Rob Crilly, chief US political correspondent, and Nikki Schwab, chief elections correspondent for Dailymail.Com in Washington, DC
Updated on July 2, 2024 at 23:48 and July 3, 2024 at 01:51
President Joe Biden blamed his poor performance on traveling around the world ahead of Thursday’s disastrous debate.
The 81-year-old president made the concession Tuesday night at a fundraiser in McLean, Virginia, an upscale Washington, D.C., suburb.
He told the crowd that it “wasn’t a very wise move” to “travel around the world a few times” ahead of his showdown with former President Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner.
“Right before the debate I decided to take a couple of trips around the world, didn’t listen to my staff and nearly fell asleep on stage,” the president said.
“This is an explanation, not an excuse,” he added.
Biden spent the entire week holed up at Camp David preparing for the debate after spending the Juneteenth holiday in Rehoboth Beach.
Before that he made back-to-back visits to France to mark the anniversary of the Normandy landings, and to Italy for the G7.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that Biden had been so exhausted from all the jet-setting that his advisers cut debate preparations by two days in favor of a beach trip.
And at the presidential vacation home, debate preparations didn’t begin until 11 a.m., giving Biden time to take a nap each afternoon.
The fundraiser was scheduled after press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was forced to personally explain herself from the White House podium after the president’s poor debate performance.
The tense exchanges suggest that the issue of the president’s decline is likely to overshadow the rest of this year’s election as anxious Democrats begin to openly call for Biden to step down.
“We’re not going to deny what you saw, or what the American people saw,” Karine Jean-Pierre said.
“I understand it was a bad night. It’s not uncommon for incumbents to have a bad night in the first debate. We’re going to continue doing the work we’ve been doing for the American people.”
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Her explanation that the president simply had a cold and had no plans to resign prompted a reaction of incredulity in the White House briefing room.
She was then peppered with follow-up questions about whether she had taken any cold medicine before the debate (she said she hadn’t) or if she had a more serious illness.
At one point, she was asked if he was “disabled.”
Another reporter asked: “I think the American people need to get a yes or no answer on this: Does President Biden, who is 81 years old, have Alzheimer’s or some other form of dementia or degenerative disease that would cause a gaffe like this?”
Jean-Pierre responded: “No, and I think you’re asking the other person exactly the same question.”
The problem for the White House and the Biden campaign is that Trump emerged as the clear winner of the debate.
Biden faltered over his answers and went on bizarre, disconnected tangents, looking like someone not 81 years old.
He was unable to counter Trump’s exaggerations and lies and was helped off the stage by his wife at the end of the 90 minutes.
Trump’s poor performance has dominated headlines since then, sparking panic among Democratic donors who worry that his campaign is sleepwalking toward disaster.
Asking questions in the briefing room about dementia and what Biden’s condition will be at the end of his second term is unhelpful.
Jean-Pierre did her best to put an end to the debate, painting a picture of a busy president juggling his duties, traveling to Wisconsin later in the week for an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos and holding a solo press conference next week when NATO leaders arrive in Wisconsin.
She also confirmed that President Trump was holding an online meeting with Democratic governors, but did not answer a question about whether it was intended to provide reassurance.
“We want to turn a new page on this and we want to turn a new page for the American people because we know the American people need to see their president,” she said.
Whether that will be enough to assuage growing concerns among donors and strategists is another matter.
Several people told DailyMail.com they were surprised the president didn’t launch an immediate counterattack, instead going into hiding over the weekend.
The private conversations became public on Tuesday after a Democratic first-term candidate publicly called for Biden to drop out of the race.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first Democrat to call for Biden to resign.
“My decision to publicly express these strong concerns was not made lightly and does not diminish my respect for all that President Biden has accomplished,” he said.
“Recognizing that, unlike President Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I expect him to make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw, and I respectfully urge him to do so.”