Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Trump wishes Biden speedy recovery for ankle fracture while continuing to promote false voter fraud claims

President interrupts his allegations of a ‘rigged election’ to offer a message of support for Joe Biden

Chris Riotta
New York
Monday 30 November 2020 16:26 GMT
Comments
Biden fractures foot while playing with dog
Leer en Español

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

In between posting false claims of mass voter fraud and promoting conspiracy theories surrounding his defeat in the 2020 elections, President Donald Trump appeared to wish President-elect Joe Biden a speedy recovery for an injury he sustained on Thanksgiving weekend.

The president’s harsh words on Twitter over the outcome of the recent election were seemingly interrupted on Sunday night by his offer of well wishes for Mr Biden, who fractured his foot while playing with his dog, Major, according to the president-elect’s doctor.

Sharing an NBC News video that captured Mr Biden leaving the office of his orthopedic doctor in Delaware, Mr Trump wrote: “Get well soon!”

The video showed Mr Biden wearing a jacket and face mask as he walked out of the doctor’s office with a slight limp, making his way down a couple steps before getting into an SUV.

Mr Biden suffered small fractures in his mid-foot after he slipped while playing with his dog, his doctor said in a statement. The fractures were not initially seen in the first x-rays taken of the president-elect, leading some reports to say he had sprained his ankle rather than having endured hairline fractures.

“Initial x-rays did not show any obvious fracture, but his clinical exam warranted more detailed imaging," Dr Kevin O'Connor said in a statement on Sunday. "Follow-up CT scan confirmed hairline (small) fractures of President-elect Biden's lateral and intermediate cuneiform bones, which are in the mid-foot.”

Mr Biden’s doctor said he will “likely” require a walking boot for “several weeks” as the fractures heel.

At 78-years-old, Mr Biden will be the oldest president inaugurated in history, a fact he addressed throughout the campaign.

He released detailed statements about his medical history last year and his doctor conducted a physical assessment that concluded he was “a healthy, vigorous, 77-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency.”

Mr Trump’s well wishes to the incoming president-elect sounded like a far cry from the usual posts the president has been promoting on his Twitter account, spreading conspiracy theories and outright falsities about the vote count to his nearly 89 million followers in the days since the election.

Just before he wrote the message to Mr Biden, the president claimed the 2020 election “was probably our least secure EVER” in a tweet — a direct contradiction from statements made by his own Department of Homeland Security, which described the election as the “most secure” in American history.

Shortly after, he claimed his loss against the president-elect was the result of a “RIGGED ELECTION” in all-caps while alleging “massive fraud” — something his re-election campaign lawyers like former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani have consistently failed to provide to the American public. 

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in