President Joe Biden suggested that he would limit his future activities to earlier in the day and would no longer partake in events scheduled after 8 p.m. during a private meeting on Wednesday.
The suggestion was made during a closed-door meeting with Democratic governors just days after his disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump in Atlanta on June 27.
During the forum, Biden struggled to speak coherently and was often lost while facing Trump.
The aftermath of the debate has led to steady and increasing calls by Democrats and members of the corporate media for Biden to resign and drop out of the race with fewer than four months until the 2024 election.
The New York Times in its coverage of the meeting Wednesday reported that Biden suggested an earlier bedtime while addressing more than two dozen Democrats.
The newspaper reported: “President Biden told a gathering of Democratic governors that he needs to get more sleep and work fewer hours, including curtailing events after 8 p.m., according to two people who participated in the meeting and several others briefed on his comments.
“The remarks on Wednesday were a stark acknowledgment of fatigue from the 81-year-old president during a meeting intended to reassure more than two dozen of his most important supporters that he is still in command of his job and capable of mounting a robust campaign against former President Donald J. Trump.”
Speaking to NBC News about the reported bedtime suggestion, a person described as a Democratic lawmaker responded, “I don’t think it helps anything. It doesn’t help … What if we have a crisis in the middle of the night?”
The Times also reported, Biden at one point said Wednesday that he is physically fit and that his “brain” is responsible for his lapses in memory and his behavior.
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When addressing Democratic Gov. Josh Green of Hawaii, Biden said of his recent issues, “It’s just my brain,” the Times reported.
Some Democrats who were present for the discussion — including New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul — were said to have interpreted the comment as a joke.
One governor the Times did not identify was said to have been “puzzled” by the comment.
In a statement to the newspaper, a Biden spokesman lashed out at Trump and claimed the president simply needs more sleep.
“President Bush went to bed at 9, and President Obama made dinner at 6:30,” Kevin Munoz said. “Normal presidents strike a balance, and so does Joe Biden. Hardly the same rigor as Donald Trump who spends half of his day ranting on Truth Social about plans that would cause a recession and other half golfing.”
Biden’s debate performance got off to a difficult start for the 81-year-old last week, and his campaign quickly claimed he had been suffering from a cold.
Once the chatter about having him resign and step down spread online and on TV, his campaign blamed his debate performance on jet lag.
Biden returned from Europe nearly two full weeks before the debate against Trump.
The president reportedly has no intention to resign or shelve his re-election campaign.
