By Steve Holland
MCLEAN, Virginia (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday acknowledged his efficiency throughout final Thursday’s presidential debate wasn’t his greatest, however blamed it on jet lag after two abroad journeys earlier in June.
Biden has confronted mounting questions on his 2024 reelection bid after final week’s shaky debate efficiency, with one Home of Representatives fellow Democrat on Tuesday publicly calling on him to withdraw from the race.
Talking at a marketing campaign occasion in McLean, Virginia, on Tuesday night, Biden admitted the talk in opposition to former President Donald Trump, his Republican rival, didn’t go effectively.
“I didn’t have my greatest night time, however the reality is that you understand, I wasn’t very good,” Biden mentioned, talking on the marketing campaign fundraiser with out assistance from a teleprompter. “I made a decision to journey all over the world a pair occasions, going by round 100 time zones … earlier than … the talk.
“Didn’t take heed to my workers and got here again and almost fell asleep on stage,” he mentioned. “That is no excuse however it’s an evidence.”
Biden traveled to France and Italy throughout two separate journeys within the house of two weeks final month, flying in a single day from the Group of Seven summit in Bari, Italy, to seem at a fundraiser with former President Barack Obama in Los Angeles on June 15 earlier than returning to Washington the next day.
He then spent six days at Camp David getting ready for the June 27 debate.
White Home officers have blamed Biden’s halting efficiency in the course of the debate on a chilly. Biden didn’t point out being sick throughout Tuesday’s fundraiser.
A brand new Reuters/Ipsos ballot that closed on Tuesday confirmed that one in three Democrats suppose Biden ought to finish his reelection bid following the talk, however no distinguished elected Democrat does any higher than Biden in a hypothetical matchup in opposition to Trump.
The 2-day ballot discovered that each Trump, 78, and Biden, 81, keep the assist of 40% of registered voters, suggesting that Biden has not misplaced floor for the reason that debate. Election Day is Nov. 5.
(This story has been refiled to repair the hyperlink in paragraph 9)
(Reporting by Steve Holland; writing by Andrea Shalal; Modifying by Leslie Adler)
