Biden Has an Explanation for Poor Debate Performance

President Biden's explanation for his near universally-panned debate performance against Donald Trump? Jet lag. "I didn't have my best night," Biden said Tuesday while speaking to supporters at a Virginia fundraiser. "I wasn't very smart. I decided to travel around the world a couple of times, going through I don't how many time zones. I didn't listen to my staff. And then I came back and I nearly fell asleep on stage," he said, to laughs. "It's not an excuse but an explanation." USA Today and the BBC, however, note Biden had last returned from abroad on June 15, a full 12 days before the debate. (Also Tuesday, the White House press secretary repeated the explanation that Biden had a cold during the debate, the New York Times reports.)

He was in France from June 5 to 9 and in Italy from June 12 to 14, then returned to the States the following day and immediately traveled to California for a Hollywood fundraiser. He returned to the White House June 16, was at his Delaware home June 18, and spent June 20 to 27 at the Camp David presidential retreat. On Tuesday, Biden apologized for his performance at the debate, and said it's "critical" to beat Trump in November. As USA Today notes, as Biden's age and fitness for office are already being questioned by some, his Tuesday comments "could invite even more scrutiny over whether the 81-year-old president is up to the rigorous traveling, packed schedules, and other demands of a second term in the White House." (In a first, a House Democrat has called for Biden to step aside.)