During a campaign event in McLean, Virginia, on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden acknowledged that his debate performance was not his best. He attributed his underwhelming showing to jet lag, having traversed nearly 100 time zones during two international trips earlier in June. Addressing concerns about his 2024 reelection bid, Biden candidly admitted, “I didn’t have my best night, but the fact is that you know, I wasn’t very smart.”
Biden explained that he had made the decision to undertake extensive global travel before the debate, leading to fatigue. “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.” Prior to the debate, Biden had traveled to France and Italy on two separate occasions within a two-week span.
Following his attendance at the Group of Seven summit in Bari, Italy, Biden flew overnight to participate in a fundraiser with former President Barack Obama in Los Angeles on June 15, before returning to Washington the next day. He then spent six days at Camp David preparing for the June 27 debate.
Despite White House officials attributing Biden’s hesitant debate performance to a cold, he did not mention being unwell during Tuesday’s fundraiser. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, which concluded on Tuesday, showed that one-third of Democrats think Biden should withdraw his reelection bid following the debate. However, the poll also indicated that no prominent elected Democrat outperforms Biden in a hypothetical contest against Trump.
The two-day poll revealed that both Trump, 78, and Biden, 81, each have the support of 40% of registered voters, indicating that Biden’s backing has not waned since the debate. The election is scheduled for November 5.