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By Jennifer Jacobs, Akayla Gardner, and Justin Sink

July 2, 2024 at 4:25 PM UTC

Updated on

July 3, 2024 at 3:08 AM UTC

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President Joe Biden blamed travel plans that took him to France and Italy in the weeks ahead of his disastrous debate against Donald Trump for his poor performance on stage, seeking to explain a moment that has upended the 2024 race and imperiled his reelection prospects.

“I didn’t have my best night but the fact is that you know, I wasn’t very smart. I decided to travel around the world a couple times, going through around 100 time zones. For real, I think it was about 15 time zones,” Biden told Democratic donors at a Tuesday fundraiser in Virginia.