A joke posted to the X account of President Joe Biden about “performance enhancers” backfired on Thursday after the commander-in-chief struggled throughout the presidential debate.
Before facing off against former President Donald Trump, Biden shared a post on social media that advertised a can of water portrayed as offering a cognitive boost.
“I don’t know what they’ve got in these performance enhancers, but I’m feeling pretty jacked up,” Biden said of the water. “Try it yourselves, folks. See you in a bit.”
Over on Biden’s website, the water—referred to as “Dark Brandon’s Secret Sauce,” a reference to the meme that depicts the president as cool, calm, and collected—is described as the “secret” behind Biden’s debate performance.
“The secret to a good debate performance? Staying hydrated. Get yourself the same performance enhancers Joe Biden took before going on stage. 100% water, 0% malarkey,” the listing says.
But Biden’s debate performance was marred by fumbling and brain fog, leading to numerous embarrassing moments that were capitalized on by Trump. In just one example, Biden confused viewers after boasting that he “finally beat Medicare.”
In response to the joke, supporters and opponents alike criticized Biden for failing to live up to the promise.
Many users on X called on Biden to remove the joke entirely during and after the debate.
“They need to delete this now,” one user said.
“You cannot stunt like this if you don’t have this on lock,” another said.
Biden’s quip appears to be in response to demands from conservatives, and later Trump, that the president take a drug test ahead of the debate to prove he isn’t relying on any substance to sharpen his clarity.
The demand was spurred after Trump supporters suspiciously viewed a remark made by a Biden campaign spokesperson earlier this week that the president would be “very energized” during the debate.
Biden’s unwillingness to entertain the wishes of conservatives, and his attempt to joke about it, only added fuel to the fire.
“It’s kind of a weird flex to draw attention to the fact that everyone think’s you’re doping to get through a 90m debate,” one user stated.
Some Biden supporters even jokingly argued that the president should have actually taken hard drugs instead.
“Mr. President, with all due respect, I really think you should try meth,” a user named Nic said.
With the next debate between Trump and Biden set to come in September, Biden may ultimately need to take his supporter’s advice.
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