During a recent campaign event in McLean, Virginia, US President Joe Biden admitted that his performance during the presidential debate last Thursday was not up to par. He attributed his shaky showing to jet lag resulting from two overseas trips he took earlier in June. Specifically, he traveled to France and Italy during two separate trips in a short time frame before the debate.
Biden acknowledged that he did not listen to his staff’s advice and that this led to his less-than-stellar performance on stage. Despite traveling through around 100 time zones before the debate and nearly falling asleep during the event, Biden accepted responsibility for his actions but emphasized that it was not an excuse. Instead, he saw it as an explanation for his subpar performance.
The White House initially blamed Biden’s slow performance during the debate on a cold, but Biden did not mention being sick during a fundraising event on Tuesday. Despite facing criticism after the debate, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that Biden and his Republican rival Donald Trump maintained equal support among voters, with no prominent elected Democrat doing any better in a hypothetical matchup against Trump.
Despite these findings, one in three Democrats believed Biden should withdraw from the race post-debate, but his support remained steady at 40 percent. The upcoming Election Day on November 5 will ultimately decide the fate of both candidates and their respective campaigns.
