'If He's Awake': Jean-Pierre on Jet Lag, Naps and No Medical Exam Since February (July 3, 2024)

A week after the debate, the White House had a new explanation: jet lag. A reporter was skeptical. “Last night at the fundraiser, the president blamed jet lag for his debate performance, but he was back stateside for well over a week. So, does he really need more than a week and a half to recover from — from traveling in Europe?” [1]

“He — he talked about, he owned that the debate was not his best night. And it — and he said himself, it’s not an excuse, but it’s an explanation,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre answered [1].

The video above shows part of the July 3, 2024, briefing. Quotes are from the official transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

”Have You Had a Cold Before?”

Another reporter laid out the timeline. “I mean, how — how is it that the president was still tired 12 days after returning from Europe, had a cold but then went to the Waffle House, and then the following day stage such a huge comeback that he gave those North Carolina remarks?” [1]

“Have you had a cold before?” Jean-Pierre asked. “Of course I’ve had a cold before,” the reporter said. “Hold on a second. There is a cold, there is a jet lag — you combine that,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

”Does He Have an Afternoon Nap Every Day?”

“Does he have an afternoon nap every day?” a reporter asked. “Let me be very clear about this. This is a president that wakes up every morning and puts the American people first. That’s what he does,” Jean-Pierre said. “I am not going to speak to sources out there — unnamed sources out there” [1].

”If He’s Awake”

When a reporter said the press would invite Biden to the briefing room, Jean-Pierre said: “Noted. Noted.” Then another reporter called out: “If he’s awake” [1].

“That’s inappropriate,” a reporter said. Jean-Pierre agreed: “As you heard from your colleague, the president of the WHCA, that’s inappropriate” [1].

”Absolutely False”

Reporters asked whether Biden was weighing his future. “Is the president telling people he’s evaluating the — the race?” one asked. “Absolutely false. That is absolutely false,” Jean-Pierre said. “And we asked the president. The president responded directly when asked about this question, because we said that we would, and the president said it is no. It is absolutely false” [1].

“Is there any discussion that if the president were to suspend his campaign that he would also resign?” another asked. “No. No,” she said. Asked about “the vice president assuming his duties,” Jean-Pierre answered: “Absolutely not” [1].

”I Would Not Call It an Episode”

“What steps would the president be taking or would you as a team plan to try to prevent another episode in public that would be deemed worrisome?” a reporter asked [1].

“I would not call it an episode. I would call it we had a — a bad night. Right? It was not his best night. He had a cold. He was jet lagged,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

”Not Unusual for a President to Use a Teleprompter”

“If there are so many questions right now about whether President Biden can do this job, why are we not seeing the president out there every single day in an unscripted way without teleprompters?” a reporter asked. “Look, it is not unusual for a president to use a teleprompter. It isn’t. It is not unusual,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

”That Is a No”

“Has the president had any medical exams since his last annual physical in February?” a reporter asked. “We were able to talk to the — to his doctor about that, and that is a no,” Jean-Pierre said. “He hasn’t had any kind of medical exam?” “No” [1].

Asked why the White House would not make the president’s physician available, she said: “It is not the norm to bring the doctor to the podium” [1].

”How Did the President Get That So Wrong?”

A reporter raised Biden’s claim at the debate that no troops had died on his watch. “Obviously, the 13 U.S. service members died at Abbey Gate during the Afghanistan withdrawal. And then, this year, three U.S. service members died in a drone attack in Jordan,” the reporter said. “I get having a bad night. But how did the president get that so wrong?” [1]

Jean-Pierre said Biden “attended the dignified transfer of the 13, as you just mentioned, brave service members who lost their lives in Afghanistan on August 26th, in 2021, and as well as the 3 who lost their lives in Jordan earlier this year” [1]. For the claim itself, see HYGO News’ page on the debate.

By the Numbers

12 days: between Biden’s return from Europe and the debate, per a reporter’s question [1].
13: U.S. service members killed at Abbey Gate, Aug. 26, 2021 [1].
3: U.S. service members killed in Jordan in January 2024 [1].
0: medical exams since February, per Jean-Pierre [1].
18 days: from the briefing to Biden’s exit from the race [2].

What Happened Next

Biden left the race. On July 21, 2024, Biden wrote that “it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term” [2].

For the briefing the day before, see HYGO News’ page on “a cold and a bad night”, and for more of Jean-Pierre’s answers checked against the record, the Karine Jean-Pierre record page.