Almost anyone.

Not much of an explanation. Doesn’t really matter now.

That Joe was fighting a cold. I could be wrong. My memory not what it used to be lol.

It has virtually no side effects for me. I don't get the sleepwalking/driving/etc. which many do. I don't have the "hangover" I get with other sleep aids.

But what I do get is an occasional inability to recall the correct words the next day, or string words together fluently. I wouldn't take it before a major stage appearance..

So - yes, he could have been still feeling it 20 hours later, and given the side effects that many have - it could have accounted for a lot of what we saw.

(I have no idea whether he actually took it or not - but I do have relevant experience as to side effects.)

I don’t think he’s helping his father’s cause now.

We could have used more of that before the election -- and we certainly could use more of it from here on out, rather than the circular firing squads that many on the left love to engage in.

Thank you so very much for saying this. I am so sick of people attacking Joe Biden and Hunter Biden. Hunter is very brave for speaking out. Wish he had not been muzzled all these years. The man has seen some things and survived more.

I am glad he is sticking up for his dad when few are. His dad was there for him and he is now standing with his dad. Good on him.

Yes, spot on! Before all of the Hunter Biden smearing by the media, I had read Hunter Biden's book about his addiction and was very impressed by his honesty. So all the "smears" I already knew about because Hunter Biden wrote about them in his book! Including the prostitutes.

One part of the book in particular that really got to me (I cried when I read it) was when Hunter describes an "intervention" that Jill and Joe tried to stage to get Hunter back into rehab. The ruse was a family dinner but as soon as Hunter walked in he saw two counselors from a rehab he'd been to previously. He said he look up at his dad and saw the fear in his eyes. Hunter got angry and walked out, his father (Joe) ran after him saying: "Hunter, I don't know what to do! Tell me what to do!". He said his father just looked terrified and hugged him, crying and asking him (Hunter) how he could help him.

I'm so sick of the circular firing squad, and I'm glad Hunter Biden is calling it out.

His own aides already confirmed that he was at Camp David doing debate prep for many days. Oh Hunter.

He was attending the G7 Summit and then the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Thirteen days before the debate last year, Biden returned from a trip to Italy for the Group of Seven (G7) summit on June 14, six days before heading to Camp David. Prior to the G7, the former president had a loaded schedule in France for the 80th commemoration of D-Day.

I challenge anyone half his age to hold that same schedule, with all the responsibility it entails.

My point is blaming that disaster of a debate on travel that occurred two weeks prior is total BS.

Our guy just had a bad night and it's time to stop making excuses for it.

You can’t undo the unfortunate choices you made long ago and this is NOT how you should be trying to soothe the regret you feel, anyway. You are NOT HELPING here.

Hunter is free to speak about anything he wants, just like you. Good for him defending his father, something a lot of DU'ers didn't do, which led to the mess we are in. I hope he keeps speaking.

That is a misleading headline. Hunter didn't "blame Biden's performance on Ambien". He mentioned several factors, including his dad basically traveling the world 3 times over in less than a week. His mention of the Ambien was more of an aside, not the main reason. Haven't we learned yet that the media will take things out of context to sensationalize??

I was very impressed with Hunter's interview. It's almost 3 hours long, and Hunter talks about so many topics. His addiction, the impact of Beau's death, his love and admiration for his dad...so many topics. Yet "Hunter blames Biden's debate on Ambien" is all the media reports on. And that is very much out of context if you watch his entire response. The entire response about his dad's debate starts at about 2:24:00. If you watch this in context, Hunter's response was nothing but a full-throated defense of his father.

He has had some self-owns that didn't do his father any favors.

I don't begrudge the guy defending his father - any son who is close to his father would do the same. But he and his antics were an albatross around his dad for his entire term in office.

Only a fool of a doctor prescribes it...especially for an elderly person.

More importantly--if someone is having an adverse reaction, why would you not reschedule the debate for medical reasons?

I urge those taking the article and its headline at face value to please listen to the entire interview in context.

Start watching about 2:20:00 to get the entire context (debate comes in around 2:24:00)

...and I don't think that in the full context of the interview Hunter made that claim, it would have been disastrous to ask for a delay due to medical reasons. Media of all stripes (right more than left, obviously) were discussing whether or not President Biden was too old or healthy enough for a second term.

To postpone the debate due to health reasons would have ended his candidacy even sooner, IMO.

His dad was 81, running for president, and may have had sleep issues due to travel.

That’s understandable… Hunter is his son, and he’s welcome to defend his dad in any forum he wants.

But that doesn’t explain a lot of Biden’s other comments forgetting people or places. The problem is the debate wasn’t just an isolated incident. It also reinforced the public’s preconceptions about his age, which was a prevailing concern for voters for a while.

The reality is he was in no shape to run again and wasn’t for months (maybe even over a year or longer) even before the debate. Age catches up to everyone very differently.

Seriously, I'm surprised at those slamming Joe Biden when he stood up there and held a press conference for hours after his "disastrous" debate. He answered questions for over an hour from the Press and did it flawlessly until he introduced Zelensky as "President Putin"-- immediately correcting himself--but that's all the press reported on.

It's like me calling one of my kids by the wrong name. I didn't "forget" their name, I simply used the wrong one and immediately corrected myself--we all do that.

Should Joe Biden have run for a second term? No. Was Joe Biden getting older? Yes. Was Joe Biden suffering from dementia? NO. If so, he wouldn't be able to do what he is doing now, showing up in public, doing interviews (coherently). He'd have gone way downhill by now if he had dementia, and he hasn't.

So explain to me why trump gets a free pass with the media when he cannot even put a sentence together? So many issues caught up to Biden with that debate, but cognitive issues were not one of them. Biden at his absolute worst is better than trump on his best day.

Just a guess!

About anything. The RWNJ's used his life as fodder for their hate mongering, and it should never have even been a subject in the first place. He knows his dad better than anyone and if he wants to talk, let him. It's time to point out to any Repukes that Hunter never had an office in Joe's WH.

It's GD time someone has the balls to fight back. I'm so sick and tired of the acceptance of the media's spin. It's so refreshing to see Hunter finally take on the lies with no f*ks to give.

He’s pissed and he has every right to be.

That’s why I said Hunter should hold off for “awhile.” But now with every future interview Joe will be bombarded with questions about his son’s f bomb laden interview. He could have stated his thoughts more thoughtfully, as opposed to “fuck insert a name here.” I think it will distract from everything else Joe will have to say.

That particular defense of your dad's debate performance doesn't help like you think it does.

Instead he is giving quotes for the GOP to use. And his father is not going to run again, nothing to defend, it's over. There were a lot of problems, not just one and cumulated into a bad situation.

Only the GOP wants this to continue as they think they can run on it. Don't give them anymore ammo and move on. We need to hit them where it hurts, the issues and Trump.