'In jest': Mike Johnson refuses to condemn baseless claims Biden will be on cocaine during debate

25 June 2024

During a rally in Philadelphia last week, former President Donald Trump suggested that his opponent, President Joe Biden, will be "jacked up" on performance enhancing drugs during the pair's upcoming debate on Thursday, June 27.

The New York Times reported:

'I say he’ll come out all jacked up, right?' Mr. Trump said, referring to Mr. Biden. Moments later, Mr. Trump, who has previously demanded Mr. Biden take a drug test before their debate, seemed to accuse Mr. Biden of using illegal drugs.

'I’m sure he’ll be prepared,' Mr. Trump said. He paused, then, referring to an incident in which a bag of cocaine was found in the guest lobby of the West Wing last year, added with a smirk: 'Whatever happened to all that cocaine that was missing a month ago from the White House?' (The Secret Service closed its investigation into that episode after security video failed to provide any leads and no fingerprints were found on the bag.)

CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday asked House Speaker Mike Johnson about whether he believes claims that suggests Biden takes drugs to do his job as president are "ridiculous."

The speaker said, "I think it's gonna be a very interesting contrast between these two men. And the interesting thing about this race, Kaitlan, is that both of these men have been president, so you can ignore the rhetoric."

Collins replied, "Yeah, but do you think some the rhetoric, Speaker Johnson, just knowing you, and how you conduct yourself, do you think some of the rhetoric is out of line, when people from Trump's team are suggesting — and Trump himself — that Biden is going to be on cocaine when he's on the debate stage Thursday night?"

The Louisiana lawmaker said, "Look, there's a lot of things that are said in jest. Of course, no one expects that Joe Biden will be on cocaine, but they do ask questions, and I think it makes sense why people are asking will he be on some sort of energy drinks or something."

"His energy levels, you can see, vary depending on what format he' in and what forum," Johnson said, "and we expect that he'll do what he did at the State of the Union. He had a lot of energy that night, 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 [former] President Trump, who goes to rallies and talks for two hours on end without any break and any notes. So it'll be a very interesting thing to see."

Collins replied, "I mean, the allegations about drugs have just been frankly ridiculous and obviously are baseless as well."

Watch the video below or at this link.

Mike Johnson refuses to condemn baseless claims Biden will be on cocaine during debateyoutu.be

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