US President Donald Trump has reiterated previous accusations that his Democratic rival Joe Biden must be taking performance-enhancing substances and should undergo a drug test for the upcoming primary debates.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Saturday, Trump mercilessly taunted Biden and suggested that the 77-year-old Democrat was too senile to be a good fit for the US presidency.
Trump used his usual nickname to refer to Biden and said that “Sleepy Joe” was performing conspicuously efficient during debates and public events, insinuating that Biden was taking performance-enhancing drugs to act more sensibly.
“Don’t underestimate him, he’s been doing this for 47 years. And I got a debate coming up with this guy,” Trump said as he grinned, before suggesting that performance-enhancing substances were behind Biden’s efficiency.
"You never know, they gave him a big, fat shot in the a** and he comes out,” the Republican president claimed as his audience laughed. “And for two hours he’s better than ever before. The problem is what happens after that.”
Trump also said offering a drug test to Biden before the debates was an option.
Last week, the incumbent president accused his Democratic rival of taking drugs to improve his performance in the Democratic primary season debates.
“I think there’s probably, possibly, drugs involved,” Trump said in a Fox News interview. “I don’t know how you can go from being so bad where you can’t even get out a sentence…” he speculated without finishing the sentence.
"He's taking something (that) you know, gives him some clarity, or whatever," Trump added.
Trump also demanded that Biden undergo a drug test before the two take part in their first of three presidential debates scheduled for late September.
The two rivals are expected to face each other during debates in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 29, in Miami, Florida, on October 15, and in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 22. Their vice-presidential nominees Mike Pence and Kamala Harris will also have a one-on-one in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 7.
Biden leads Trump in national poll
Trump’s swipes at Biden came as his Democratic rival holds an eight-point lead over him among registered voters in a new national poll released early Sunday.
The NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey showed Biden leading the incumbent 51 to 43 percent on health care, coronavirus, race relations, protecting immigrant rights and climate changes.
The poll also found Biden ahead of Trump by a combined six points in 12 key swing states — Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — 51 to 45 percent.
The survey was conducted among 1,000 registered voters between September 13 and 16 with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
In the same poll, Biden held a 50 to 41 percent lead among registered voters last month.