"He wasn't just wide awake, but he was really on fire," Joe Biden's Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy snapped after the president received flak for 'snoozing off' during the COP26 opening ceremony. Social Media erupted with jokes on 'Sleepy Joe' after he was pictured with his eyes closed and seemed to be 'dozing off' during the opening speeches in Glasgow on Monday, November 1 afternoon.
Claiming that Biden was "wide awake," McCarthy noted that the President is "really excited to have the United States in action here in Glasgow" during a conversation with Morning Joe's Mika Brzezinski Tuesday, November 2 morning.
78-year-old Biden appeared to fall asleep as the orator discussed the historical importance of the event and how the conference can have the "power to make decisions and reach agreements which will affect the lives of generations to come." The President was seen shutting his eyes for roughly eight seconds before opening them briefly and then closing them again for 21 seconds in the viral video. Biden sat straight and rubbed his eyes after the Italian Prime Minister took the stage.
Twitterati mocked Gina McCarthy for defending 'Sleepy Joe'
As the White House Climate Advisor, Gina McCarthy defended Biden over his 'napping', social media sleuths stated "Gina McCarthy is out of her mind." Making fun of Gina's statement, one user joked "Okay. Gina. We believe you and not our eyes." Poking at fun at 'Biden was on fire' bit of Gina's statement, Twitter users called Biden a "burning fossil".
"Biden is on fire??? That is very funny. The man is barely awake. Gina Mccarthy is out of her mind if she thinks that," one person tweeted.
Biden's speech extended 8 minutes more than the allotted 3 minutes
Speakers at the COP26 summit were allowed 3 minutes each but Biden's speech went on for as long as 11 minutes. A digital countdown from three minutes was set and each time a speaker exceeded the time, a chime buzzed. The digital chime went off a total of 8 times during Biden's speech.
"Climate change is already ravaging the world," Biden said during his speech. He also called climate change "the existential threat to human existence as we know it." "We're still falling short. There's no more time to hang back or sit on the fence or argue amongst ourselves. This is a challenge of our collective lifetimes," he added.
