The US president looked visibly startled by the incident in videos
© AFP / Andrew Caballero-Reynolds
A car smashed into one of the SUVs in Joe Biden’s motorcade as the US President was leaving his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware on Sunday night, the US Secret Service has confirmed.
A loud bang was heard; the president was outside the building, getting ready to get into his car where first lady Jill Biden was waiting. The footage reveals that Biden was visibly startled by the incident. He stopped, surprised, and looked towards the source of the sound, before being swiftly escorted into his vehicle by Secret Service personnel. NBC reported that the president said “woah” when the whole thing happened.
“A Secret Service vehicle securing the president’s motorcade route was struck by another vehicle” at around 8pm local time, Secret Service spokesperson Steve Kopek told CNN.
According to Kopek, there was “no protective interest associated with this event,” which means that the Secret Service believes the crash was unintentional. “The president’s motorcade departed without incident,” he added.
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A silver sedan with Delaware license plates hit an SUV shielding Biden’s motorcade at the intersection across from the entrance of the campaign headquarters amid rainy weather in Wilmington, Reuters reported, citing the White House press pool report.
Secret Service personnel quickly surrounded the car and pointed their guns at the driver, who held his hands up, a witness told the agency.
The Bidens had returned safely to their home in Wilmington after the incident, he added.
The president and the first lady were visiting Biden’s 2024 campaign headquarters to share a meal with the staffers and greet them at a holiday happy hour. It’s the first time that the US leader visited the team, which has been working out of the Wilmington office since summer.
