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It Seemed Like Biden's Latest Spin on His Poor Debate Performance Didn't Even Last an Hour

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  July 02, 2024 10:30 PM

President Joe Biden tried to spin his abysmal debate performance last Thursday night by claiming he was essentially sleep-deprived. I’m not kidding. It’s not that he’s over 80 and has a history of mental health episodes that were on full display as former President Donald Trump grounded him into dust before a national audience.

At a fundraiser at McLean, Virginia, the president tried to downplay his potentially election-killing performances, claiming he went through scores of time zones, didn’t listen to staff, and should’ve rested properly (via WaPo):

Biden, at a fundraiser in McLean, Va., on Tuesday, expressed confidence as he downplayed his debate night struggles. 

“I know I didn’t have my best debate night,” he said. But citing the $38 million his campaign has raised since the debate, he added, “So far so good. I’m feeling good about what’s happening.” 

He noted that in the days before the debate, he made a trip to France for a D-Day commemoration and Italy for Group of Seven summit. 

“I wasn’t very smart,” he said. “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 onstage. At any rate, that’s no excuse, but it is an explanation.” 

The Democratic Party has been embroiled in a crisis in recent days, after longtime concerns about Biden’s age and stamina were crystallized by the debate performance in which he sometimes struggled to complete sentences. Some Democrats have complained that Biden has not responded with sufficient urgency, saying he needs to hold more public appearances and engage more with party leaders. 

How’s the saying go? That dog won’t hunt. This talking point died within an hour, maybe less. The Biden campaign has disrespected not just the voters but core allies and top donors within the Democratic Party with this ‘Baghdad Bob’ strategy of not wanting to address the president’s failing mental health, which is clear as day. They don’t even want to hear concerns from donors. Instead, they’ve delivered pre-packaged anecdotes about how robust Biden’s health is—it’s not working. Also, Biden had a week of rest at Camp David, where he reportedly had nap time penciled into his debate preparation sessions.

The White House wants to turn the page. It’s impossible since there are lingering questions regarding the president’s mental state. Second, for months, they’ve dismissed and downplayed reports on Biden’s mental woes, even going so far as to claim unedited footage of the president looking lost and wandering off, as he did in Italy at the G7 Summit, as selectively edited. The media was in on it, too. That got torched last week. 

There’s no way to spin it, no way to salvage it. And denying it ever happened, which seems to be what the administration is testing/doing half-heartedly, is beyond incompetent. Talk about the latest entry in the Streisand Effect. My word.

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