House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) insists no one actually “expects” President Joe Biden will be on cocaine when he gets on the debate stage.
Johnson appeared on CNN’s “The Source” Tuesday evening and was asked by host Kaitlan Collins about his claim he has seen signs of cognitive decline with the president, and whether Republicans have set the bar too low for him ahead of his debate with former President Donald Trump.
The top House Republican insisted he has only “acknowledged what everyone sees.” However, he highlighted the example of his father-in-law, who he said is the same age as the president and “can do almost anything,” while Biden “cannot.”
Collins then asked if Johnson believes some of the “rhetoric” about Biden is “out of line” as some have suggested he will be on drugs to improve his performance at the debate.
“Look, there’s a lot of things that are said in jest,” Johnson said.
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He then shot down such claims, “Of course, no one expects that Joe Biden will be on cocaine. But they do ask questions… will he be on some sort of energy drinks or something, OK?”
“Look, his energy levels — you can see — vary depending on what format he’s in and what forum, and you know, we expect that he’ll do what he did at the State of the Union — he had a lot of energy that night,” Johnson continued. “So, that’s the Joe Biden I expect to see. The question is, can he stay for 90 minutes on that stage and go toe-to-toe with President Trump, who as you know, goes to rallies and talks two hours on end without any break and any notes.”
Collins called the suggestion Biden will be on drugs “frankly ridiculous” and baseless.
The segment comes as Trump and some House Republicans have called for the president to take a drug test ahead of the debate.
Last week, The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman told CNN Trump’s campaign has realized they set the expectations too low for Biden ahead of the 2020 debates.
Now, the Trump team is leaning into the suggestion Biden will be “jacked up” on some kind of drug ahead of the debate, and will be lively.
“It’s been reported that right now Crooked Joe’s gone to a log cabin to study, prepare,” Trump said during a rally on Saturday. “He’s sleeping now because they want to get him good and strong. So, a little before debate time, he gets a shot in the ass. They want to strengthen him up.
