Someone tonight found Joe Biden's 'on switch', with the President delivering a fiery speech at a rally in Detroit.
He spoke to several thousand supporters, who chanted "don't you quit" at the President as he stood on stage, making him smile.
Because he has no intention to.
"I am running and we're going to win. I'm not going to change anything," he told a roaring crowd.
"You made me the nominee, no one else. Not the press, not the pundits, not the insiders, not the donors. You, the voters. You decided, no one else, and I'm not going anywhere."
For 35 minutes his voice remained strong, no disastrous mix-ups. It's exactly what you'd expect from a guy gunning for re-election.
The 81-year-old told a cheering crowd in Detroit, Michigan that he wasn't going to leave the race. (Source: 1News)
But that's the problem. He will be expected to do this again. And again. Several times a day. For months. It's exhausting even just watching them do it.
Biden's already admitted that he needs to stop working late and not have as many engagements after 8pm. That's not terribly realistic for someone running not just the most powerful country in the world – but also running a campaign to keep the job for another four years.
The calls from Democrats for Biden to go continue to mount, and tonight's rally performance, albeit much more impressive and classic Joe Biden of the good old days, probably won’t change that.
Especially when you have reports that democrat royalty like Barack Obama, who attended a fundraiser for Biden just a few weeks ago, as well as Nancy Pelosi having secret conversations in which they raise concerns about whether the party can win come November.
It’s hard to forget that debate. Or Biden yesterday confusing the presidents of Ukraine and Russia. Or naming his number two as "Vice-President Trump".
Trump himself today responded on a radio show saying it would have been funny if Biden was being sarcastic but was clearly not.
"I suggest we both go in a do a cognitive test together," he said. "We will do it as a team."
The number of democrat lawmakers saying something public is also increasing.
"The fighting spirit and pride and courage that served the country so well four years ago, that helped Joe Biden win, will bring the ticket down this time. He just has to step down, because he can't win," said Democratic congressman Mike Quigley.
Tonight, Biden attempted to pivot and change the narrative, dragging his floundering campaign around to shine a spotlight on his political opponent, Donald Trump. He indicated this was something he would continue to do.
"People would rather talk about how I mix up names — I guess they don't remember when Trump called Nikki Hayley Nancy Pelosi," he said.
He called Trump a rapist (referring to civil defamation action brought by former journalist and writer E. Jean Carol), a "convicted criminal", implying he was also a cheat — "[he's] riding around in his golf cart, filling out a scorecard before he hits the ball."
Trump was "a loser", he said.
It's always a risk to "go negative" in a political campaign, but Biden has no choice really. It's fast and easy hits, and he must do something to get people focused on anything other than his age.
Today was a step forward for Biden's campaign.
Unfortunately, it came after some pretty big steps backwards.
Let's see if he can keep it up.
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