Joe Biden’s travel-fatigue excuse for his performance in last week’s presidential debate has attracted scrutiny, with many questioning the legitimacy of his claims.
With some four months to go until the election, the Democratic president participated in the first 2024 presidential debate against his Republican challenger Donald Trump in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday. Newsweek contacted representatives for Biden by email outside of normal business hours to comment on this story.
During this debate, Biden gave a series of incoherent and confusing responses and appeared to trail off and not finish his sentences at times. This led to calls for him to end his reelection bid and allow the Democratic Party to install a new candidate to take on Trump. Biden’s odds of victory slumped, according to bookmakers.
In response to criticism, Biden said he was tired as he had recently returned from traveling.
“I wasn’t very smart,” he told donors at a fundraiser in McLean, Virginia, according to several reports. “I decided to travel around the world a couple times, going through I don’t know how many time zones—for real, I think it was 15 time zones… I didn’t listen to my staff.
“And then I came back and nearly fell asleep on stage.
“It’s not an excuse but an explanation,” the president added.
Biden made several trips in the weeks leading up to the debate. On June 13, the president joined other leaders for the Group of Seven summit in Apulia, Italy. Two days later, he flew to Los Angeles for a celebrity-filled fundraiser alongside former President Barack Obama.
On June 17, Biden welcomed NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House to discuss the alliance’s defense spending and plans for the 75th NATO Summit hosted in Washington, D.C., later this month.
However, Reuters reported that Biden headed to Camp David in Frederick County, Maryland, on June 21 to begin prep for the debate, six days before he took the stage.
With that in mind, some commentators said that Biden had had enough time off from traveling to recover for the debate.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, conservative journalist Spencer Brown said: “This doesn’t fly with the reporting that Biden spent his week of debate prep starting at *11 a.m.* and also took afternoon naps. If he can’t recover from a trip to Europe in a week in those easy conditions, he just…can’t be president.”
This doesn’t fly with the reporting that Biden spent his week of debate prep starting at *11am* and also took afternoon naps. If he can’t recover from a trip to Europe in a week in those easy conditions, he just…can’t be president. https://t.co/4HX8YKjRse
— Spencer Brown (@itsSpencerBrown) July 2, 2024
Journalist Nicholas Kristof said: “It’s unhelpful for the White House to offer excuses that are simply unconvincing. The president was back from Europe 12 days before the debate and spent a week at Camp David preparing for it. I don’t know what happened in the debate, but it wasn’t jet lag.
Josh Dawsey, an investigative reporter, wrote: “We all have jet lag – it sucks – but he’d been back more than a week?”
The next presidential debate is scheduled for September 10 at 9 p.m. ET. It will be hosted by ABC News.
Then, the election will take place on November 5.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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