President Joe Biden said his poor performance at last week’s presidential debate was due to his international travel shortly before it—he even admitted that he almost fell asleep on the debate stage. Now, that confession, along with other reporting, is coming back to bite him.
During a press briefing today, Newsmax White House correspondent James Rosen quipped that Biden might be sleeping through the day after another reporter mentioned that Biden should address the press himself, rather than White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
“We would invite the president to come here and tell us directly,” Kelly O’Donnell, NBC’s Senior White House correspondent is heard saying in the video.
“If he’s awake,” Rosen then said.
O’Donnell then told Rosen that his remark was “inappropriate,” which Pierre seconded.
“As you heard from your colleague, the President of the [White House Correspondents Association], that’s inappropriate,” Pierre said to Rosen.
When tweeting about the now viral moment, the RNC Research account, which is managed by the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign, used a “fire” emoji to describe Rosen’s remark.
Popular right-wing X accounts posted the video, too, with their own commentary. End Wokeness called Rosen’s statement a mic drop.
And Drew Hernandez, a conservative commentator, said the video was proof that Biden’s campaign team is “collapsing.”
Biden’s sleep habits have long been a topic of discussion for Republicans: Former President Donald Trump refers to Biden as “Sleepy Joe.”
But since the debate last week, more Americans have been interested in Biden’s demeanor throughout the day. Axios reported last week that Biden aides said he is at his best between 10am and 4pm.
Before and after that range and when he’s traveling internationally, they said, “Biden is more likely to have verbal miscues and become fatigued.”
And a New York Times piece about Biden’s debate prep noted that naps were scheduled daily for the president.
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