In what could be a preview of the 2020 general election matchup, President Trump unloaded on former Vice President Joe Biden, calling the current Democratic frontrunner a “loser” who was taken “off the trash heap” by former President Barack Obama and is slowing down.

“He’s a different guy,” Trump told reporters on the South Lawn before heading to Iowa, where both he and Biden are speaking at separate events. “He looks different than he used to. He acts different than he used to. He’s even slower than he used to be.

“I’d rather run against Biden rather than anybody — I think he’s the weakest mentally,” the president said, pointing to his own head. “I like running against people who are weak mentally. I think Joe is the weakest up here. The other ones have much more energy.”

Trump’s comments came after Biden’s campaign released excerpts of a speech that will denounce Trump’s trade wars with China and Mexico and their effects on U.S. farmers.

“It’s easy to be tough when someone else is feeling the pain,” Biden plans to tell voters in Ottumwa, Iowa. “How many sleepless nights do you think Trump has had over what he’s doing to America’s farmers? Zero.”

President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. (Photos: Evan Vucci/AP, Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Trump said Biden’s focus on him suggests the former vice president’s presidential campaign is already “failing.”

“I heard his whole campaign is to hit Trump,” the president said. “When a man has to mention my name 76 times in a speech, that means he’s in trouble.”

Trump dismissed polls that show Biden leading him in Texas, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Instead, the president pointed to a recent Rasmussen survey that showed him holding a 50 percent approval rating.

“The amazing thing is, all I do is get hit by this phony witch hunt,” Trump said. “My poll numbers have been very, very good.”

According to two recent Quinnipiac polls, Biden leads Trump by 11 points (53 percent to 42 percent) in Pennsylvania and 4 points (48 percent to 44 percent) in Texas. A Detroit News poll released last week found Biden with a 12-point lead (53 percent to 41 percent) over Trump in Michigan.

Story continues

Trump called them “fake polls.”

_____

Read more from Yahoo News: