The energetic, focused Joe Biden who showed up at the State of the Union address in March to push back against depictions of him as a doddering old man was not the Joe Biden who walked on to the debate stage in Atlanta Thursday night hoping to again reassure voters he has the acuity and endurance to serve four more years as president. Instead, what Americans saw was a weak and struggling old man. Biden, who spent a full week prepping for the face-off, could barely raise his voice above a raspy whisper, a sharp contrast to the high-volume anger he brought to the March address.
His strategy was to attack former President Donald Trump nonstop, but he lacked the vigor and vehemence to pull it off. He could barely muster an effective sneer, and too often, the camera caught him with his mouth hanging open. He was not nimble enough to pivot from the talking points that had been drilled into his head to exploit the many opportunities Trump gave him to deliver a haymaker.
Given the chance to present his vision on the critical issues that will decide this election and reassure the country that he is still in command, Biden fumbled and mumbled through repeated rehearsed insults and accusations aimed at his opponent. Had anyone but Trump been next to him on the Atlanta stage, this reelection campaign would be over for Biden. Democrats would be scrambling to find a replacement before they get to their August convention in Chicago.
But Trump was Trump. He was no more prepared for this deba.
