President Biden said Thursday he needs to ‘pace’ himself and insisted he should take on a more robust schedule ahead of the 2024 election, despite growing concern from members of his own party about whether he is fit to serve as president.
Biden’s comments about his schedule came during a NATO press conference as he fielded questions from reporters, one of whom asked about a recent New York Times report claiming Biden told Democratic governors in a private meeting at the White House that he would stop scheduling events after 8 p.m. so he could get more sleep.
‘That’s not true. What I said was, instead of my every day starting at 7 [a.m.] and going to bed at midnight, it would be smarter for me to pace myself a little more,’ the president said. ‘And I said, for example … instead of starting a fundraiser at 9 o’clock, start it at 8 o’clock. People get to go home by 10 [p.m.]. That’s what I’m talking about.’
Biden also appeared to take a shot at his own staff for adding additional events and appearances to his schedule, which resulted in him ‘catching hell’ from first lady Jill Biden.
‘The next debate I’m not going to be traveling in 15 time zones a week before. Anyway, that’s what it was about. That’s what it was about — and by the way, even with that, I love my staff, but they add things. They add things all the time. I’m catching hell from my wife,’ he added.
Biden urged reporters to look at what he has done since his disastrous debate performance against former President Trump on June 27, saying his ‘schedule has been full bore’ with ‘roughly 20 events, some with thousands of people showing up.’
In line with his vow to ‘pace’ himself, it appears things could slow down for the president over the next few days. The president, according to his schedule, plans to spend the weekend at the beach in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware – a popular retreat for the president during his tenure in the White House – after a campaign event in Michigan.
On Friday, the president will travel to Wayne County, Michigan, where he will participate in a campaign event at 6 p.m. Aside from the lone campaign event, the president’s Friday schedule appears to be clear. Most of his day will be spent traveling.
However, when he returns to work next week, the president will gear up for additional high-stakes interviews amid the Republican National Convention, which is taking place in Milwaukee from July 15 to 18.
Biden is slated to take part in a taped, one-on-one interview with ‘NBC Nightly News’ anchor Lester Holt on Monday from Austin, Texas. That interview, which will mark the president’s second cable news appearance since his rocky debate last month, will air in its entirety at 9 p.m. ET the same day.
The president will also take part in two additional interviews next week, according to Dylan Byers, a senior correspondent for Puck News.
Byers reported Thursday that Biden would take part in a Tuesday interview with a ‘Black national media outlet’ during the NAACP Conference, and another on Wednesday with a ‘Latino national media outlet.’
Those interviews will come as Biden continues his attempt to convince members of his own party, as well as voters from different corners of America who have concerns about his age and mental acuity, that he is up to the task of four more years in the White House.
A large majority of Americans want Biden to drop out of the race, including a majority of his own supporters, according to a Thursday poll from ABC News and the Washington Post that was released ahead of his press conference.
A full 67% of respondents said Biden should drop out of the race, and 85% say he is too old to serve out a second term. Meanwhile, 60% of respondents also said former President Trump is too old for a second term, up from 44% in the spring of 2023.
Among Democrats and voters who said they lean Democratic, 62% said Biden needs to drop out of the race. Even among self-professed Biden supporters, 54% said he needs to drop out.
Despite that, the poll found that Biden and Trump are virtually tied, despite voters’ lack of confidence in Biden, with 46% saying they would vote for the current president and 47% saying they support Trump.
A total of 18 elected Democrats have called on Biden to step aside in the White House race.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.