President Joe Biden admitted again Tuesday night that he underperformed during last week’s debate, saying he was “not very smart” because he had traveled extensively in the weeks leading up to the Atlanta event.
“I decided to travel around the world a couple of times … shortly before the debate,” Biden said at a campaign fundraiser in McLean, Virginia.
“I didn’t listen to my staff… and then I almost fell asleep on stage,” he joked.
“It’s not an excuse, it’s an explanation,” he added. Aides had previously said Biden had a cold during the debate.
It wasn’t immediately clear to what extent Biden was joking about nearly falling asleep. Cameras aren’t allowed at his fundraisers, and the media relies on written pool reports. Biden has a track record of making candid or unexpected comments at fundraisers.
In apologizing for his disappointing performance, he also stressed that it was “crucial” to support the former President Donald Trump in november.
Biden went to France last month to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, then returned to the U.S. before heading to the Group of Seven Summit in Italy. He then held a fundraiser in Los Angeles and later spent several days at Camp David, Maryland, preparing for the debate.
Biden continues to defend his ability to take on Trump after a debate marked by a hoarse voice and rhetorical blunders that left many Democrats uneasy.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) on Tuesday became the first sitting Democrat in Congress to call on Biden to withdraw from the race.
At a campaign rally on Friday, Biden first discussed his performance the night before.
“I know I’m not a young man anymore,” Biden, 81, told supporters in Raleigh, North Carolina. “I don’t walk as easily as I used to. I don’t speak as fluently as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to, but I know what I do know: I know how to tell the truth!”
Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history. Trump, 78, is the second oldest.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
