Joe Biden tweets joke mocking 'earpiece' and 'drug' allegations with photo of headphones and ice cream

Ahead of the first presidential debate Tuesday evening, former Vice President Joe Biden mocked the unfounded allegations that he relies on an earpiece and performance enhancing drugs to appear coherent.

"It’s debate night, so I’ve got my earpiece and performance enhancers ready," he wrote on Twitter with a photo of tangled earbuds and a pint of ice cream.

The remark comes after President Donald Trump and campaign surrogates, who have repeatedly suggested that Biden lacks the physical fitness and mental acuity to serve as president, advocated for pre-debate ear inspections and drug tests.

Rumors have swirled on social media that Biden used an earpiece at a town hall in September, prompting the demand for third-party ear checkers.

But a review of the footage from the town hall shows Biden was not wearing an earpiece.

Nevertheless, the Trump team hammered in the point on Tuesday with a claim that Biden had backed out of a pre-debate inspection for electronic earpieces.

Fact check: Allegations that Joe Biden wore an earpiece at town hall, debate are false

Last week, Trump also claimed Biden will "get a big shot of something" before the debate for energy. On Sunday, he tweeted that he would be "strongly demanding a Drug Test of Sleepy Joe Biden prior to, or after, the Debate on Tuesday night."

In retort, Kate Bedingfield, the deputy campaign manager for Biden, fired off a joke of her own.

“Vice President Biden intends to deliver his debate answers in words," she said. "If the president thinks his best case is made in urine he can have at it."

In a call before the debate, Bedingfield also told reporters, "Of course he’s not wearing an earpiece," and denied having asked for breaks throughout the 90-minute debate.

The pre-debate tweet also may have been a nod to the state hosting the debate — the ice cream Biden tweeted, Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream, is based out of Columbus, Ohio. The debate is in Cleveland.

Not everyone liked the joke. Steve Guest, a spokesperson for the Republican Party, took to Twitter to call out the price of the brand, which is also known to be a favorite of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

"Just like Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden is an out of touch elitist," Guest wrote. "Did Biden happen to get the $13-dollar a pint ice cream out of Pelosi’s $24,000 fridge?"

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Presidential debate: Biden posts headphones, mocking 'earpiece' theory