President Donald Trump finds himself feeling the heat as his nationwide approval ratings continue to sink. Therefore, the former reality star often slams his predecessors in an effort to prop himself up in the eyes of the public. But those attacks do not always land as intended, and at times they leave him looking more exposed than the targets he meant to mock. That dynamic has only drawn more scrutiny as Trump, at 79, no longer moves as quickly as he did in his younger days, though he appears to be managing that physical decline in a way all his own. President Donald Trump unravels again as his fixation on not falling down steps like Joe Biden takes a darker turn. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images) ‘Look at That’: Trump Tries to One-Up the Man Who Beat Him, But Watching Him Fish for Praise Takes a Brutal Turn Trump called into CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on April 21 to discuss U.S.-Iran talks and the economy. Around 35 minutes into the interview, Trump went on a tangent to insult former President Joe Biden, 83, and then trip over his own words. “We were a dead country. We had a guy that wasn’t respected. We had a country that was laughed at. He couldn’t walk a flight of stairs, forget about down, he couldn’t walk up a flight,” Trump said about Biden. Stairs have become one of Trump’s favorite topics to discuss when he has the chance to publicly vent his frustrations. “I have to be careful because if I do trip or fall, it’s gonna be the biggest story,” he continued. “That’s why when I get out of those planes, I walk nice and slowly. I’m not looking to set any speed records.” Online critics of the POTUS reveled in reminding the elderly billionaire of his own struggles going up and down steps. “I remember all the times he criticized Biden for walking slowly. Now Donald hangs on for dear life to those handrails,” wrote one person on X. A second critic expressed, “That’s because he’s a feeble old fool and he can’t even walk on the ground.” Trump: "I have to be careful because if I do trip or fall, it's gonna be the biggest story. That's why when I get out of those planes, I walk nice and slowly. I'm not looking to set any speed records." pic.twitter.com/957vxrSTNB— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 21, 2026 The commentary continued as many wondered about Trump’s obsession with blasting his fear of stairs. Some believe the president suffered a private fall and has chosen not to tell the public. “My belief is confirmed! He’s fallen several times,” tweeted a third person. Another commenter suggested, “Something tells me there’s an admission of illness hidden in there. He wouldn’t just bring it up randomly. Someone must have told him about videos circulating of him descending from AF1 ever so gingerly.” One poster referenced photographs of Trump’s swollen ankles, likely from a confirmed chronic venous insufficiency diagnosis. They wrote, “Just tell the truth. You don’t trust your own cankles.” Another added, “You can hardly walk you damn clown. You think we don’t see that this is bulls–t.” Trump’s swollen feet are what tie the “cankles” jab to him and his inability to walk a straight line. It suggests that his repeated talk about falling, weakness, or losing balance connects back to his rumored physical condition. “He criticized Pres. Obama for running up and down the stairs,” a Threads user declared. “Good God, this man is just awful.” Trump has fixated on the stair usage of Barack Obama, 64, as far back as 2014 when the then-star of “The Apprentice” reality television show tweeted, “The way President Obama runs down the stairs of Air Force 1, hopping and bobbing all the way, is so inelegant and unpresidential. Do not fall!” Fast-forward to 2025, Trump was still preoccupied by Obama while giving remarks at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, providing the service members with his unprompted analysis of “The Audacity of Hope” author’s stairway stride. “You walk nice and easy. You don’t have to set any record. Be cool when you walk down, but don’t bop down the stairs. So, one thing with Obama, I had zero respect for him as a president, but he would bop down those stairs,” Trump stated. In the last two years, Trump has been seen moving cautiously when walking down stairs. The most infamous incidents took place in June 2025 on Air Force One when he stumbled on the jet’s airstairs in New Jersey. He made headlines months later in September at the United Nations when an escalator abruptly stopped, forcing him and first lady Melania Trump to walk up. As a result of that mishap, as well as a teleprompter malfunction during his speech at the same General Assembly session, the U.N. became Trump’s No. 1 target for several weeks, with his irritation eventually growing into full-blown obsession. Trump on UN: They turned off my teleprompter. First, we had an escalator that stopped. It's lucky my movie star first lady was in front of me—I put my hand on the certain part of her body and was able to stop my fall. She was in the proper location for me. pic.twitter.com/93arQpMl8g— Acyn (@Acyn) February 19, 2026 Trump was still complaining about the stopped escalator in February 2026 while hosting a Board of Peace event in Washington, D.C. He even brought up how Melania, 55, supposedly prevented him from falling on his face in front of the world. “I had the most beautiful speech ready, and I was all set to knock them dead. First, I had an escalator that stopped,” Trump said, before adding, “I’m lucky my movie star first lady was in front of me, because I put my hand on a certain part of her body, and I was able to stop my fall.” Trump claiming Biden embarrassed America by not being able to walk down a flight of stairs only served as a reminder that the present occupant of the White House has had his own struggles with staircases that left many viewers concerned about the aging president’s fitness and health. ‘You Think We Don’t See That?’: Trump Charges at Biden, Trips Over His Own Words, and Falls Into the Hole He Dug ...read more read less