At 81, the president slowly climbed the steps of the jet that had transported the group of prisoners, leaving Vice President Kamala Harris waiting on the tarmac during the nighttime event.
The moment occurred after both Biden and Harris gave an emotional welcome to Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and Alsu Kurmasheva upon their return from captivity. Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, embraced each of them in gratitude.
Biden remained aboard the plane for about two minutes, leaving Harris behind on the tarmac. He was out of view for roughly a minute and forty seconds while inside the aircraft.
“President Biden wanted to personally thank the flight crew who brought these brave individuals home to their families,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told DailyMail.com when asked about the president’s actions aboard the plane.
Harris, who has been closely shadowing Biden during key moments, stayed below and did not board the aircraft.
Earlier, Biden had posted a photo of the freed prisoners aboard the aircraft as they made their way home. When he was done, he slowly descended the jetway, holding onto the railings, to rejoin Harris and then approached Whelan.
Biden and Harris were present for the emotional nighttime arrival at Joint Base Andrews following the transatlantic flight, after Biden addressed reporters at the White House on the historic prisoner swap that secured their release.
“It feels wonderful. A long time in coming, but I was absolutely convinced we would get it done,” Biden told reporters at the base, which he also uses when traveling aboard Air Force One.
After exchanging a few words with Harris, Biden, 81, slowly ascended the jetway that had brought the prisoners back to U.S. soil.
Harris, whose role in the effort was being highlighted by White House officials, acknowledged Biden’s efforts in her own comments.
Online users who watched Biden’s trip to the aircraft had their own theories, as Biden has been seen being guided by figures like Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and former President Barack Obama at public events.
Biden viewed the successful negotiations as a validation of his belief in the diplomatic value of personal relationships.
“You’ve heard me kid with Barack — he’d kid me — all politics is personal. It matters. Other leaders trust you, you trust them, you get things done. And that’s how this got done: with a lot of — a lot of help.”
The RNC Research X account also posted a video of Biden and Harris, captioned: “Kamala watches Biden shuffle aimlessly across the tarmac and nearly trip up the stairs of the plane (from which the passengers had long disembarked). This is the obvious decline Kamala covered up in her thirst for power — the scandal of the century.”
This prompted another response from Bates at the White House: “.@POTUS was personally thanking the flight crew who brought these brave individuals home to their families. Most Americans are putting partisanship aside to welcome this outstanding news for our country. Y’all should join them. Don’t be weird,” he wrote.
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