President Donald Trump thought he had made it through another public appearance without incident.
Then one clip from the Air Force One stairs began circulating online, and viewers couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
Many first noticed what looked like a near-stumble before another detail shifted the entire conversation.
A now-viral clip shows Trump’s slow, steady walk down the plane’s steps after landing at Ellsworth Air Force Base. He arrived to give a speech at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota on Friday.
The president’s walk looked ordinary until his left foot seemed to catch and his body wobbled slightly.
The camera caught another shocking moment that critics are dissecting.
Trump then tightened his grip on the rail as he continued walking down, watching each step cautiously
The hesitation reminded critics of Trump’s past comments about his fear of falling.
What made the clip humilating was another man who emerged from the plane after the former reality star and briskly walked down the same stairs behind him.
Once the clip was posted online, social media users wondered what was up with Trump.
President Donald Trump has arrived at Ellsworth Air Force Base. He'll now depart in Marine One to Mt. Rushmore.https://t.co/1klTSagl9A pic.twitter.com/amujJ0vEgz
— KELOLAND News (@keloland) July 4, 2026
“I just watched a clip on TV of Trump getting off the plane in South Dakota. He looked like he was having an awful hard time walking down the steps he even tripped up,” one person wrote. Another added, “He looks like he almost missed a step as he’s walking down the stairs.”
The jokes piled on as people made comparisons about Trump’s remarks about past presidents.
A third user didn’t hold back: “And you all made fun of [Joe] Biden walking down steps?! This man ate it walking up the steps and now can barely get down them.”
“[Barack] Obama would’ve skipped down those steps without holding on,” one Threads post read.
Someone else joked, “Holy sh-t he can barely walk down stairs. Get grandpa an escalator!” One more chimed in, “He looks like he’s having trouble negotiating the stairs.”
“LMFAO!! Look at him struggling to walk down a flight of stairs. He looks like death warmed over. What a pathetic piece of sh-t. Wasting millions flying in that sh-t while Americans are struggling,” tweeted someone else.
Cameras have repeatedly caught Trump moving cautiously on stairs.
In May, he gripped the Air Force One handrail from the first step while boarding in Palm Beach and leaned forward with visible caution.
In June, another clip surfaced of him taking the same slow route down the older plane’s stairs.
Weeks later, during the unveiling of the retrofitted 747, he paused midway down its staircase, pointed at something below, then kept walking.
Older footage resurfaced, too.
One widely shared video shows Barack Obama coming down the same set of airplane stairs, nearly jogging the last few steps. The comparison stings more because of something Trump himself once said.
“The way President Obama runs down the stairs of Air Force 1, hopping and bopping all the way, is so inelegant and unpresidential. Do not fall!!!” Trump wrote on social media in 2014.
Twelve years later, critics say Trump’s old comments have come back to haunt him. His predecessor is now the one many viewers see as moving more confidently. One Threads user shared a split-screen video and joked that it takes “four Obama bops” to equal one Trump descent.
View on Threads
The White House insists there is no reason for concern.
A recent medical report lists Trump at 6 feet 3, 238 pounds, and in excellent health, attributing his leg swelling to chronic venous insufficiency.
Officials have also said doctors advised him to cut back on junk foods after cameras caught him indulging at the NBA Finals.
That has not stopped online speculation. Some users claim they see signs of a foot drop gait, while others point to moments when Trump appeared to steady himself by reaching for Melania Trump or UFC president Dana White.
None of those claims has been confirmed, but they resurface whenever new video emerges.
The scrutiny came as Trump celebrated America’s 250th anniversary a day early, on July 3, at Mount Rushmore.
The president has long suggested that his face be carved on the monument as a fifth figure alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.
🚨 NOW: President Trump just posted himself carved into MOUNT RUSHMORE after flying over it in Air Force One
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 4, 2026
Cue the MELTDOWNS 🤣
And this is the GOLDEN version! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/oZP2XfHuGA
At Rushmore, he declared he’d be the greatest president for years to come, even teasing a 3D graphic of his face on the monument.
