From Putin‘s platform shoes to Trump’s red power ties, modern world leaders take great care in making sure they look strong and stable when the cameras are rolling.
But in the internet age, there is always a smartphone waiting to capture an awkward stumble and transmit it around the world before they have found their feet.
A misplaced foot can shake a public image in minutes, potentially damaging a politician’s career for years to come.
Xi Jinping‘s ‘Great Fall of China‘ in 2019 was watched millions of times before Joe Biden‘s bicycle gaffe in 2022, aged 79, sparked real concern for the president.
There is an art to shaking off a bad landing, best shown by Ugandan deputy prime minister Moses Ali laughing at his own tumble while trying to kick a football.
And there are moments leaders can only hope to forget – like Putin ending his ice hockey celebration by slipping over in front of a stadium of people.
These are the times world leaders just couldn’t stay on their feet.
Ugandan politician’s footballing fail
Moses Ali is a serious figure in Ugandan politics – a retired military general who was involved in a 1971 coup before climbing to the rank of deputy prime minister.
But an ‘inauguration’ ceremony at Namboole National Stadium in 2018 suddenly took a turn when the then-79 year old tried flexing his footballing credentials.
Video shared widely online at the time showed Ali lining up to shoot, surrounded by figures in military slacks, before losing his balance and falling backwards.
In a dramatic tumble, the deputy leader of government business throws his legs up in the air and rolls backwards as the troops laugh and applaud.
They read the situation well, as Ali rolls back and is helped to his feet with a big grin on his face, laughing off the incident as he re-fits his shoe.
Moses Ali dramatically falls backwards after kicking the football at the stadium opening
But the deputy PM was all smiles as his troops helped him back to his feet
Putin’s ice hockey fall
Vladimir Putin was eight goals up when he took a victory lap at an exhibition ice hockey game in Sochi in 2019.
The then-66-year-old had joined ex-National Hockey League stars for an annual tradition he was used to, spearheading the attack in his No11 shirt.
But the Russian president, usually something of a maestro on the ice, lost focus for a second during his celebrations, sending him flying.
Putin was caught on camera landing sharply on his knees with his arms outstretched, before getting to his feet and brushing off the accident.
The Kremlin only insisted Putin had scored 10 goals – two more than the eight Reuters and Associated Press reported.
Dictators fall: Putin is seen losing his balance on the ice while taking a victory lap in Sochi
The president ends up on his knees as other players rush to help him
Trump’s ‘skating rink’ slip up
Donald Trump lost his balance on the way up to the podium at a campaign rally in New Hampshire in 2020.
The then-President was still riding the high of the Republican National Convention when he prepared to speak to reporters after disembarking Air Force One.
But the mood took a turn when Trump appeared to narrowly avoid falling over, seen flailing his arms as he tried to steady himself next to the lectern.
Trump looks around before stepping up and joking: ‘They put in a floor that’s like an ice skating rink! So we’re going to tip-toe around. How are you everybody?’
The President was met with laugher and cheers as he brushed off the gaffe and carried on with his speech unfazed.
Trump walks up to the podium in New Hampshire, but slips on the ‘skating rink’ surface
The President put out his arms to stop himself falling before making a joke
Biden’s Air Force One gaffe
Joe Biden has had more than his fair share of slips over the years, many unfortunately coming in front the cameras.
His 2021 fall up the stairs while boarding Air Force One was shared around the world – and sparked speculation from critics about his health.
The President was boarding the aircraft at Joint Base Andrews when he stumbled, grabbed onto the railing to steady himself, and then lost his footing again and again. The White House blamed the wind.
But concerns were raised a year later when he fell off a bicycle near his Delaware beach home when his ‘toe cages’ got caught.
Biden brushed off the incident, but in May 2023 stumbled while walking down the steps of the Itsukushima Shrine as he met with Japanese PM Fumio Kishida.
Then in June, he fell on stage in Colorado while handing out US Air Force Academy diplomas to students.
And then in July he stumbled again while getting onto AF1. Three months later he fell while climbing up stairs to speak in Philadelphia.
POLITICO reported in July 2023 that Biden would be almost exclusively using shorter stairs to board Air Force One amid questions about his health.
Darren Stanton, a former police officer and body language specialist, told MailOnline such mishaps can have a damning effect on public perception.
‘Although it doesn’t strictly mean anything, if someone appears not to be able to walk in a straight line or not to be able to walk down some stairs without tripping over then people … make that proportionate to their ability in the role,’ he said.
‘People think if they can’t walk down a set of stairs, then how can they be a world leader and have access to nuclear weapons?
‘The perceived confidence that world leaders have, human beings tend to connect that to competency in the role.’
Biden stumbled over and over as he tried to board Air Force One in 2021
Biden was on the way to Atlanta when he fell, sparking concern about his health
Xi Jinping’s slip in St Petersburg
Xi Jinping was visiting Russia in 2019 when he dramatically fell from the stage and had to be helped up by security guards.
The Chinese president was shaking hands with the audience when he appeared to trip before he was saved from falling all the way.
Xi was quickly helped to his feet as security separated him from the crowd and brought him safely back onto the stage.
Xi and Putin smiled as they were ushered out to continue the three-day visit, discussing cooperation between Moscow and Beijing.
Security guards keep Chinese President Xi Jinping (C) from falling as Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Armenian President Nikol Pashinyan (L) look on in Saint Petersburg
Xi Jinping had taken to the edge of the stage to shake hands with audience members as the rest of the world leaders began to talk among themselves
Gerald Ford’s dramatic Air Force One fall
American President Gerald Ford took a dramatic tumble while disembarking Air Force One in 1975.
A trip to Austria was overshadowed by the infamous fall as Ford fell down three steps before an aide could help him to his feet, his wife Betty only watching on.
Ford claimed a knee injury had caused him to lose control, but the incident sparked mocking sketches on American TV before Ford was replaced by Jimmy Carter in ’77.
Chevy Chase took jabs at Ford in a series of SNL sketches – but the president hit back later that year, reminding Chase ‘I’m Gerald Ford, and you’re not’ in front of guests at a Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association dinner.
The gag resolved the running saga and won Ford laughs from the audience, as he invited Chase to perform at a White House dinner the next year.
The late President Gerald Ford is helped by a military aide after slipping and falling down the steps as he deplaned Air Force One on June 1, 1975 during a trip abroad to Salzburg, Austria
Ford is helped to his feet after spilling down the steps of Air Force One on a trip to Austria
Princess Anne’s Guernsey slip up
World leaders often have help on hand to open doors, handle threats and pick them up when they fall off Russian stages.
But rushing in to help a guest is not always well received, as Guernsey’s bailiff Geoffrey Rowland found out in 2007.
Princess Anne slipped and fell in front of crowds during a walk, prompting a sudden gesture from her host. But she did not appear happy when he took her by the arm.
‘No, don’t do that, thank-you. Grabbing me round my… ( inaudible) won’t help,’ Princess Anne, 56, said. ‘I’m perfectly capable of getting myself up.’
In a statement, he described their conversation in diplomatic terms. ‘The Princess Royal slipped at the top of Smith Street, I offered her my assistance but no damage was done.
‘She was mildly shaken, but swiftly recovered and was determined to continue with the walk through St Peter Port. She was soon acknowledging bystanders in her usual relaxed and engaging way.’
But an onlooker said: ‘Princess Anne looked furious. To fall over in public is bad enough but what really annoyed her was being grabbed. The poor bailiff was trying to do the right thing but got a ticking-off.’
Princess Anne greets locals during a walk through Guernsey in 2007
When she fell, Guernsey’s bailiff Geoffrey Rowland tried to help her up – but was shut down
Boris Johnson’s tug-of-war heartbreak
Boris Johnson brushed off a fall after losing a game of tug-of-war in 2015.
The then-Mayor of London took part in a charity match in the capital alongside members of the armed forces to launch London Poppy Day.
The video of Johnson shouting ‘Christ’ as he fell and capitulated was seen millions of times – the last in a series of gaffes as he involved himself in sport and activities.
Throwing himself into such events and gaining screentime may have helped the former Prime Minister break the mold of what a politician could look like while boosting his own personal brand.
‘[Boris Johnson] was seen to partake in certain activities and behave in certain ways that people perceived not to be becoming of a prime minister,’ assessed Mr Stanton.
‘I think that’s why he had this perception of being this larger than life’ character, he added.
The then-Mayor of London took part in a tug of war to launch Poppy Appeal in October 2015
Johnson shouted ‘Christ’ as he slipped and fell before the team conceded the game
Indian prime minister’s dramatic fall in Kanpur
Narendra Modi made a dramatic entrance to Ganga Ghat in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur in 2019.
The Indian prime minister was jogging up the steps to the building for a project meeting when he missed a stair and tumbled forward onto his hands.
Aides rushed to help pick Modi up, but the video soon went viral. When reports of other visitors tripping up emerged, officials announced they would demolish the offending stair.
‘Only one step of the staircase, which is uneven in height, will be demolished and reconstructed to align it with other steps,’ confirmed Divisional Commissioner Sudhir M. Bobde.
‘In fact, several visitors have tripped on this step and, therefore, it has to be repaired at the earliest.’
Narendra Modi walks up the steps to attend a meeting in 2019
Modi missed a stair and tumbled forward onto his hands, prompting aides to rush in
Imran Khan’s 15ft fall at election rally
Pakistani politician Imran Khan fell from a 15-foot mechanical lift at a campaign rally in Pakistan in the build-up to the 2013 election.
The former cricketer was hospitalised after sustaining injuries from the dramatic fall caught on camera.
The politician was out encouraging people to vote in the parliamentary elections when he appeared to fall backwards and reportedly landed on his head.
Khan reportedly insisted he wanted to carry campaigning after he was urged to take two weeks off to rest following a compression fracture on his back and needed stitches for a head injury.
Khan fell from a 15-foot mechanical lift at a campaign rally in Pakistan in 2013
The former cricketer was hospitalised after sustaining injuries from the dramatic fall
Hillary Clinton appears to faint at 9/11 memorial service
Hillary Clinton appeared to faint after being diagnosed with pneumonia at a 9/11 memorial service in New York in 2016.
Video showed the presidential candidate struggling and being helped into a van outside as security stood guard.
Her team initially said she had left early after overheating. But hours later it was revealed she had been told to rest after a pneumonia diagnosis.
Sources told NBC she had fainted at the event, leaving after just an hour and a half.
Others said one of her shoes came off while getting in the van to leave.
Clinton approaches the van as she leaves the memorial event in 2016
She appeared to collapse and was quickly surrounded by aides, some saying she fainted
Robert Mugabe collapses after missing step
Zimbabwean revolutionary and tyrant Robert Mugabe staggered down a flight of steps after misjudging his footing at Harare international airport in 2015.
The then-90-year-old Mugabe fell to his hands and knees after missing a step and falling down to the red carpet below.
State-controlled media tried desperately to put a positive spin on the incident.
The Sunday Mail newspaper wrote: ‘President Mugabe’s slip at Harare international airport last week must surely be a gift from God.
‘This month, the man turns 91 years old and at that age, falling down – as with a young child – can result in not only embarrassment, but also serious injury.
‘But President Mugabe showed that he is mentally agile by having the reflexes to break that fall, and that he is physically fit by walking away totally unscathed.’
Mugabe walks down the steps at Harare international airport in 2015
Mugabe fell to his hands and knees after missing a step
Obama styles out a fall on Air Force One
Barack Obama had more success navigating the steps down from Air Force One than his successor back in 2015.
Arriving back home from a weekend golfing trip, the US President jogged down towards the tarmac when he lost his footing and slipped.
But the president very quickly recovered to continue down the stairs unmoved, before saluting an awaiting officer and moving on.
Obama jogged down the steps after landing from Florida in 2015
Australian PM trips up on India visit
Then-Australian prime minister tripped and fell near the memorial for Mahatma Gandhi during a tour in India in 2012.
Julia Gillard appeared to go over on her ankle while walking on a grassy patch in heels.
She later told reporters she was ‘fine’ and brushed off the incident, explaining: ‘For men who get to wear flat shoes all day, every day – if you wear heels, they can get embedded in soft grass.
‘When you pull your foot up, the shoe doesn’t come.’
Julia Gillard made the mistake of walking on the grass during her visit to India in 2012
She later brushed off the fall and blamed her footwear
Danish prime minister’s Paris blunder
Danish premier Helle Thorning-Schmidt took a tumble as she tripped at the foot of a flight of steps while attending today’s Paris rally in 2015.
The prime minister was left on her hands and knees after slipping as she left the Elysee Palace, where world leaders attending the march through the French capital had gathered.
Ms Thorning-Schmidt, who had been wearing a high pair of heeled boots, had to be helped to her feet by aides after falling as she left the meeting.
The Danish PM had previously been in the spotlight for taking a selfie with Obama and David Cameron during Nelson Mandela’s memorial service in 2013.
Helle Thorning-Schmidt took a tumble as she tripped at the foot of a flight of steps
She had to be helped to her feet by aides after the nasty fall
