Democrat governors held an emergency meeting with Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday evening, during which Biden told them he is staying in the race.
The New York Times reports that Biden told nearly two dozen governors—about half attending in person and the rest via video conference—that his health is fine, saying, “It’s just my brain.”
The Biden campaign later framed the remark as a joke in comments to the Times.
Biden also mentioned that he needs to get more sleep, work fewer hours, and avoid events after 8 p.m.
He attributed his poor debate performance against President Trump last Thursday to jet lag from two trips to Europe last month and a fundraising trip to California.
Biden had spent the week before the debate in seclusion at Camp David, taking afternoon naps during debate preparation sessions.
Additionally, Biden blamed a cold for his disastrous debate performance. He told the governors that he had been examined by a doctor after the debate, contradicting the White House’s previous statements that he had not been seen by a doctor.
"It's Just My Brain." Biden Tells Governors He Needs More Sleep, Less Work at Nighthttps://t.co/wpkoZTH6rT
— HotAir.com (@hotairblog) July 5, 2024
From the New York Times report:
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.
…
Mr. Biden said that he told his staff he needed to get more sleep, multiple people familiar with what took place in the meeting said. He repeatedly referenced pushing too hard and not listening to his team about his schedule, and said he needed to work fewer hours and avoid events after 8 p.m., according to one of the people familiar with what took place at the meeting.
After Gov. Josh Green of Hawaii, a physician, asked Mr. Biden questions about the status of his health, Mr. Biden replied that his health was fine. “It’s just my brain,” he added, according to three people familiar with what took place — a remark that some in the room took as a joke but at least one governor did not and was puzzled by.
Jen O’Malley Dillon, Mr. Biden’s campaign chair, who attended the meeting, said in a statement that he had said, “All kidding aside,” a recollection confirmed by another person briefed on the meeting. Ms. O’Malley Dillon added: “He was clearly making a joke.”
CNN confirmed the report:
President Biden told Democratic governors that he plans to stop scheduling events after 8 p.m. so he can get more sleep, sources say https://t.co/yZTIkBiBdB
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) July 4, 2024
The White House confirmed to reporters on Thursday that Biden had been seen by a doctor in the days following the debate. CNN’s M.J. Lee reported, “White House spox Andrew Bates confirms Biden was examined by his doctor in the days following last week’s debate ‘to check on his cold and was recovering well.’”
Lee noted that White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had dismissed the need for a doctor’s visit the day before, stating, “He did not get checked out by the doctor. It’s a cold, guys. It’s a cold. And I know that it affects everybody differently. We have all had colds. And so no, he was not checked by the doctor.”
A White House official adds when Biden was seen by his doctor after the debate, it was a “brief check,” not a physical. My question yesterday was not whether he had gotten another physical.
— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) July 4, 2024
White House is drawing a distinction between medical exam and getting checked out by doctor. Later in the same briefing:
— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) July 4, 2024
“He did not get checked out by the doctor. It’s a cold, guys. It’s a cold."
"We’ve all had colds. And so no, he was not checked by the doctor.” pic.twitter.com/k21FCEVn8L
'It's Just My Brain': Biden Makes STUNNING Admission During Meeting With Dem Governorshttps://t.co/qXcVBHLQUr
— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) July 5, 2024
A key responsibility of being president is to be on call and ready to make the toughest decisions 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
By Joe Biden’s own admission, he is currently not up to the task, let alone for another four years.
