to serve as Kash Patel’s No. 2 at the FBI. He stepped down in December after just 10 months in the job. “The podfather is back,” Bongino declared, “and I’m here to take back this movement.”
Bongino relaunched on Episode 2443 with Trump, as a special guest, talking about “a guy falling up the stairs, going into an airplane.”
Trump was referring to Biden tripping on the Air Force One steps three times on a single occasion in March 2021. Biden, who was 78 at the time, stumbled three times in the space of three seconds.
“I gotta be very careful going in,” Trump said of his own entry to Air Force One. “Ever noticed how slowly I am these days? Nice and slowly, I’m not looking to set any records. You don’t wanna go down. Could happen, could happen. But it can’t happen three times in one shot, OK?”
He said, “I don’t think you’ll ever see anything like that, but it could happen, so I’ve got to be a little bit open.”
Trump then repeated himself, saying, “You ever watch me? I come down nice and slow. I’m not looking to set any records.”
Over the past year Trump as been spotted clinging on to the banisters of Air Force One and descending the stairs at a snail pace, at the same time as his bruised hand and swollen ankles have sparked conjecture over his failing health.
On Bongino’s podcast, the president almost complimented Biden for his three falls and quick recovery in 2021, saying, “It’s probably the only thing I respected and yet it didn’t look elegant at all.”
Trump added, “I kept waiting for him to fall and he didn’t, so I would rather have other traits than that. And I didn’t even like the look of it. But I was impressed with his, uh, ability to go down the stairs like that.”
“You know, those stairs are very slippery,” Trump went on, before noting that Biden never fell over outright. “To the best of my knowledge, it didn’t happen, so I give him credit.”
Trump has mentioned his stair fears several times before, including at the U.S. Navy’s 250th anniversary celebration in Norfolk last October.
“We had a horrible, horrible president who had no clue what the hell was happening. The chances of him walking down those stairs successfully were not good,” he said. “And I have to be careful because one day I’m gonna probably fall.”
He also shared his mantra for going down stairs. “I always say, ‘Walk down the steps nice and slowly.’ You ever notice? I don’t have to bop down the stairs. ‘Walk nice and slowly,’” he said.
The aging president was filmed last July stumbling on the stairs going up to Air Force One.
During Monday’s podcast, the president also praised Bongino, saying, “Listen, you did great in the FBI. I’m very torn. I think, maybe, I’d rather have you where you are. Very few people can do what you do, and your voice is a very important one.”
Politico reported Bongino’s return peaked at around 220,000 viewers, and he plans to post new content daily.
“I want to address the grifters out there who mistakenly thought I wasn’t coming back,” he said on Monday’s livestream. “This movement’s been hijacked by a small group of dips--ts and bums and losers, who are nothing but doomers under the frame of accountability.”
He also addressed his critics as “the libs and their media pals” by stating, “Get your lips and just pucker them up and plant a big wet one on my a--.”
Bongino also took aim at alleged leakers at the FBI, saying, “You guys destroyed the place, and you tried to destroy us too. But I’m back now, and you can go f--- yourself.”
