‘Hanging On… For Dear Life’: Trump Looks Beat as Shocking Physical Struggle Caught on Camera in Viral Clip
Donald Trump’s historic trip this week had several headline-making moments that sent the internet into a frenzy, but the final image of the president leaving China put a not-so-celebratory bow on the official state visit.
The U.S. commander-in-chief traveled to the Asian nation on May 13 for a bilateral summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where the two world leaders discussed global issues such as trade deals and military conflicts.
Trump, 79, and Xi, 72, also dined together during the two-day summit. Both heads of state were repeatedly filmed together in Beijing before the American delegation prepared to fly back to the United States on May 15.
With Air Force One parked on the tarmac, Trump’s motorcade pulled up to Beijing Capital International Airport. The Chinese government’s sendoff for the reality television star-turned-politician included a ceremonial, red-carpet departure.
Trump got out of his vehicle surrounded by Secret Service agents. The president then strolled along the carpet as a Chinese military band played, and spectators waved flags of both countries.
After shaking hands with Chinese officials at the site, Trump approached the steps of Air Force One. He slowly ascended the stairway, tightly gripping the handrail with his right hand and his left arm hanging by his side.
The nearly 80-year-old grandfather eventually made it to the top of the flight of over 20 stairs. As the wind blew his infamous combover, Trump turned back toward the cameras and gave his signature hand pump gesture.
“Thank you,” Trump mouthed amid waving and pointing to the crowd below. He finally entered the airplane, ending his journey to China for the first time as president since his initial term in 2017.
Trump is typically fixated with exhibiting strength and vitality despite the fact that the New York City native is closing in on his 80th birthday in less than a month on June 14. If that was the aim for his exit from China, the president failed to achieve his goal for many viewers.
The internet ruthlessly mocked Trump’s lumbering ascent to the Air Force One entrance door. For instance, a X user jokingly wrote, “Gripping the hand bar til the very end. Those stairs were kicking his ass, too, lmao.”
A like-minded poster joined in on ridiculing Trump’s awkward walk up the stairs by posting, “Hanging on to that rail for dear life.”
A third person also fired off, “I’m sure the whole time he’s thinking ‘don’t fall.’” Another commenter suggested Trump was somehow set up, tweeting, “They purposely use that steep staircase.”
“Look, I have to be honest. Can’t stand him, loathe him, but he made it up those stairs! What an accomplishment!” read a tongue-in-cheek response from an admitted Trump hater.
Meanwhile, a fan of former President Barack Obama chimed in, “I miss Obama jogging up those stairs.” Trump has shown signs of being obsessed with his presidential predecessor’s use of steps.
In 2014, two years before shockingly winning the 2016 presidential race against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump shared his thoughts on how then-sitting President Obama, 64, would go down steps.
“The way President Obama runs down the stairs of Air Force 1, hopping and bobbing all the way, is so inelegant and unpresidential. Do not fall!” Trump exclaimed on X (the social networking platform then known as Twitter).
Trump went back to the White House in 2025 after defeating former Vice President Kamala Harris in the prior year’s election. Eight months into his second term, the Republican rabble-rouser was back to talking about Obama during a speech at the Marine Corps base in Virginia.
“You walk nice and easy. You don’t have to set any record. Be cool when you walk down, but don’t bop down the stairs. So, one thing with Obama, I had zero respect for him as a president, but he would bop down those stairs,” Trump stated in September 2025.
Trump’s apparent Obama obsession aside, his second round as POTUS has been filled with additional incidents of him having difficulties with stairs. One super-viral clip of Trump 2.0 emerged in June 2025 when he blatantly stumbled while boarding Air Force One in New Jersey.