When the going gets tough for the Biden White House, Karine Jean-Pierre can always be counted on to make matters worse, and history’s worst press secretary was in rare form on Wednesday.
At issue was Joe Biden’s latest excuse for his monumentally damaging debate performance. As RedState reported, the president’s senility was on full display, from his physically weak presentation to his typical mental collapses. Jill Biden having to guide him down a short flight of stairs at the end was the capper to a truly disastrous night.
SEE: Troubling Post-Debate Moment With Joe and Jill Biden and Another Handler Has People Talking
A variety of excuses have been given for Biden’s faceplant, ranging from him having a “cold” to his staff “overpreparing” him. On Tuesday, a new contender entered the ring. According to Biden himself, he was jet-lagged from traveling through “I don’t know how many time zones.”
READ: The Growing List of Desperately Comical Biden Performance Excuses
“I wasn’t very smart,” President Biden says in McLean. “I decided to travel around the world a couple times, going through I don’t know how many time zones — for real I think it 15 time zones…I didn’t listen to my staff.”
“And then I came back and nearly fell asleep on stage.“
— Matt Viser (@mviser) July 2, 2024
There’s a problem, though. Biden spent over a week hiding out at Camp David before the debate, which led to Karine Jean-Pierre being asked an obvious question: Is the president so far gone that he needs that long to recover from jet lag?
The press secretary’s answer was something else, and shameless doesn’t begin to cover it.
(Transcript mercifully provided by Curtis Houck so I didn’t have to lose my mind…)
AP’s @SeungMinKim: “Last night at the fundraiser, the President blamed jet lag for his debate performance, but he was back stateside for well over a week. So, does he really need more than a week and a half to recover from — from — from traveling in Europe? And did he really — is… pic.twitter.com/k0t48fuGnq
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 3, 2024
MIN KIM (AP): Last night at the fundraiser, the President blamed jet lag for his debate performance, but he was back stateside for well over a week. So, does he really need more than a week and a half to recover from — from — from traveling in Europe? And did he really — is that really what he thinks caused his poor debate performance?JEAN-PIERRE: So, yeah, just a couple of things, and I do appreciate the question because you — you know, the President has certainly spoken to this many, many times about the debate, and so, he had an opportunity to do that in front of supporters and I, just as you just stated he did that. He — he talked about, He owned that the debate was not his best night and it — and he said himself. It’s not an excuse, but it’s an explanation. I was standing here yesterday, and many people were asking why and what’s the explanation? And that’s what you heard from him.
Look, the two, I think — in addition to the two major trips, he was also doing — continue to do his presidential duties. He worked late in doing that, and he also prepared for the debate. And on top of that, there was, obviously, the jet lag, as you just asked — asked about and also he had a cold and you all heard directly. You heard — you heard from him during the debate. He had a hoarse voice. Many of you reached out to me and my team and some other members of the White House asking what was going on. We confirmed that he had a cold, and so, I think those two things — continuing obviously to do his duties, as commander in chief, as the president, and so I think some of you here in this room can certainly relate to, you know, what — what could happen when you’re having an important moment and you’re not feeling well and yeah — and also you wish you could have done better.
And — uh — so, he took ownership. I think that’s important — uh — and he’s going to continue to make a strong case for his agenda, and that’s what you’re going to see — uh — and he was given an explanation, and that’s what he wanted to do. He wanted to get that out there and for people to hear directly from him as he has been doing since — since Friday of last week.
To start, the president has not “spoken to this many, many times about the debate.” In fact, he has not spoken directly and publicly one time about the debacle. Everything we’ve heard so far has come from leaks regarding donor and campaign calls.
Secondly, nowhere in that answer is there any actual explanation for why “jet lag” would still be affecting the president nearly a week and a half after he returned from Europe. Jean-Pierre just glosses right over that as if it’s self-evident.
Thirdly, how did hiding out at Camp David “preparing” for the debate lead to such exhaustion? He was basically on vacation, secluded and free from the daily stresses of being in the White House. Yet, he showed up on stage looking as if he’d just pulled a dozen consecutive all-nighters. That doesn’t begin to add up.
Lastly, this idea that Biden is constantly physically and mentally exhausted because he’s just working so darn hard for the American people is insulting. He’s one of the most pampered people on earth. He lives in absolute luxury on the taxpayer dime and goes to his beach house nearly every weekend. He eats the best food and receives the best medical care. Biden isn’t out there digging ditches and chopping wood, putting his nose to the grind.
Jean-Pierre’s word salad is the state of the Biden administration. They’ve got nothing left but talking in circles and gaslighting. It’s only going to get worse from here.
