President Joe Biden he suggested to Democratic governors that evening activities be limited after 8 p.m. so he can get more sleep, according to two sources familiar with the exchange.
Biden met with governors on Wednesday night in an attempt to assuage concerns among his allies after a disastrous debate left Democrats worried about his ability to hold office and campaign for re-election.
He also joked that his health was fine, but that “it’s just my brain,” a source told NBC News.
“He was clearly joking and then said, ‘Joking aside,’” Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said Thursday.
The comments, first reported by The New York Times, are part of a series of leaks about the content of the meeting, which was not attended by staffers from the governors, the White House or the campaign. He also said he saw a doctor after the debate, contradicting an earlier White House claim.
Governor of California Gavin NewsomA Biden deputy who was present at the call and is seen as a potential future Democratic presidential candidate said Biden’s 8 p.m. comment was not “literal.”
“It was more of a rhetorical framework of just being fit and rested, because he was burning at both ends, you know, those last 10 days or so. And I think that was kind of what he was reflecting, just a more consistent focus on being his energetic self,” Newsom said.
A fourth person briefed on the meeting downplayed Biden’s comments about needing more sleep, adding that Biden generally acknowledged he needs to make better time to rest.
The campaign defended the comments, saying presidents need a balanced timetable.
“President Bush went to bed at 9, and President Obama made dinner at 6:30. Normal presidents find a balance, and Joe Biden is no exception,” campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz said in a statement. “Hardly the same rigor as Donald Trump, who spends half his day on Truth Social ranting about plans to cause a recession and the other half playing golf.”
In the week since the debate, Democrats have expressed frustration with Biden’s performance during the debate and the way he and his White House staff handled the response from allies.
Biden is expected to offer damage control in an interview with ABC News on Friday morning that will air in the evening, but some doubt it will be enough.
“One interview is not going to fix this,” Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., said Thursday on MSNBC. “He’s got one thing to do, and that’s stand up and go out there and prove to people that he can do the job, he’s going to do the job and he’s got the staying power.”
Congressman Scott Peters (Democrat of California) expressed doubt in an interview with a local CBS station in November that Biden would win, saying he was not sure he could support him at this point.
“The campaign, I think, has been very cavalier in its response,” he said, arguing that it needs to turn the numbers around in the swing states. “If they don’t have a plan, then I think we need to go in a different direction.”
But Peters and Dingell have held back from calling on Biden to resign as nominee. Only two House Democrats have publicly said he should drop out of the race.
Some allies continue to support us loyally.
Newsom campaigned in Michigan on Thursday, promoting the governors’ meeting.
“I mean this with absolute conviction,” he said of the meeting. “That was the Joe Biden I remember two weeks ago. That was the Joe Biden I remember two years ago. That is the Joe Biden I am happy to re-elect as president of the United States.”
CORRECTION (July 4, 2024, 2:13 p.m. ET): Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated Jen O’Malley Dillon’s role in the Biden campaign. She is Biden’s campaign chair, not a campaign manager.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
