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Joe Biden tripped and stumbled as he tried to walk across a sandy beach near his Delaware beach house on Sunday.

The outgoing US president needed help from his wife, Jill, the first lady, as he was filmed traversing Rehoboth Beach, losing his balance multiple times.

At one point, Mrs Biden grabbed her husband’s arm to keep him steady as the 81 year-old struggled across the sand.

Mr Biden then quickened his pace, causing him to wobble, as he dodged questions from nearby reporters about his meeting with Donald Trump on Monday.

“Biden is currently battling the sand at his beach house in Delaware,” a Republican National committee social media account tweeted. “The beach is winning.”

Mr Biden, whose age and health was scrutinised in the lead-up to his exit from the presidential race, cut a casual figure in a navy quarter zip, blue jeans, trainers, baseball cap and his trademark aviator sunglasses.

The president is thought to have struggled with balance since fracturing his foot while playing with his dog in 2020.

While his injuries were “fully healed” by 2021, according to the White House, he has taken a series of tumbles in his time in office that had become fodder for his political rivals to argue he is unfit to serve.

Mr Biden slipped as he disembarked Air Force One in Michigan in September last year. He also tripped on the steps of the same plane while walking up the stairs in July 2023.

In Colorado last summer, he tripped over a sandbag and fell while onstage at the US Air Force Academy graduation. “I got sandbagged,” Mr Biden later said.

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