Hunter Biden Blames Ambien Sleep Aid for Joe’s Debate Performance/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ In a new interview, Hunter Biden claimed that former President Joe Biden’s use of Ambien before the June 2024 debate against Donald Trump led to his poor performance. Biden withdrew from the race shortly after. The comments come amid an ongoing GOP-led investigation into Biden’s mental acuity.
Biden Debate Fallout + Quick Looks
- Hunter Biden says Ambien use impacted Joe Biden’s 2024 debate
- Describes father as “tired” and “deer in the headlights”
- Biden campaign originally blamed performance on a cold
- First time Ambien linked publicly to Biden’s debate behavior
- Debate sparked questions about cognitive fitness, led to withdrawal
- Republican-led House investigating Biden’s mental condition
- Key Biden officials invoked Fifth Amendment in committee probe
- Biden had two international trips before the Trump debate
Deep Look: Hunter Biden Attributes 2024 Debate Misstep to Ambien, Travel Fatigue
In a newly released interview, Hunter Biden claimed that Ambien, a prescription sleep aid, played a major role in his father’s poor showing during the June 2024 presidential debate against Donald Trump — a performance that ultimately led to Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 race.
Hunter spoke to journalist Andrew Callaghan, revealing behind-the-scenes details that painted a picture of exhaustion and over-medication in the final days before the high-stakes political event. According to Hunter, his 81-year-old father had been traveling extensively and was prescribed Ambien to help him rest. The side effects, he says, were evident on stage.
“He’s tired as s—, they give him Ambien to be able to sleep, he gets up on the stage and he looks like he’s a deer in the headlights,” Hunter said.
First Public Mention of Ambien
This marks the first time anyone close to Biden has directly connected Ambien to his widely criticized debate performance. Until now, campaign officials insisted Biden’s hoarse voice and low energy were due to a cold and an overbooked schedule. Biden himself later admitted that recent travel had taken a toll, but never mentioned medication.
While Biden had returned from two European trips in the month before the debate, he was back in Washington nearly two weeks prior to the event — suggesting the fatigue may have been ongoing or compounded by medication.
Political Ramifications
Hunter’s remarks land at a time when Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are actively investigating President Biden’s cognitive condition during his final year in office. His debate performance immediately ignited a firestorm about mental fitness, ultimately leading him to step aside and allow Vice President Kamala Harris to take the Democratic nomination.
As part of the House inquiry, three Biden administration officials — Annie Tomasini, Anthony Bernal, and Dr. Kevin O’Connor — have been subpoenaed to testify. All three invoked their Fifth Amendment rights, refusing to answer questions on the grounds that it could incriminate them.
Such constitutional defenses are not uncommon during highly politicized congressional investigations, but they may fuel more speculation in this case. The Biden administration has not yet responded to Hunter’s claims regarding Ambien.
A History of Withholding or Spinning Information?
Critics argue that the Ambien revelation adds to a pattern of strategic silence or misdirection by the Biden campaign during the 2024 cycle. Biden’s team maintained the image of a capable, world-traveling leader, even as internal reports suggested growing fatigue and increasing reliance on aides.
“Why was this never disclosed until now?” one senior House Republican aide asked. “Was it politics, or were they just trying to buy time?”
The Ambien comment may also complicate the narrative put forth by Biden allies who previously dismissed concerns over his energy or cognitive sharpness. In conservative circles, especially among Trump supporters, the debate performance and subsequent exit from the race continue to be framed as proof of a larger cover-up.
Hunter Biden’s Media Strategy
The timing of the interview — exactly one year after Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 race — appears calculated. Hunter Biden has been increasingly visible in media interviews and public commentary, possibly seeking to reframe or contextualize controversial moments from his family’s political history.
He positioned his father’s poor performance as a human moment, driven by age, overwork, and pharmaceuticals — rather than unfitness or cognitive decline. Still, it raises serious questions about how medication and travel were managed for an octogenarian incumbent president preparing for the world’s most visible political stage.
GOP: Calls for Transparency Intensify
Republicans are seizing on the comments as fresh ammunition in their ongoing oversight efforts. Some committee members argue that the use of sleep aids like Ambien should have been disclosed in public health disclosures or security assessments.
A broader concern, they claim, is whether the White House downplayed medical risks in order to shield Biden politically in a race against Trump that was already tilting toward the GOP.
The Department of Justice and White House medical team have declined to confirm whether Ambien was prescribed to Biden or under what circumstances it was administered.
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