Biden admits he ‘almost fell asleep’ during debate

‘I wasn’t very smart,’ says Biden, admitting disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump.

By World Israel News Staff

President Joe Biden appeared to criticize his own performance at the first presidential debate of 2024 against his presumptive opponent and predecessor, Donald Trump, saying he was ill-prepared physically for the event.

Speaking with donors at a fundraiser in Virginia recently, the president blamed his trips to Europe earlier this month for his lethargy during the debate, saying his decision to make multiple trips in June before the debate was “wasn’t very smart.”

Biden travelled to Normandy, France for an event marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day on June 6th. Days later, he flew to Italy for a summit with the Group of Seven, returning to the U.S. on June 14th.

A week before the June 27th debate, Biden traveled to Camp David in Maryland for seven days of debate prep before flying to Atlanta.

On Tuesday, Biden addressed a group of donors in Virginia, but according to a report Wednesday by The Hill, spoke for just six minutes.

During his brief address, Biden reportedly acknowledged his poor showing at the debate, saying he nearly fell asleep on stage.

“I wasn’t very smart. I decided to travel around the world a couple of times … shortly before the debate,” Biden was quoted as saying.

“I didn’t listen to my staff … and then I almost fell asleep on stage.”

“It’s not an excuse but an explanation.”

Internal Democratic polls conducted by OpenLabs showed Biden losing ground to Trump across 14 battleground states and electoral districts after the debate, with the president now trailing in 11 of the 14 states, including in New Hampshire, Virginia, and New Mexico, all states which have been reliably Democratic since 2008.

The leaked OpenLabs document showed Biden falling an average of two percent against Trump in the battleground states, with the former president holding a six-point lead over Biden nation-wide.