US PRESIDENT JOE Biden has blamed exhaustion from international travel for his dismal debate performance against Donald Trump last week.

Biden has not given any interviews since the debacle, but said at a fundraiser that he “wasn’t very smart” for “traveling around the world a couple times… shortly before the debate.”

“I didn’t listen to my staff,” he said. “And then I almost fell asleep on stage.”

Biden traveled to France from 5 to 9 June to commemorate the 1944 Allied landings, headed back to the United States, and then flew to Italy for a G7 summit followed immediately by a visit to California.

He then returned home and went to a presidential retreat for several days of rest and preparation for the debate.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre yesterday admitted the debate was “a bad night” but added that Biden “knows how to come back” from adversity.

She dismissed questions about him needing a cognitive test, and said the president would hold a press conference during a NATO summit in Washington next week.

The polling margins between the president and his Republican predecessor have been razor-thin for months, with Trump showing a slight advantage.

Biden pushed for an unusually early first debate in hopes that he could jolt the race while there was still time – but the plan backfired.

Biden has visibly slowed over the last year.

It has been several months since the president, who has tripped or fallen in public on several occasions, stopped using his plane’s high gangway, preferring a shorter, more stable staircase.

He has also surrounded himself with aides for the short walk from the White House to his helicopter on the lawn, hoping to prevent cameras from focusing on his stiff gait.

Biden, who has always been gaffe-prone, has not given a long press conference since January 2022 and spends most weekends in one of his Delaware homes, with no official schedule.

Vice President Kamala Harris – a leading contender to replace Biden if he exits the race – said  she was proud to be his running mate.