2020 elections Trump goes low in his insults about Biden The president is questioning Biden's mental and physical fitness, reviving the tactic he's used on Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi.

President Donald Trump tore into Joe Biden on Tuesday, questioning his mental fortitude ahead of dueling events in Iowa where Biden similarly laid into the president.

“When a man has to mention my name 76 times in his speech, that means he’s in trouble,” Trump told reporters before departing the White House. “I have to tell you, he's a different guy. He looks different than he used to, he acts different than he used to, he is even slower than he used to be. So I don't know. But when he mentions my name that many times, I guess I should be complimented.”


Trump has repeatedly tried to diminish Biden by questioning his mental and physical fitness, a tactic he's also deployed against his former rival Hillary Clinton and Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Earlier in the day, Biden's campaign previewed comments in which he directly targeted the president as he returned to Iowa after taking a brief break from the campaign trail. In excerpts of the speech, Biden mentioned the president dozens of times, going after his affinity for strongman foreign leaders and the impacts of his trade wars.

Trump said Tuesday he'd rather run against Biden — who he dismissed as a "loser" and a "dummy" that was picked up “off the trash heap” by former President Barack Obama during the 2008 election — more than any other of the nearly two dozen Democrats running for president.

"I think he's the weakest mentally. I like running against people who are weak mentally. I think he is the weakest up here," he said, pointing to his head. "The other ones have much more energy. I don't agree with their policies, but I — I call him 1 percent Joe, because until Obama came along he did very well."

The mudslinging between the two men comes as Biden maintains a solid grip atop the Democratic primary field, and as Biden’s rivals for the nomination begin to engage him more as well.

Last week, he reversed course on his longstanding opposition to public funding for abortions after a pile-on from the left. He also faced doubts from liberals about how aggressive his approach to climate change would be, given the Obama administration’s relatively moderate policies. And he’s been ribbed for his relatively light campaigning schedule compared to the rest of the candidates, in recent weeks skipping out on two major events where his rivals had gathered to make their case to voters. Biden has brushed these complaints off, but Trump pounced on them Tuesday.

“Now it looks like he’s failing,” Trump asserted to reporters, despite Biden’s lead in nearly every primary poll. “It looks like his friends from the left are going to overtake him pretty soon. But I heard his whole campaign is to hit Trump.”

The president has attacked Biden often and early in his campaign, much to the chagrin of some of Trump’s aides. The former veep is frequently held up as Democrats’ best shot at defeating Trump next year, given his appeal to the working class voters that were key to Trump’s 2016 victory. And Trump’s constant focus on Biden gives off the appearance that he is rattled by polling showing warning signs for his reelection bid from the Rust Belt to Texas.

Biden, who has appeared to relish the attention from Trump, was ready to mock the president at his Iowa event Tuesday, accusing Trump of damaging the United States’ reputation on the world stage in addition to lobbing attacks at Trump for his administration's policies.

“Did he do anything to signal that he’s prepared to walk away from the thugs he’s embraced on the world stage — from Putin to Kim Jong Un? No. He did none of that,” Biden said. “Instead, he gets up in the middle of the night to attack Bette Midler. He attacks the mayor of London. He attacks the American Speaker of the House. It was a stunning display of childishness for the whole world to see.”