OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
President Joe Biden fell off of his bicycle during a morning ride near his Rehoboth Beach, Del., home on Saturday because of something he had specially installed.
The New York Post reported that the presidential bike is a Trek FX 1 Disc, which is described as a lightweight hybrid bike designed to be ridden over varying types of terrain.
A former employee of the company identified the model, which he said was sold for $599.99, to The Post with “high confidence,” but said that “it’s really hard to tell — that thing is ancient.”
In 2020, Bicycling Magazine analyzed the president’s bike, declaring it to be the same model as reported in The Post while going on to explain some of the model’s features.
“From what we could see in the photos, it had a Bontrager cockpit, linear pull rim brakes, and a rusty chain well past its prime. He came prepared for the ride with a headlight, and all of the bike’s reflectors are still intact,” the bike mag said.
“The bike was adorned with a few more accessories than what a regular rider may have: A coiled cable lock around the seat, a single bottle cage, a CatEye Wireless Computer, and a bento box. A little bar end mirror helped Biden keep an eye on his full surroundings and Trek helmet kept the former VP extra safe. Also, the toe cages on his flat pedals make us feel like when the paparazzi aren’t looking, Biden really likes to rip,” it said.
Apparently, it was the toe cages that were the culprit in causing Biden to fall.
“As the President said, his foot got caught on the pedal while dismounting and he is fine,” a White House official said. “No medical attention is needed. The President looks forward to spending the rest of the day with his family.”
The Trek source said that it is not wise for a less agile bike rider to be using those pedal cages in the first place.
“I’d say nothing wrong with riding a bike at his age,” they said. “But he needs a bike that’s easier to get on and off.”
The fall in and of itself, however, did not send a good signal to U.S. allies and potential adversaries, according to a former raking Trump administration official.
Ric Grenell, who served as U.S. ambassador to Germany during Trump’s term as well as a stint as acting director of national intelligence, told Newsmax TV that the fall is “just another piece of the puzzle” that shows he’s “not well and that he isn’t running the country.”
“You look at the Twitter feeds today of all the Washington, D.C., types, and there’s very few talking about Joe Biden falling off a stationary bike,” Grenell said on Newsmax’s “The Count.” “They just are trying to cover for the ruling party wherever they can. It’s a joke.”
Here’s another angle.
Brutal
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) June 18, 2022
Grenell said that both the United States’ allies and adversaries are watching these kinds of incidents and “they’re seeing the decline of Joe Biden.”
“Everybody knows this,” he said. “No one is allowed to say it in Washington, D.C., but everybody else sees it.”
He acknowledged that falling off a bike while getting a foot caught in a pedal is “what happens to normal people,” and if Biden’s fall was a lone incident, “we wouldn’t be able to string this together.”
However, the former diplomat and acting DNI noted further, the incident came after Biden was seen “falling up stairs. (We’ve) seen a shuffle, seen him shake hands with the air, seen him lose cognitive function in the middle of a speech … and today’s episode is just another piece of that puzzle that Joe Biden is not well and that he isn’t running the country.”
Newsmax added:
He further pointed out that he’s “said it before” that Susan Rice, the director of the United States Domestic Policy Council, and Chief of Staff Ron Klain “are manipulating all of the policy, and he’s out there just speaking.”
