PoliticsJoe Biden Was 'Fatigued, Befuddled and Disengaged' Before Disastrous June 2024 Debate, Ex-Aide Claims
Joe Biden's former chief of staff claimed that he wasn't prepared for the June 2024 debate.
April 3 2025, Published 4:22 p.m. ET
Joe Biden was elected as president of the U.S. for one term from 2021 to 2025. When he took his oath, Biden was 78 years old — making him one of the oldest presidents in history.
During his presidency, Biden made headlines for appearing aloof and unaware of what was happening, and it wasn't long before social media users coined the term “Sleepy Joe” to describe the 46th president.
Ron Klain told Chris Whipple that Joe Biden was 'fatigued, befuddled and disengaged' before his June 2024 debate.
When it was time for him to face President Donald Trump during the debate in June 2024, Biden lost his train of thought on several topics. Ron Klain, who previously worked for Biden, has since spoken out about the disastrous event, saying the Democrat wasn’t prepared when he ran for his second term.
The claims from the White House’s former chief of staff were detailed by author Chris Whipple in his upcoming book, Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History, which is due to be released on Tuesday, April 8.
The former president is one of the oldest presidents in U.S., history.
Whipple explained how Klain found Biden to be “fatigued, befuddled and disengaged” before facing Trump in June 2024, adding, “Klain feared the debate with Trump would be a nationally televised disaster.” As a result, the former president had two mock debates organized for him to be better prepared.
“The first was scheduled to last 90 minutes but Klain called it off after 45,” Whipple detailed in his new book. “The president’s voice was shot and so was his grasp of the subject. All he really could talk about was his infrastructure plan and how he was rebuilding America and 16 million jobs. He had nothing to say about his agenda for a second term.”
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Ron Klain, former White House chief of staff, said there were two mock debates organized for Joe Biden before June 2024.
"25 minutes into the second mock debate, the president was done for the day,” Whipple added. “‘I’m just too tired to continue and I’m afraid of losing my voice here and I feel bad,’” Klain recalled Biden saying. “‘I just need some sleep. I’ll be fine tomorrow.’” After asserting his feelings, Biden allegedly went directly to bed.
Klain spoke with POLITICO this April about his interview with Whipple, where he blamed others for Biden’s success, or lack thereof, during the debate.
President Donald Trump is 78 years old, making him the same age Joe Biden was when he took his oath in 2021.
“My point wasn’t that the president lacked mental acuity… He was out of it because he had been [sidelined], not because he lacked capacity,” Klain said.
Though Biden has been heavily scrutinized for his age while in office, Trump has seemingly been given a pass for his old age, as the current president is 78 years old.
