First Lady Jill Biden had to step in and help her husband grab the sleeve of his jacket that was being blown away by the wind caused by the helicopter blades. The Bidens were returning after meeting families affected by devastating flooding in eastern Kentucky on Monday and departing on Air Force One. The video showed him struggling to find his jacket sleeve while his other hand was inside another sleeve. After his repeated attempts, he appeared to call out to Ms. Biden who helped him finally put on his jacket. As Mrs. Biden walked in front of her husband, Biden’s signature aviator sunglasses, balanced precariously atop his mask, fell to the pavement. The president quickly collected the glasses before walking away. It was his first official trip since testing positive for Covid-19 last month, after which he holed up in the White House for more than two weeks in self-isolation. He tested negative for the infection on Sunday and was deemed fit to safely return to public engagement and the presidential trip by his doctor. The president and first lady met with first responders and families who had lost their homes Monday after the worst flooding in the state’s history in late July. He promised more financial support for disaster-stricken Kentucky, describing the state’s recent devastating floods as “another sign of dangerous climate change.” About 38 people died in eastern Kentucky after severe storms dropped 8 to 10.5 inches of rain in a 48-hour period. This was after the state was hit by devastating tornadoes in December last year, killing 77 people. The Bidens arrived on Air Force One at Blue Grass Airport just before 11 a.m. local time and they are joined by Linda Gorton, the mayor of the city of Lexington. They then flew on Marine One to take stock of the damage in the area and met the families at Marie Roberts Elementary School in Lost Creek. He also praised the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, which he said would “take care of everything from health care to god knows what else.” In a major victory for his domestic agenda, the Senate passed the Inflation Relief Act on Sunday. The bill, which would address the climate crisis and prescription drug prices, was passed along strict party lines with the tiebreaker from Vice President Kamala Harris. It will go to the House of Representatives on Friday and, if passed, will be signed into law by Mr. Biden.
