The Atlantic: “Biden has taken a low-key approach to campaigning for most of the pandemic, which the Trump campaign has presented as evidence of his fade. But Biden has also taken questions from reporters and spoken to supporters, and in August he rode a bike through his neighborhood, a photo op that showed his own physical fitness and underscored the unlikelihood of Trump casually pedaling around. The two candidates’ respective convention speeches showed the risks of Trump’s senility strategy. Trump set the bar low for Biden’s performance, suggesting he couldn’t be coherent, but the former vice president’s speech at the Democratic National Convention was crisp and effective, easily clearing Trump’s test. The president’s address at the White House, however, was long and dull. He read it off a teleprompter with little enthusiasm, as if it was the first time he’d seen the text. He even garbled the central line, saying he ‘profoundly’ accepted the nomination, rather than ‘proudly’ accepting it, as his prepared remarks indicated. Trump’s statements have long been incoherent, a fact his vigorous delivery has often helped mask. But if he continues to deliver nonsense in such a lethargic manner, he’s likely to face the sorts of questions he’s trying to raise about his opponent, himself.”
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