Sleepy Joe: President Biden admits he “fell asleep” during TV debate with Trump!
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Days after his disastrous ‘performance’ in a TV debate against his predecessor Donald Trump, a gaffe-prone President Joe Biden, 81, has admitted that he “almost fell asleep because of a jet leg” during the June 27 event.
His acknowledgment came amid pressure from Democrats after his poor performance at the debate, as well as growing questions about his cognitive ability to continue in office for four more years if he returns to power following the election in November, the media reported on Wednesday.
“I didn’t have my best night. I wasn’t very smart. I decided to travel around the world a couple of times, going through around 100 time zones before the debate,” President Biden said while addressing a campaign event on Tuesday in McLean, Virginia.
“Didn’t listen to my staff and came back and nearly fell asleep on stage… That’s no excuse, but it is an explanation.”
According to reports, he traveled to France and Italy in a span of just two weeks in June and then flew overnight from the G7 Summit in Bari, Italy, to Los Angeles where he appeared at a fundraiser with former US President Barack Obama.
Ahead of the debate on CNN, he spent six days at Camp David — the country retreat for a US President near Washington D.C.–preparing for the event.
While White House officials blamed President Biden’s poor performance on a cold, his re-election campaign is making all-out efforts to downplay the age factor.
Biden, already the oldest serving American President, would turn 82 by the time he is sworn in in January 2025 if he wins the November 5 election.
On Tuesday, a poll revealed that one in three Democrats thought Biden should end his re-election bid following the debate.
The survey also found the 78-year-old Trump and Biden maintain the support of 40 percent of registered voters, suggesting that the latter has not lost ground since the debate.
A CBS News poll released on Monday found that 45 percent of Democrats want Biden to step aside.
Last week, Biden appeared to struggle while responding to former US President Donald Trump’s charges during the debate.
A bombastic Trump lashed out at his successor, calling him a failure on the economy and the world stage. Biden looked to hit back, but his delivery was hesitant as he spoke rapidly in a soft, trailing-off voice and stumbled on his words several times.
It was the first debate ever between a President and former President — and each accused the other of being history’s worst.
Biden’s fumbling, halting performance sparked calls from Democrats for him to end his quest for a second term and for “soul-searching.”
His remarks could invite even more scrutiny over whether the 81-year-old is fit for rigorous traveling and, a packed schedule.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre today admitted the debate was “a bad night” but added that Biden “knows how to come back” from adversity.
Responding to the criticism, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said people around the world were looking at what Biden has done since coming into office, not just one night, and that they appreciate his policies.
