US president-elect Joe Biden has a foot fracture and will likely have to wear a medical boot, his team said Sunday after the 78-year-old was taken to the doctor because he had slipped while playing with his dog.
Biden will be sworn in as the oldest president in US history, if the Electoral College confirms his victory, which is still being challenged by President Donald Trump, so both critics and supporters are keeping a close eye on his health.
Biden’s dog Major has also received fawning press attention since the German shepherd would become the first shelter dog to reside in the White House.
NEW: CT scans show President-Elect @JoeBiden has hairline fractures in his mid-foot after he slipped and fell playing w/ his dog this weekend
It is anticipated that he will likely require a walking boot for several weeks, per stmt from Dr. Kevin O'Connor (h/t pooler @sarahmucha) pic.twitter.com/I9o7uD0Uwl
— Johnny Verhovek (@JTHVerhovek) November 30, 2020
The president-elect’s personal physician Kevin O’Connor initially said x-rays had not uncovered any “obvious fracture”, but added that an additional CT scan would still be done.
That scan “confirmed hairline (small) fractures… in the mid-foot,” O’Connor said in a subsequent statement released by Biden’s office.
He added that the former vice president, who won election against Donald Trump in November, “will likely require a walking boot for several weeks”.
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With both Biden and Trump in their 70s, age was an issue in the presidential race, even if it often took a backseat to pressing matters like the Covid-19 pandemic.
Get well soon! https://t.co/B0seiO84ld
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2020
“Get well soon!” Trump said on Twitter, in a retweet of an NBC video showing Biden leaving an orthopedic office.
Trump’s health was briefly of intense concern when he caught Covid-19, but the president resumed campaigning after getting a series of treatments — including an experimental antibody cocktail.
Trump, a famously finicky germophobe, was the first president in over a century to not have a dog.
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The Bidens fostered and then adopted Major in 2018, while Champ has been with the family since 2008. Biden officials have said Major will become the first rescue dog to live in the White House.
AFP with additional input by GVS News Desk