Adderall Trends After Kevin McCarthy Says Biden Lacks Energy of Trump, Needs More Sleep

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told Fox News on Friday night that President Joe Biden doesn't have the energy levels of former President Donald Trump, prompting social media critics to once again accuse Trump of abusing the prescription drug Adderall.

McCarthy told Fox News host Sean Hannity Friday night that Biden's energy levels are so low, he is essentially unable to fulfill the role of president, particularly in comparison to Trump, a person defined by his irritability, rambling rants and knee-jerk responses. "But at no time, having known Joe Biden for quite some time, does he have the energy of Donald Trump. We both know it. Donald Trump didn't need to sleep five hours a night. And he would be engaged—if you called Donald Trump, he'd get on the phone before staff would," McCarthy said, accusing the 78-year-old Biden of lacking the energy.

Political pundits, journalists and longtime Trump critics responded to McCarthy's Biden criticism by accusing the former president of routinely taking Adderall, an amphetamine and dextroamphetamine mixture that stimulates people's energy levels and increases one's ability to focus.

This is far from the first time people have accused the former president of abusing the so-called "upper" drug, which critics first lobbed at Trump following his first 2016 presidential debate with Hillary Clinton. Twitter users on Saturday posted close-up photographs of Trump's pupils, cited his sniffing during the Clinton debates and noted bizarre aspects of his behavior as evidence of the unproven Adderall abuse claim.

"Snorting Adderall by the bucketload will give you energy, yes," tweeted the Rude Pundit.

Longtime Trump critic and author Cheri Jacobus joined hundreds of self-proclaimed medical experts in sharing the Fox News clip of McCarthy Saturday, adding the remark: "Trump is an Adderall addict. That's why he doesn't get a decent night's sleep."

"Note to@GOPLeader: Maybe if Trump had slept more and snorted less Adderall, he wouldn't have caused half a million Americans to die unnecessarily or caused the worst economic crash in 90 years. #JustSaying," tweeted author Richard Hine, sharing a video which appears to show something falling out of Trump's nose during a speech.

Stand-up comedian Noel Casler, who worked on Trump's The Apprentice TV show for several years, fueled speculation and rumors of the Adderall claim in 2018. Casler said of the then-TV star: "He's a speed freak. He crushes up his Adderall and he sniffs it because he can't read and he gets nervous."

And in 2016, people shared a photograph which appeared to show boxes of European-brand Sudafed, a drug sometimes used to increase alertness and achieve a "high," inside a cabinet in Trump's office. Despite McCarthy's claim, a leaked copy of Trump's daily presidential schedule showed he routinely did not start working in the White House until nearly noon. And several hours of the former president's mornings were blocked off for "executive time" which mainly consisted of him watching cable TV news.

"Does Donald Trump really abuse Adderall, or is that just a rumor?" asked author Stephen King last year in a widely shared tweet.

Some physicians and health experts, however, chastised the Adderall claims about Trump, saying it is condescending to people diagnosed with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), for whom the drug is frequently prescribed.

"Once again I am asking you to stop using Adderall as a stand in for some kind of moral or personal failing. Every time you do, you demonstrate your lack of empathy for people who need stimulant medication to function specifically, and people with disabilities generally," one widely shared tweet responded.

Newsweek reached out to representatives for the former president Saturday for comment.