On Tuesday night, President Joe Biden once again talked about his debate performance last week and how it “wasn’t very smart” for him to travel heavily before the event. At a campaign fundraiser in McLean, Virginia, Biden attempted to explain his lackluster presence on the debate stage in Atlanta.
“I decided to travel around the world a couple of times … shortly before the debate,” Biden stated per NBC News. “I didn’t listen to my staff … and then I almost fell asleep onstage. It’s not an excuse but an explanation.” It is unclear if Biden was joking, as cameras are not allowed into his fundraisers.
A few of his aides had previously said that Biden had a cold during the debate. Biden’s performance last Thursday received backlash as viewers questioned his ability to serve out another presidential term because of his age and mental sharpness (Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history at 81 years of age).
The First Lady, Jill Biden, has been encouraged and expected to critique her husband but has done the exact opposite. Last week, she praised Joe’s performance and reiterated that he “answered every question” and “knew all the facts.” Jill also reminded the audience that all Trump did was lie on stage.
On Friday (June 28), Biden first addressed concerns voters had over the debate. “I know I’m not a young man,” Biden, 81, told his supporters in Raleigh, North Carolina. “I don’t walk as easy as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to, but I know what I do know — I know how to tell the truth!”
The next presidential debate is expected to take place in September after both candidates formally accept their party’s nomination.