Karine Jean-Pierre refuses to say if Biden, 80, is 'tired' and that's why he's using sleep apnea machine - and dodges question on why he is using the smaller steps to board Air Force One after multiple falls

  • Karine Jean-Pierre was questioned about President Joe Biden's health Thursday
  • He's started to use a CPAP machine and is using the shorter stairs to board Air Force One with more frequency 
  • Jean-Pierre pointed to Biden's February physical when asked if there are any health changes  

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre wouldn't bite on Thursday when asked if President Joe Biden was feeling 'tired' or 'under the weather,' prompting him to get a CPAP machine to treat his sleep apnea.

The president was spotted Wednesday on the South Lawn with indentations on his face, which the White House later confirmed to DailyMail.com and other outlets were created by the mask worn with the machine. 

Jean-Pierre also didn't have a response then a reporter asked why the president was boarding Air Force One using a shorter set of stairs - which he has done with more frequency since falling over a sandbag at the Air Force Academy's graduation ceremony earlier this month. 

Instead, Jean-Pierre pointed to Biden's physical that the White House released in February, which she called 'more comprehensive and extensive' than anything previous administrations produced. 

The reporter pointed out that the decision for Biden to start using a CPAP machine and the fresh stumbles have happened in recent weeks, not months. 

'But it is this year,' she answered. 'And it has been extensive. It has been comprehensive. More than any other president, that remains to be the fact. And we've been pretty transparent about that.' 

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked Thursday about President Joe Biden, 80, using a CPAP machine and wouldn't bite when asked if the president was feeling 'tired.' The White House revealed the CPAC's use after Biden was seen with indentations on his face Wednesday

 Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked Thursday about President Joe Biden, 80, using a CPAP machine and wouldn't bite when asked if the president was feeling 'tired.' The White House revealed the CPAC's use after Biden was seen with indentations on his face Wednesday

President Joe Biden uses the shorter stairs to disembark Air Force One
President Joe Biden uses the taller stairs to disembark Air Force One

Jean-Pierre was asked if President Joe Biden was taking the shorter stairs (left) to disembark Air Force One with more frequency than the taller stairs (right) due to several falls, including over a sandbag earlier this month, and up the presidential aircraft's stairs 

Jean-Pierre boasted that the White House 'responded very quickly' when reporters started asking questions Wednesday about why there were indents on the president's face. 

They were visible in photographs taken as he was engaging in a Q&A session on the South Lawn before his trip to Chicago. 

But she couldn't give details on why - if any - Biden's doctor decided to treat his sleep apnea now, as sleep apnea has been part of the president's public medical record since 2008, when he was running for vice president. 

'One of the things that I can say is that I think the thing that's important is it's for better sleep, right? I think that's one of the reasons that it was, it was kind of added,' she said on board Air Force One Thursday.

A reporter then asked if Biden was feeling tired or run down. 

'I'm not going to get into how the president is feeling,' she said. 

'What I can say is one of the important things is getting better sleep,' she continued. 

She added that it was 'something that was done within the last couple of weeks.'

'Don't have a specific date on that,' she said. 'But it allows, which is, I think is, really important for the president is to - you know - make sure he's getting as much sleep as he can.'  

Jean-Pierre was quizzed about Biden's health after he started using a CPAP machine and took several stumbles in recent months

Jean-Pierre was quizzed about Biden's health after he started using a CPAP machine and took several stumbles in recent months 

The journalist then pointed to Biden's spill in Colorado, which followed the handful of times the president has tripped up Air Force One's stairs. 

Also, last June, Biden fell over on his bike during a trip to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. 

The reporter asked Jean-Pierre if these falls prompted him to start using the shorter steps to board the presidential aircraft - as he had earlier Thursday, en route to New York. 

'I don't have any decision process to walk through,' Jean-Pierre answered. 'I'm sure there's a protocol that's used for Air Force One, I just don't have one.'

Previous presidents used the shorter stairs to board or disembark Air Force One when there was rough weather. 

'I mean, you guys see the president every day, when it speaks to mobility, the president always says watch him,' Jean-Pierre also said. 'This is a president, let's not forget, he went to a warzone country in Ukraine and did that in a way that was incredibly effective. The world got to see him out there and meet with President Zelensky and I think that's incredibly important.' 

Biden secretly traveled to Ukraine in February and took a 10-hour train ride in and out of Kyiv. 

He then made his planned stop in Warsaw, Poland. 

Biden tripped up Air Force One's steps as he left for the United States. 

Pressed again, Jean-Pierre was asked if any of these behavioral changes represented a medical change with the president - who at 80, is the country's oldest. 

'So look, if you look at what we have put forward as far as his medical, the president's medical report, it is more comprehensive and extensive than any other president,' she said.  

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