Biden’s bad-debate excuse tour assumes voters are stupid 

President Joe Biden and his surrogates have offered various excuses for his poor debate performance, including a cold, jet lag, and lack of preparation, but these excuses only serve to highlight his apparent physical and mental decline.

I’ve been on juries where a lawyer offers one excuse after another to justify his client’s questionable actions. It was very clear the attorney was trying to find some excuse — any excuse — that would resonate with the jurors so they would vote “not guilty.”

That’s what President Joe Biden and his various surrogates have been up to since his debate faceplant. He must think voters are too stupid to realize what he’s doing. Just look at the excuses. 

He had a cold. The first excuse came right after the debate ended, and first lady Jill Biden went on stage to take the president’s hand and gently lead him away. As soon as Fox News switched from the debate to a panel discussion, host Bret Baier said a Biden spokesperson had just sent a message saying the president’s lame performance was due to a cold. That’s hard to believe. 

Any competent presidential aide, knowing the president had a bad cold before going on the stage, would have notified the press, even if subtly, before the debate. That would lower expectations in case the president didn’t do a good job. And if the president excelled, it would allow the aide to boast he nailed it even with a cold. 

There was also a report that the president had been affected after taking a cold medication. But White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later assured reporters the president didn’t take any medication.  

But here’s the problem with the cold-made-me-do-it excuse: The president was back at a rally the next afternoon with a stronger, more assertive voice and message, and looking much tanner than during his debate appearance. Could a cold that so badly affected his Thursday evening debate performance be gone by early Friday afternoon? 

He’d been traveling. Next, Biden offered the he’s-been-traveling-internationally excuse. To be fair, jet lag is real, and it can take its toll on travelers. However, he had returned to the U.S. 11 days earlier. And he’s not in coach class but on Air Force One, where he has full sleeping amenities.  

Besides, the president had been at Camp David for some six days prepping for the debate. He’s the master of his time there. He can stop the debate preparation whenever he feels the need to rest.  

It’s his advisers’ fault. And then there were the reports that Biden’s family and inner circle had concluded the president’s poor performance was the fault of some longtime close advisers. They didn’t get him sufficiently prepared to take on Donald Trump. 

But if the problem was his cold or traveling, why would that be his advisers’ fault? Given his years in elected office, Biden should be the best-prepared, most-informed presidential candidate in history. How much prep did he need? 

Biden is now downplaying the advisers-did-it excuse. He said several times in his interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that he takes full responsibility for his poor performance, but restressed the cold and the international travel. And he added one more excuse. 

He needs to sleep more. Biden now says he was exhausted when he went on the debate stage. And he suggests he needs to sleep more and not schedule events after 8 p.m. But the job of president of the United States is demanding, which is why it needs someone with the stamina and presence of mind to deal with major issues whenever they arise. 

Recall, for example, Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign ad claiming that its 3 a.m. and the phone is ringing in the White House. The voice asks, “Who do you want answering the phone?” Good question. 

Is a man who is exhausted after six days of Camp David debate prep able to respond to a crisis at any time and in any place — especially after 8 p.m.? 

The real problem with Biden’s excuse tour is that it keeps voters’ minds focused on the issue he’s trying to avoid: his apparent physical and mental decline. Anyone who has been around seniors who are mentally slipping know they have good days and bad days, and eventually the bad days far outnumber the good ones. It’s nothing to be ashamed of; it happens to millions of seniors — and it is the best explanation for why Biden seemed so frail and confused on debate night but stronger the next day. 

But the leader of the free world can’t have bad days, especially in times of crisis. Imagine the disastrous consequences if, instead of Donald Trump, Biden’s face-off had been with Russia’s Vladimir Putin or China’s Xi Jinping.  

Voters who have been around declining seniors also know they often try to deny it and make up all kinds of excuses — excuses no one believes — when they slip up. Biden’s excuse tour is only reminding millions of voters of why they think he’s too old to be president for four more years. 

Merrill Matthews is a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas. Follow him on X@MerrillMatthews.