President Joe Biden's performance on a weekend Zoom call with moderate Democrats was "even worse than the debate," according to a report.
The Zoom call, which occurred less than an hour before Saturday's assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, was described as "tense," Puck reported.
Democrats have been in turmoil over the 81-year-old Biden's status as the party's presidential nominee since his debate effort against Trump on June 27, when the president at times seemed lost and unintelligible.
Biden has insisted he will stay in the race, and the Democrats' infighting was overshadowed in the news for several days by the assassination attempt on Trump, 78, at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
During the Zoom call, Biden repeatedly lost his train of thought and was dismissive of the Democrats' concerns about his 2024 reelection campaign, Puck reported Wednesday.
"The call was even worse than the debate. He was rambling; he'd start an answer then lose his train of thought, then would just say 'whatever.' He really couldn't complete an answer. I lost a ton of respect for him," one person on the call told the outlet.
A lawmaker who was on the call said: "The president was rambling, dismissive of concerns, unable or unprepared to present a campaign strategy."
The lawmaker added that had "the assassination attempt not occurred an hour later, I imagine 50 people on that Zoom were ready to come out publicly against him.”
Sources also told Puck that Biden became testy after Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., asked him about the importance of national security to voters.
"First of all, I think you're dead wrong on national security," Biden told him. "You saw what happened recently in terms of the meeting we had with NATO. I put NATO together. Name me a foreign leader who thinks I'm not the most effective leader in the world on foreign policy. Tell me!
"Tell me who did something that you've never done with your Bronze Star like my son."
The Biden campaign claimed the report of the president rambling on the call was wrong.
"Just in the past week, the president has met with Democratic leaders in both chambers and numerous congressional groups to solicit their feedback and answer their questions," a campaign official said, the New York Post reported.
"Engagement with House and Senate members is ongoing, and the campaign will continue to have candid and robust conversations with congressional offices."