President Joe Biden told a group of governors that he should get more sleep and work fewer hours to avoid fatigue while carrying out his official duties and running for reelection, according to reports.
Biden told a gathering of Democratic governors Wednesday that he should scale back his schedule, including cutting off any events that occur after 8 p.m., sources told the New York Times. The comments come as Biden faces questions from within his own party about withdrawing from the presidential race after his debate performance last week, during which he had multiple verbal slip-ups and repeatedly lost his train of thought.
However, Biden told governors in the meeting that he would not be dropping out, arguing that his worse-than-expected performance was due to his busy travel schedule and intense preparation for the debate, according to the outlet. The president said he told his staff members that he needs to get more sleep and lamented not listening to them about his schedule, a person who attended the meeting told the New York Times.
At one point in the meeting, Gov. Josh Green (D-HI) asked Biden questions about his health, prompting the president to respond that he was fine.
“It’s just my brain,” he said, according to the outlet.
The response left some governors unsure of what he meant, although several in the room received it as a joke, the outlet reported.
The comments come after Biden cited his recent foreign trips as a reason for his poor debate performance, claiming he was fatigued and experiencing jet lag. Biden told supporters at a fundraising event earlier this week he “wasn’t very smart” for traveling ahead of the debate and that he “almost fell asleep on stage.”
“It’s not an excuse but an explanation,” Biden said, apologizing for his poor performance while maintaining he has the stamina needed to challenge former President Donald Trump.
The meeting came after Biden reportedly told close allies that he may need to consider dropping out of the race if he cannot salvage his campaign, the New York Times reported earlier this week. The White House has denied that the president is having conversations about whether to withdraw from the race.
Biden also began his meeting with governors to argue he would not be dropping out, which some told the outlet felt as if the president was avoiding any debate on the topic.
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Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) became the first sitting House Democrat to call on Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race on Tuesday and was quickly followed by Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Seth Moulton (D-MA). Former Rep. Tim Ryan also came out on Tuesday to call on Harris to step up as the party’s 2024 nominee, calling Biden’s debate performance “deeply troubling” and evidence that the party must move forward.
The White House has remained confident in Biden’s abilities to serve a second term, brushing off suggestions that the president should step down or back out of the race. In a campaign speech after the debate, Biden acknowledged that although he is no longer a “young man,” he can hold a second term.
