Biden says he ‘nearly fell asleep’ during debate and blames poor performance on jet lag
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Joe Biden has blamed jet lag for his poor debate performance on Thursday after two overseas trips earlier in June.
The US President has faced mounting questions about his 2024 re-election bid after last week’s shaky debate performance, with one House of Representatives fellow Democrat on Tuesday publicly calling on him to withdraw from the race.
Speaking at a campaign event in McLean, Virginia, on Tuesday evening, Mr Biden admitted the debate against Donald Trump did not go well.
“I didn’t have my best night, but the fact is that you know, I wasn’t very smart,” Mr Biden said.
“I decided to travel around the world a couple times, going through around 100 time zones ... before ... the debate.
“Didn’t listen to my staff and came back and nearly fell asleep on stage,” he said.
“That’s no excuse but it is an explanation.”
Mr Biden travelled to France and Italy during two separate trips in the space of two weeks last month, flying overnight from the Group of Seven summit in Bari, Italy, to appear at a fundraiser with former President Barack Obama in Los Angeles on June 15 before returning to Washington the following day.
He then spent six days at Camp David preparing for the June 27 debate.
American news website Axios reported last week that Mr Biden gets tired after 4pm, according to aides, and that his day is planned to ensure public events in front of a camera occur between 10am and 4pm.
Outside of those hours, he is likely to become tired and make verbal blunders, the website reported.
White House officials have blamed Mr Biden’s halting performance during the debate on a cold. Mr Biden did not mention being sick during Tuesday’s fundraiser.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Tuesday showed that one in three Democrats think Mr Biden should end his re-election bid following the debate, but no prominent elected Democrat does any better than Mr Biden in a hypothetical match-up against Trump.
The two-day poll found that both Trump, 78, and Mr Biden, 81, maintain the support of 40 per cent of registered voters, suggesting that Mr Biden has not lost ground since the debate.
Among the names of top Democrats put before respondents, only Michelle Obama, the former first lady, outperformed Mr Biden and led Trump 50 per cent to 39 per cent in a hypothetical matchup.
Mrs Obama has said she does not intend to run for president.
