Yes, he hopped. Like a rabbit. A reporter shouted out to him as he left mass on Saturday afternoon at St. Edmond in downtown Rehoboth. She asked how he was doing after falling off his bike earlier that day on the Gordon’s Pond State Park bike trail. He didn’t respond but he did hop forward three times. He then waved to the crowd and got into his black SUV.

President @JoeBiden departs church Saturday evening and motions that he’s doing fine after falling over on his bike. pic.twitter.com/JwLhSmcXTP

— Nikki Schwab (@NikkiSchwab) June 18, 2022

The president and co-president are enjoying a three day weekend at their beach house in Delaware. They celebrated their wedding anniversary on Friday. On Saturday morning they rode bikes along the bike trail and when Joe Biden stopped to greet supporters and reporters, his foot became tangled on the pedal and he fell off his bike. The Secret Service helped him back up and he was not injured, at least not enough to necessitate medical care. His ego is surely bruised. I’m not going to slam the old guy for falling off the bike. Anyone at any age can do that. What I will point out is that it is the latest story that continues to build a lack of confidence in Biden’s physical ability to do his job and it also spotlights the problems in his White House’s communications office.

Here’s footage I took of President @JoeBiden falling over on his bike this morning in Rehoboth. pic.twitter.com/hCt1af0pFU

— Nikki Schwab (@NikkiSchwab) June 18, 2022

Frankly, Joe Biden’s physical frailty is something we just have to roll with. He won’t get any better. He is 79 year old and his physical and mental health is failing. Falling off his bike – blamed on getting tangled up when he tried to unclip his biking shoes out of the pedals – is the latest physical incident. Last month he fell as he climbed the stairs to Air Force One. He’s a repeat offender on that. His gait is stiff-kneed and he looks awkward when he sprints across the White House lawn, obviously trying to prove he’s fit. Jill Biden, the co-president, was also on that bike ride but she had moved ahead of the president. It’s odd that she took her eyes off him, given she is known for taking him by the arm and ushering him around. She did that on Friday morning when they left the White House for Delaware. Biden was talking to some people gathered to see them off and she walked over to him and said they had to go. Where’s that Easter Bunny when you need him?

What happened by the White House communications team was unfortunate. By unfortunate, I mean it was amateur hour. The original statement was fine.

‘As the President said, his foot got caught on the pedal while dismounting and he is fine. No medical attention is needed. The President looks forward to spending the rest of the day with his family,’ an official said.

But then a hack on Team Biden had to weigh in and show off some hyper-partisanship. They are still truly Trump-deranged in the White House, including Sleepy Joe, and this is further proof that they just can’t let things go. Remember when Trump delivered a commencement address at a military academy and then walked down a slippery ramp? He did so slowly, as anyone would, and yet he was mocked endlessly by his critics. Trump, I’ll point out, did not fall. The military officer walking next to him was also walking cautiously down the ramp.

In August of 2020, Andrew Bates (who works at the White House now) shared a video claiming Joe Biden was physically fit machine and master of the bike. https://t.co/Qcj2vjv2Kp

— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) June 18, 2022

And this past tweet hasn’t aged well.

https://t.co/sBjJESaGqn

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) June 18, 2022

You get the point. Bates’ response was to toss in pokes at Trump while trying to pretend that Biden is so much stronger and physically fit. It’s a bad look. He should have let the more professional original statement stand. Biden hopped out of church to prove he’s fine. It was an oddly Biden thing to do.

In response, Biden wordlessly hopped up and down with his hands outstretched, then pumped both fists, grinning broadly, as bystanders on the other side of King Charles Avenue cheered.

The stumble-prone commander in chief tumbled to the ground during a morning bike ride, when his sneaker jammed in the toe cage of the right pedal on his $599 Trek FX hybrid bike as he tried to dismount.

“No medical attention is needed,” a White House official said, saying that Biden was “fine” despite the fall.

Concerns about Biden’s advanced age and his decline both physically and mentally have been front and center since the presidential campaign. During the campaign, Jill and his staff were able to keep him out of sight by locking him in the basement in Delaware. Now, however, he wants to get out more and campaign for the midterm elections. Cameras will catch everything, even vacation weekends at the beach in Delaware. His verbal gaffes and outright lies are adding up.

In recent months, the president has mistakenly stated that First Lady Biden was Obama’s vice president – a job he himself held for eight years – and call Vice President Kamala Harris ‘president’

He has also repeatedly confused countries such as Libya and Syria, and has falsely claimed that inflation seen in the US during his time in office is higher ‘everywhere’ else, as inflation rates his highs not seen in nearly half a century and economists warn of the likelihood of a looming recession.

Perhaps the Biden communications team should worry about important things and leave the petty partisanship to others.

On a serious note, this White House has given up on policy solutions to their many problems (inflation, gas prices, baby formula, the border) believing strong messaging and communications alone could bail them out.

Easy to see why their approval rating has fallen below Trump’s. https://t.co/sFlHuDS36w

— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) June 18, 2022

We should be happy that Biden’s ok. We sure don’t want Kamala sitting in the Oval Office calling the shots.