Former President Donald Trump frequently derided his predecessor, labeling him “Sleepy Joe.”
Vice President J.D. Vance suggested that Jill Biden, wife of former President Joe Biden, effectively led cabinet meetings while her husband was purportedly asleep.
Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has reversed several of his predecessor’s policies and consistently criticized the octogenarian’s competence.
During a Fox News interview on Thursday, Vance addressed alleged tensions within Trump’s cabinet, following reports of a dispute between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Elon Musk, Trump’s advisor on government efficiency.
Vance acknowledged the veracity of some aspects of the rumor but denied any significant “misalignment” among cabinet members.
The vice president emphasized the need for the cabinet to “solve” problems internally “without some random staffer leaking it,” expressing his “annoyance” with the information leak.
“We’re not going to have an administration where you have a president who sits there at cabinet meetings asleep while his wife runs the cabinet meeting and nobody’s doing anything,” he stated.
Trump repeatedly used the moniker “Sleepy Joe” to mock Biden’s numerous public blunders during his presidency.
Biden’s cognitive abilities were a key point of contention during the 2024 presidential campaign, with Republicans often alleging that the then-president lacked the mental acuity necessary to govern.
Biden’s widely criticized performance in the CNN debate with Trump last June brought his mental state into sharp focus. He frequently lost his train of thought, made several verbal errors, and struggled to complete sentences.
Facing increasing pressure, Biden withdrew from the presidential race and endorsed his then-Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee last July.
Months after the debate, Jill Biden appeared at the head of a cabinet meeting instead of her husband, prompting some Republicans to question who was truly leading the United States at the time.
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