House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is predicting nothing will prepare President Joe Biden to compete with his debate opponent”s energy.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Johnson said former President Donald Trump is in a “very good place” ahead of the debate.
“I did a lot of media over the last several days, and everybody wants to know which Joe Biden is going to show up,” the speaker continued.
He added, “My summary is this, it doesn’t matter if he drinks a whole gallon of energy drinks, he’s not going to be able to match the acumen and the readiness of Donald Trump, and that is what we expect.”
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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.
“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.”
The talk about Biden’s energy comes as 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.
