President Donald Trump made a rare admission about his physical limitations during a speech to military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, acknowledging that he must be cautious when descending stairs to avoid mobility issues that plagued his predecessor.
The 79-year-old president addressed top military brass during an hour-long presentation where he discussed various topics including military operations and domestic policies. However, his comments about stair navigation drew particular attention as he referenced former President Joe Biden’s well-documented struggles with stairs during his term in office.
Trump told the assembled generals and admirals that Biden was “falling down stairs” regularly before acknowledging his own careful approach to navigating stairs. “I’m very careful. You know, when I walk downstairs—like I’m on stairs like these stairs—I walk very slowly,” he explained during the address.
The president’s admission represents an unusual moment of vulnerability for Trump, who has previously mocked Biden’s mobility challenges throughout the 2024 election campaign. Biden had experienced several publicized incidents while boarding Air Force One and navigating stairs at various events, eventually leading him to wear special supportive shoes and use shorter staircases to board his aircraft.
Trump advised the military audience about proper stair navigation, telling them that setting speed records was unnecessary and that falling “doesn’t work out well.” He recommended walking “nice and easy” and being “cool” while descending stairs, specifically warning against “bopping down the stairs.”
The president’s comments came during a broader address at Quantico where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was rolling out new military standards. The speech covered multiple topics including Trump’s military strikes in the Caribbean Sea and his plans to deploy National Guard troops to Democratic-controlled cities across the country.
Trump’s admission about stair navigation comes amid ongoing concerns about his physical health. The White House recently announced that he has been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a condition affecting blood flow in leg veins that can cause symptoms including swollen ankles. Photos of the president’s visibly swollen ankles had circulated widely before the official diagnosis was revealed.
Additionally, Trump has been photographed with unusual bruising on his hands, which appears to be concealed with makeup. The White House has attributed these bruises to extensive handshaking during his presidential duties, stating that the condition is treated with aspirin.
The president has experienced his own mobility challenges, including an incident in July where he was filmed losing his balance before steadying himself while boarding his aircraft after a golfing weekend in New Jersey. Footage showed Trump appearing stony-faced after the stumble before composing himself to smile and wave from the aircraft stairs.
During his Quantico speech, Trump drew a contrast between his careful approach and former President Barack Obama, whom he described as having “bounded down the stairs” but still criticized as a poor president in his opinion. The comments highlighted Trump’s ongoing tendency to reference his predecessors during official addresses.
The speech sparked reactions from Democratic officials, with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker calling for Trump’s removal from office through the 25th Amendment. Pritzker cited health concerns and criticized Trump’s suggestion that Chicago could serve as “training grounds for our military,” describing the proposal as evidence of concerning mental state.
Social media users responded to clips of Trump’s stair comments with renewed speculation about his fitness for office. Critics highlighted the speech as part of a pattern of concerning behavior, while supporters defended the president’s transparency about physical limitations that affect many individuals his age.
The admission represents a departure from Trump’s typical public persona, where he generally projects strength and vitality. His willingness to acknowledge physical vulnerabilities during an official military briefing marked an unusual moment of candor about the challenges of serving as president at age 79.
Trump’s broader address at Quantico included warnings that “America is under invasion from within” and detailed his plans for deploying National Guard units to urban areas. The president summoned nearly 800 generals, admirals, and senior enlisted leaders from around the world for the unprecedented gathering on short notice.