Joe Biden ‘asleep’ at climate summit sparks wave of criticism, sympathy

[ad_1]

President Joe Biden was seen on camera appearing to fall asleep during a United Nations climate change summit, drawing both criticism and sympathy.

A video posted to Twitter by Washington Post reporter Zach Purser Brown showed the president closing his eyes for about 20 seconds during the opening speeches at the COP26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland on Monday. We see an assistant approaching the president, who then opens his eyes and applauds at the end of the speech.

The video quickly went viral and was viewed more than 4.6 million times as of Tuesday morning. Some have criticized the president for the optics of the moment, but others have expressed sympathy for the president’s jet-lagged state. He arrived in Glasgow after meeting with the leaders of the Group of 20 in Rome.

“America is in crisis and Joe Biden is sleeping behind the wheel,” House Republicans said in a tweet.

“Damn… not the best look when you’re trying to say the word to wake up,” Piers Morgan tweeted.

Representative Ronny Jackson, who was previously a White House physician under former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, tweeted: “NO ONE in their right mind believes this man really runs our country. work, that is EMBARRASSING. He must resign. America deserves better than this. “

However, others have defended Biden, with some suggesting they too would find it difficult to stay awake during a climate summit. “To be fair, I would also fall asleep during a climate conference,” Natalie Johnson wrote on Twitter.

Daniel Garza tweeted: “I’m giving him a pass on this one: travel abroad, the speaker is monotonous, talking points are repeated….”

Ari Fleischer, who served as White House press secretary during George W. Bush’s presidency, wrote that it was “hard to blame him.”

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump took the opportunity to mock Biden, alleging the president “fell asleep” because he couldn’t stand to hear more about global warming.

“Even Biden couldn’t stand hearing so much about the Global Warming Hoax, the 7th biggest hoax in America,” Trump said in a statement.

“Biden went to Europe saying global warming was his top priority, then quickly fell asleep, for everyone to see, at the conference itself,” he added. “No one who has genuine enthusiasm and belief in a subject will ever fall asleep!”

During a summit speech, Biden apologized for Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement. “I shouldn’t apologize, but I apologize for the fact that the United States, the last administration, withdrew from the Paris Accords and put us a bit off the eight ball,” a- he declared.

The White House has been contacted for comment.

President Joe Biden presents his national statement on the second day of COP26 at the SECC on November 1, 2021 in Glasgow, UK. Andy Buchanan / Pool-Getty Images

[ad_2]