Biden says he ‘almost fell asleep’ during debate after hectic travel schedule

US President Joe Biden acknowledged on Tuesday that his performance during the presidential debate Last Thursday was not the best, but he attributed it to jet lag after two trips abroad in early June.

Biden has faced mounting questions about his 2024 reelection bid after last week’s shaky debate performance, with a fellow House Democrat publicly calling on him Tuesday to drop out of the race.

At a campaign rally in McLean, Virginia, on Tuesday night, Biden admitted that the debate against former President Donald Trump, his Republican rival, did not go well.

“I didn’t have my best night, but the fact is I wasn’t very smart,” Biden said, speaking at the campaign fundraiser. “I decided to travel around the world a couple of times, going through about 100 time zones… before… the debate.”

“I didn’t listen to my staff and I came back and almost fell asleep on stage,” he said. “That’s not an excuse, but it’s an explanation.”

Biden traveled to France and Italy in two separate events over the course of two weeks last month, flying overnight from the Group of Seven summit in Bari, Italy, to appear at 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.

White House officials have blamed a cold for Biden’s shaky performance during the debate. Biden did not mention being sick during Tuesday’s fundraiser.

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday showed one in three Democrats think Biden should end his re-election bid after the debate, but no prominent elected Democrat fares better than the incumbent in a hypothetical matchup against Trump.

The two-day poll found that both Trump, 78, and Biden, 81, retain the support of 40% of registered voters, suggesting the president has not lost ground since the debate. The election is scheduled for Nov. 5.

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