White House grilled on Biden medical checkup and curtailing events past 8 p.m.

The White House was forced to defend President Joe Biden after he told Democratic governors he would try to curtail his public schedule, discouraging events after 8 p.m.

“The president works around the clock. It’s a 24/7 job, 365 days out of the year,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Friday. “Obviously, he also recognizes the importance of striking a balance and taking care of himself, just like we all have to. We are all humans.”

“He shared that with the governors and took ownership of trying to do too much in the lead-up to the debate,” she said.

The questions were part of an intense back-and-forth with reporters aboard Air Force One en route to a Biden event in Wisconsin after the president’s meeting this week with the governors. The meeting, in addition to calls with congressional leaders, his campaign, and the Democratic National Committee, was added to Biden’s schedule to ease their concerns about his age and mental acuity after last week’s debate.

Jean-Pierre also attempted to clarify mixed messages she and Biden sent about whether the president spoke with his doctor about his cold post-debate. The press secretary told reporters he had not, but the president told the governors that he did. The White House and campaign confirmed his cold to reporters when they were asked about his raspy voice during the debate. Biden then said during a fundraiser this week that he should not have gone to Europe twice two weeks before the debate.

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“He did have a short, verbal checkin in the recent days about his cold,” she said. “It wasn’t a medical exam or physical, just want to be super clear about that. It was a conversation and his doctor did, didn’t think it necessitated [a formal check up].”

Democrats, including Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), started publicly calling for Biden to step down as the party’s nominee after the debate. Biden and his campaign are hoping his appearance in Wisconsin on Friday afternoon and his first televised post-debate interview, to air Friday night, will help rebuild their confidence in him.