News
President Biden Says He Nearly ‘Fell Asleep on Stage’ During Debate
![](https://imagez.tmz.com/image/94/16by9/2024/07/03/940d7ce79a7041cd9cfbe15e3ced6381_xl.jpg)
![](https://imagez.tmz.com/image/94/16by9/2024/07/03/940d7ce79a7041cd9cfbe15e3ced6381_xl.jpg)
President Biden is offering up an explanation for his lackluster performance debating Donald Trump … he says his travel schedule had him running on fumes, and feeling sleepy.
Biden made the excuse Tuesday at a campaign fundraiser in McLean, Virginia … and said he almost fell asleep on the debate stage.
![](https://imagez.tmz.com/image/24/16by9/2024/06/28/24be4b3b775f47a9a8f85fdcb1ffdfc3_md.jpg)
6/27/24
CNN
POTUS blamed his lack of energy on being sapped from long trips in the weeks before Thursday’s first presidential debate, including a trip to France in early June for the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Biden told the room, “I decided to travel around the world a couple of times … shortly before the debate … I didn’t listen to my staff … and then I almost fell asleep on stage” … according to pool reports from the fundraiser.
Remember … Biden went to France the first week of June, flew to California for a big fundraiser in Los Angeles on June 15 and then spent a week preparing for the June 27 debate at Camp David.
Biden told supporters he was not providing an excuse but an explanation … and went on to apologize for his debate performance while stressing the importance of beating Trump at the ballot box.
![](https://imagez.tmz.com/image/25/16by9/2024/07/01/25a094559e8342a1b5d80310f0190fd7_md.jpg)
TMZ.com
Worth noting … the debate started at 9 PM and Axios national political correspondent Alex Thompson joined us Monday on “TMZ Live” and told us Biden is at his sharpest between 10 AM and 4 PM and is prone to mental mistakes later in the day.
Biden’s chalking this up to jet lag, though. 🤷🏽♂️
![](https://entertainment-mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/eww.png)