The president told a gathering of Democratic governors that they should sleep more, work less and limit events after 8 p.m., according to two people who were present at the meeting and several people briefed on his remarks.
Wednesday’s remarks were a stark admission of fatigue from the 81-year-old president during a meeting aimed at reassuring more than two dozen of his most senior supporters that he is still up to the job and capable of running a strong campaign against former President Donald J. Trump.
Mr. Biden’s comments about needing more rest came shortly after The New York Times reported that current and former administration officials had noticed the president’s missteps had become more frequent and glaring in recent months.
But Mr. Biden told the governors, some of whom were in the White House and others participating online, that they would remain in the race, according to the White House.
He described extensive overseas travel in the weeks leading up to the debate, which the White House and his allies have cited as a reason for his stalled performance during the debate in recent days. Mr. Biden’s campaign initially blamed a cold, and the news came amid a series of social media posts questioning why Mr. Biden was struggling midway through the debate.
Mr. Biden told staffers they needed to get more sleep, according to several people familiar with what happened at the meeting. He repeatedly said they were working too hard and not paying attention to their schedules, and he said they should work less and avoid events after 8 p.m., according to one of the people familiar with what happened at the meeting.
After Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, a physician, asked Biden about his health, Biden said he was feeling fine. “It’s just my brain,” he added. Some in the room thought it was a joke, but at least one governor didn’t and was taken aback, according to three people familiar with what happened.
“All joking aside,” Biden’s campaign chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon, who attended the meeting, said in a statement, a comment confirmed by another person briefed on the meeting. “He was definitely joking,” O’Malley Dillon added.
Mr. Biden traveled abroad twice in the weeks leading up to the debate, but spent a week at Camp David preparing for the debate with his advisers. One person close to Mr. Biden said his comments about sleep and work hours reflect the fact that he was engaged in a lot of official business outside of campaign work during practice sessions that followed his foreign visits.
Several governors who attended the meeting expressed disappointment at how little discussion there was about whether Mr. Biden should continue his 2024 campaign, a topic discussed at length during a call among governors on Monday.
Mr. Biden acknowledged to two allies that he knew he might not be able to run for a second term if he didn’t show voters what he could do after the debate. He tried to reassure his worried campaign staff in a phone call Wednesday before the governors’ meeting, saying he would fight to stay.
But some in attendance felt that further discussion of the situation was chilled by the fact that Mr. Biden began his talks with governors by declaring that he would continue.
Mr. Biden said he had a “bad night” in an interview with a Milwaukee radio station aired Wednesday. “The truth is, I screwed up. I made a mistake,” Mr. Biden added in a pre-recorded interview with radio host Earl Ingram.
Mr. Biden also told the governors that he had been sick with a cold for days after the debate and had been examined by a doctor and was feeling well, according to multiple sources. Politico previously reported on Mr. Biden’s examination, which the White House said was brief and not a full physical.
White House Press Secretary Andrew Bates confirmed that Mr. Biden had met with the White House physician to determine whether he had a cold. But on Friday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre disputed that, telling reporters that Mr. Biden had not had any kind of medical checkup since February.
