Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Trump wildly claims Biden may be on drugs in rambling speech

‘You know what happens after about 20 minutes, the stuff that he’s taking wears off so he gets a little groggy, he gets a little bit groggy,’ Mr Trump tells crowd in Florida

Mike Bedigan
Los Angeles
Thursday 12 October 2023 14:57 EDT
Comments
Trump claims Biden may be on drugs in rambling speech.mp4

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Donald Trump hit out at a “groggy” Joe Biden in yet another rambling speech, during which he appeared to accuse the president of taking drugs to stay awake while giving press conferences.

The former president once again compared his own mental capacity to that of Mr Biden, telling a crowd in Palm Beach, Florida, that he had no problem exiting the stage at his own events.

Speaking about upcoming presidential candidate nominations, Mr Trump said: “We’re inches away and we have a man that literally can’t speak. He can’t get off the stage.

“The other day he tried to get off the stage and look, I’m up here and there’s a lot of people, there’s a lot of television going crazy. There’s so much.

“I’m up here, but you know when I’m finished I’m gonna look over there. I’m gonna see the exit. I’m gonna look over. I can take that one. What I can’t do is walk through the back wall…”

Mr Trump’s remarks appeared to reference an incident last year at the UN Global Fund event in New York, in which Mr Biden appeared confused about which way to exit the stage following a speech.

The president also raised eyebrows last month at a press conference in Vietnam, during which he told reporters he was “going to go to bed” and had his microphone cut off by his own team.

In Florida, Mr Trump continued: “Did you see the other day? … You know what happens after about 20 minutes, the stuff that he’s taking wears off so he gets a little groggy, he gets a little bit groggy.

“They say ‘get him off the stage, that s*** is wearing off’... ”

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on his efforts to curb so-called junk fees, from the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 11, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on his efforts to curb so-called junk fees, from the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 11, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (REUTERS)

Referring to a White House scandal earlier this year, he added: “And I’m sure that the cocaine that they found in the White House… I feel certain it had nothing to do with Hunter and Joe, by the way…. ‘Here dad have a little of this stuff it’s gonna liven you up a bit.

“Can you imagine they found a stash that you wouldn’t believe and nobody laid claim to it.”

Mr Biden’s team has hit back multiple times against accusations that the president’s age is affecting his capacity as president.

Following the incident in Vietnam, White House Deputy Communications Director Herbie Ziskend posted Mr Biden’s busy schedule, which included meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, before flying to multiple locations in the US.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in