President Joe Biden blamed travel plans that took him to France and Italy in the weeks ahead of his disastrous debate against Donald Trump for his poor performance on stage, seeking to explain a moment that has upended the 2024 race and imperiled his reelection prospects.
The jet lag explanation came after Biden’s advisers had previously chalked up his shaky performance to a cold. He was still struggling with the illness but had not taken medicine before his debate with Trump, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday. Biden’s meeting Wednesday with the governors is expected to be held virtually, with many joining via video call, according to people familiar with the matter. But a spokesman for Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, says he will be at the White House. Biden plans to travel on Friday to Wisconsin and to Philadelphia on Sunday then hold a press conference next week at the Nato summit in Washington, Jean-Pierre announced Tuesday.
Puck, a news site, also published a leaked memo from a pollster for a leading Democratic political action committee, finding that Biden’s favorability numbers plummeted after the debate in “the largest single-week drop” in nearly three years.“It is a legitimate question to say, is this an episode or is it a condition?” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday on MSNBC. “So when people ask that question it is legitimate, of both candidates.