From Buoyant to Frail: Two Days in Las Vegas as Biden Tests Positive

President Biden emerged from Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday wearing a cap and a bomber jacket, but no mask, steadying himself with his right hand. He walked two steps down the stairway before pausing, then pointed and waved straight ahead, his mouth agape.

He took two more steps and stopped again. He turned to the left and raised his hands when he saw reporters gathered near the plane’s engine.

Ten more steps and Mr. Biden made it to the ground. Reporters shouted questions, asking for a response to Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, who hours earlier had become the latest prominent Democrat to call for him to drop out of the presidential race.

“I am doing well,” Mr. Biden said, giving a thumbs up.

But video captured by ABC News showed Mr. Biden struggling to get in his seat in the presidential limousine, known as the Beast. It took about 23 seconds before he was settled, according to the footage.

The president’s appearance — and his campaign’s momentum — had changed drastically in two days.

When he began his campaign events this week, Mr. Biden and his senior staff members had remained defiant, confidently brushing off concerns from within their party about Mr. Biden’s condition.

Bidding to energize crucial Black and Latino voters, Mr. Biden stepped off Air Force One in Nevada on Monday flanked by Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina, the influential Democrat who helped revive his 2020 campaign. The president immediately was surrounded by more than a dozen Democrats and local officials in a show of support.