House Speaker Mike Johnson says he doesn’t think Biden will be ‘on cocaine’ for debate

House Speaker Mike Johnson said no one really expects President Biden to be on drugs during Thursday’s debate with former President Donald Trump.

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, about comments made by the Trump team and allies that suggest Mr. Biden will be “on cocaine” when he gets on the debate stage in Georgia.

“Look, there’s a lot of things that are said in jest,” Mr. Johnson said. “Of course, no one expects that Joe Biden will be on cocaine.”

“But, they do ask questions and I think they’re objectively, I mean, I think it makes sense why people are asking, will he be on some sort of energy drinks or something?” he said. “Look, his energy levels, you can see, vary depending on what format he’s in and what forum and, you know, we expect he’ll do what he did at the State of the Union. He had a lot of energy that night, and that’s the Joe Biden I expect to see.”

There has been talk of performance-enhancing drugs ever since Mr. Biden’s unusually vibrant performance at his State of the Union address in March.

Mr. Trump suggested Mr. Biden should take a drug test before they are set to debate.

“DRUG TEST FOR CROOKED JOE BIDEN??? I WOULD, ALSO, IMMEDIATELY AGREE TO ONE!!!” Mr. Trump posted Monday on Truth Social.

Mr. Biden, at 81, is the oldest U.S. president, and his mental fitness has been called into question. Polls show that voters have wondered whether he is mentally fit for another four-year term.

Mr. Johnson said the real question is whether Mr. Biden will be able to keep up with Mr. Trump, 78, in the debate.

“The question is, is can he stay for 90 minutes on that stage and go toe-to-toe with President Trump, who is, you know, goes to rallies and talks for two hours without notes,” the House speaker said. “So, it’ll be a very interesting thing to see.”

Both presumptive presidential candidates have reportedly been preparing for the debate.