Biden blames European trips for debate flop, despite long huddle at Camp David: ‘Almost fell asleep onstage’

President Biden is now blaming a recent series of trips to Europe for his rocky performance at the presidential debate, telling an audience at a campaign fundraiser in Virginia last night that he “wasn’t very smart” for “traveling around the world a couple times” beforehand. 

Biden spoke as pressure remains high Wednesday morning for the president to withdraw his re-election bid and let another Democrat pursue the nomination. 

“I decided to travel around the world a couple of times… shortly before the debate…I  didn’t listen to my staff… and then I almost fell asleep on stage,” Biden said during the event Tuesday night in McLean, according to print pool report. 

Biden added that he was sorry for his performance at the debate, but said it was “critical” to win November’s presidential election. 

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President Biden speaks during last week’s presidential debate in Atlanta, Georgia. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

“It’s not an excuse but an explanation,” Biden was quoted as saying. 

The president also highlighted that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has raised millions since the debate and “I feel good about it.” 

In early June, Biden traveled to France for D-Day commemorations.  

He then came back to the U.S. before flying out to Italy in mid-June for the G-7 Summit. 

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President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, left, arrive for a commemorative ceremony to mark D-Day 80th anniversary, on June 6, 2024, at the U.S. cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France.  (AP/Daniel Cole)

Then in the days leading up to last Thursday’s debate against former President Trump in Atlanta, Biden huddled with at least 16 current and former aides at Camp David in rural Maryland, according to The New York Times. 

Biden’s mock debates included his personal attorney, Bob Bauer, playing the role of Trump, the report said, while the team that helped prepare him was led by former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, and included National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, current White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, White House counselor Steve Richetti, as well as other campaign officials. 

Biden also traveled to the G-7 Summit in Italy in mid-June, in the leadup to last week’s presidential debate. (Reuters/Guglielmo Mangiapane)

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Then after Biden’s debate performance, his family members blamed his staff, complaining that they did not adequately prepare the president to go on the attack more, to focus more on laying out his vision for the next four years rather than getting bogged down in defending his record, and that they allowed him to become overworked without enough rest beforehand, Politico reported. 

Fox News’ Nicolas Rojas, Brandon Gillespie and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.