Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden has demonstrated his propensity for gaffes and being behind the times.

As my colleague Streiff noted on Wednesday, this “behind the times” problem left them open to a great troll from the Trump team when the Biden folks neglected to register the web address for their Latino coalition outreach.

Now, Biden’s latest ad just adds to that “behind the times” perception.

When you look at it, your immediate thought may be: who told him this was a good idea?

We open to what looks like one of those old commercials where an actor who hasn’t worked in years in a dated outfit is selling insurance to the elderly. Cue Uncle Joe.

Once again, Putin and the Russians are interfering in the elections and trying to pick our president — this time they're coming after me. Chip in $5 to send the message to Putin that the American people decide elections, not him: https://t.co/6ehaYAjgxA pic.twitter.com/o1GTKnizUY — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 23, 2019

Gack. What is that?

He’d be better off selling reverse mortgages 😂pic.twitter.com/9DKTVG1Slu — 🇺🇸Patriot Blues T🇺🇸 (@PatriotBluesT) October 24, 2019

I thought this was #SNL — Jimmer (@Jimmer03151608) October 24, 2019

“The Little Rascal has allowed me to regain my mobility and experience life like I used to, before my accident….” — Todd Parlato (@tparlato11) October 24, 2019

And their shiny gold suit buttons 😜 — Mary K (@marykinva) October 24, 2019

Is this a comedy series on Netflix? — Slow Dog 🇨🇦🇮🇪 (@Faeldam) October 24, 2019

This this a commercial for burial services at Shady Acres?? — savoyseven (@savoyseven) October 24, 2019

Or catheters… — Theodore (@RefDemo) October 24, 2019

Now we have no idea what he’s talking about, Vladimir Putin coming after him. But then, neither does he, it’s just a money pitch and word is he’s desperate. This surely shows it.

And let’s stop with this “Russia interfered in our elections” terminology. Russia was behind Facebook pages for and against Trump. And the FBI alleges they were behind the DNC server hack and John Podesta’s email phishing. But because people in media and people like Biden use that terminology, a majority of Democrats reportedly believe that votes were changed or machines were hacked by Russians. If you want to say they tried to influence people’s opinions, that would be more accurate. Should we still be condemning that and trying to prevent it? Yes. But no one except the voters “decided who the president was going to be.” And to suggest that Putin did is a dishonest fiction, pushing this “illegitimate president” theme again.

Let’s also look back to the Obama administration where Biden was the Vice-President, that administration that he has embraced as a big part of his record. The administration that was known for its “flexibility” when it came to Russia. That administration that, knowing everything that Russia was, presented them with a “reset” button (with the wrong word). That administration that allowed Russia to walk into Eastern Europe and steal Crimea from Ukraine, doing nothing in response. That administration who drew red line after red line with Russia-backed Syria and then did nothing as they continued to drop chemical weapons on their people. Indeed there may be no administration in recent history who has bent over more or been so accommodating for Putin than the Obama administration.

Can we ever forget these golden video moments?

Let’s look at the Trump administration, by contrast, since that’s the comparison Joe raised. Let’s disabuse people of this fiction that the present administration has been favorable to Russia.

The Trump administration came in and put more sanctions on Russia on top of the ones already in place, going further than Obama ever had. Here’s a great list of the dozens of Russians people and businesses subject to sanctions and actions. Trump also booted Russian diplomats out. When Syria continued to use chemical weapons, he bombed them. He gave Ukraine lethal weapons to be able to defend themselves, something the Obama administration refused to do. The administration also said they were giving Ukraine $10 million to help build their naval defense against Russia. After the Russians attacked a US base in Syria in Feb. 2018, the Trump administration didn’t set a red line, they dropped bombs on the heads of the Russians, killing hundreds. And let’s not even get into the many ways that Trump, by building up the American economy and the energy industry, stomps all over the Russian agenda. Where Obama stalled the Keystone XL pipeline (there he is being flexible again!), Trump signed executive orders fast-tracking it, for example.

We’d tell Joe to get better ad advice. But then, we’d miss out on laughing at silly things like this.