When Joe Biden speaks, who falls asleep first: The American people or Joe Biden?
Best of Biden: Part 2 of 4
During the final four days of Joe Biden’s presidency, Battle Line is sharing four of our most popular stories that covered POTUS No. 46. Today’s story was originally published April 30, 2022.
At the outset of his presidency, Joe Biden could speak for nearly 17 minutes. Around that time, he would fall asleep while grasping the podium, at which point a staffer would carry him off stage and onto the nearest sofa.
This arrangement worked for the 46th president because by the time he fell asleep the American people had already been slumbering for more than 10 minutes. Therefore, nobody witnessed the leader of the free world taking a catnap during an address because the rest of the country was already approaching its REM cycle.
Unfortunately for the Biden administration, those numbers are beginning to even out. Based on the latest data compiled by Battle Line, the president has been gradually falling asleep earlier in his speeches while the American people are staying awake longer.
The reason for this is easy to understand, according to Sara Matteson, Psy.D., a sleep researcher at the University of Rochester. “The toll of being president would be hard on anyone, much less someone who is 79 years old,” she said. “At the same time, the American electorate, far younger on average, is becoming more accustomed to the president’s style so they are able to stay awake for much longer.”
But that is only part of the reason, says Karol Markowicz, a political analyst and New York Post columnist. “Far as I see it, Americans are staying awake longer because Joe Biden’s speeches are wildly entertaining,” she said. “You never know what the guy is going to say, or even if it will be in English. Sometimes he just mumbles or wanders off on tangents and you don’t know when, or if, he’ll return to the main point.”
Markowicz pointed to recent examples of Biden referring to his granddaughter as his son, him calling Vice President Kamala Harris his wife and him mistaking Ukraine for Iran three times over the course of a couple sentences. Other times, he creepily whispers into the microphone for no apparent reason.
Two weeks ago, following a speech, Biden turned and made a hand-shaking gesture even though no one was on the other end. “Sure, it might be sad, but that doesn’t mean it’s not also intriguing to viewers,” she said.
At no point did this issue arise during the presidency of Donald Trump. This is largely because Trump refused to ever stop talking and elicited reactions ranging from people angrily throwing their iced vanilla lattes at the television and those who spent the entirety of Trump’s speeches saluting the American flag and triumphantly firing gunshots through the living room ceiling.
If the trend continues, the sleep researcher Matteson said, we will soon reach a time when the American people will still be awake as the president dozes off on stage. When that happens, she expects they will reach out their hands and touch the corner of Biden’s mouth to ensure his saliva is still warm.