Biden's biographer explains: why did “Sleepy Joe” stick?

Biden's Biographer Explains: Why Did “Sleepy Joe” Stick? | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

For much of the 2020 Presidential race, it seemed like Donald Trump wished he was running against Bernie Sanders instead of Joe Biden. Try as he and his party would, the "socialist" attacks just didn't seem to stick on Biden. But one nickname, "Sleepy Joe" did pack a punch. Biden Biographer and New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos thinks he may know why it landed more effectively than the other missives, and why it may not exactly be an insult. He spoke with Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.

Watch the GZERO World episode: What you still may not know about Joe

More from GZERO Media

- YouTube

US tariffs are creating economic chaos and driving uncertainty all over the world. On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down how the global trade map is already starting to shift as allies go around the US to negotiate trade alliances of their own.

Gerald Ford American President and Leonid Brejnev Soviet Leader, on July 30, 1975 at Conference on Security and Cooperation in Helsinki.
Bridgeman Images via Reuters Connect

Fifty years ago, leaders from 35 countries – including rivals from both sides of the Iron Curtain – gathered in the Finnish capital of Helsinki to attend the first Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE).

A demonstrator burns mock dollar bills with the face of US President Donald Trump during a protest against the US tariffs imposed on Brazilian products, in front of the United States Embassy in Brasilia, Brazil, on August 1, 2025.
REUTERS/Mateus Bonomi

US President Donald Trump slapped new tariffs on 92 countries, including key allies. Canada, the US’s number two trade partner, was hit with a 35% rate.

Outgoing and term-limited North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper speaks alongside his wife, Kristin Cooper, thanking North Carolinians for his two terms in office as Governor on Nov. 5, 2024.

Joseph A. Navin/Sipa USA

Next year’s race for North Carolina’s open Senate seat is predicted to be the most expensive in US election history. Winning it might not be enough for Democrats to flip the upper chamber, but it would put them in a much stronger position going into 2028.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks to media members after the opening ceremony for the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing, China July 16, 2025.
REUTERS/Florence Lo

Beijing has summoned Nvidia execs over allegations that the US company’s H20 AI chips pose a security risk, claiming they can track locations and be remotely disabled.