Joe Biden tripped and fell on stage as he took part in the Air Force graduation ceremony in Colorado.
The president dropped to his knees but was quickly helped back to his feet by officials during the event at the service academy in Colorado Springs on Thursday.
Mr Biden, 80, pointed to a black sandbag on the stage seemingly blaming it for the stumble.
The president did not appear hurt by the fall and continued to stand on stage until the ceremony ended several minutes later, according to the White House pool.
“President Biden fell down on stage after handing out the last diploma to the Air Force cadets. He appeared to slip and fall going down on his knees. He was helped up by Air Force officials,” the pool report stated.
White House communications director Ben LaBolt took to Twitter to say that Mr Biden was fine.
“There was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands,” he tweeted.
He's fine. There was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands. https://t.co/jP4sJiirHh
— Ben LaBolt (@WHCommsDir) June 1, 2023
The president’s former White House chief of staff, Ronald Klain, took to Twitter to mock anyone worried about the fall.
“POTUS stood on stage and shook hands with graduates for almost 2 hours. He tripped over a sandbag as he moved to greet some guests. Calm down you nervous nellies,” he wrote.
Mr Biden, a Democrat, is running for re-election in 2024 and his doctors declared him fit and healthy after his February physical examination.
Earlier, during the commencement address, Mr Biden warned the graduates that they would enter military service in an increasingly unstable world, citing challenges from Russia and China.
And he predicted that Sweden would “soon” join NATO, without giving any details of their entry into the alliance, reported Reuters.
“It will happen, I promise you,” he said,
