White House aides reportedly insisted that President Joe Biden was only “credibly engaged” for six hours.
White House aides reportedly saw a “dazed” Biden at certain times, but that Biden appeared “focused” at other times, according to eight current and former White House aides. Said Axios.
WATCH — Biden surrogate Khanna: Biden advisers should never have agreed to 9pm debate, he says ‘daytime is much better’:
A source told the outlet that Biden was “definitely active” between “10 a.m. and 4 p.m.”
The source added that “slip-ups” and fatigue are more likely to occur “outside of those hours,” or even when Biden is traveling overseas.
This comes after Biden appeared frozen and disoriented during the presidential debate with former President Donald Trump, which began at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday.
Biden, tweeting in a hoarse voice, also repeated claims he has already denied, including the fabrication that they were “very fine people” and the false claim that they were “stupid losers.”
See — what was that?! After a week of rest and preparation, Biden made it through the debate coughing, stumbling and rambling:
Courtesy of CNN Presidential Debate
The 81-year-old president’s debate performance has raised questions about whether he is mentally and physically capable of serving another term as president, with some suggesting Biden should be replaced.
Several donors also panicked after Biden’s poor performance in the debate and called for him to withdraw from the debate, while others have reportedly pulled away from Biden.
Despite these concerns, Biden’s campaign has insisted he is “not dropping out” of the presidential race. Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton issued statements of support for Biden following his performance in the presidential debate.
WATCH — CNN’s Chris Wallace: Biden ‘can’t come back from that’ debate performance:
The Biden campaign also sent out a fundraising email with a message from actor Robert De Niro, who has been an ardent supporter of Biden.
The day after the presidential debate, Biden spoke passionately at a rally in North Carolina, Lively.
At a rally in North Carolina, Biden acknowledged that he “doesn’t walk as smoothly,” “talk as smoothly” or “debate as well” as he used to.
A Rasmussen Reports poll conducted May 28-30 found that 57% of voters believe Biden is getting “mentally slower” over time, while 34% disagree.
In an NBC News poll conducted Jan. 26-30, 62% of registered voters said they were “very concerned” that Biden lacked the mental and physical health necessary to serve a second term. 14% expressed “moderate” concern, and 13% expressed “mild concern.”
