Trump Bump Depends On Donald 2.0?

Trump slams Biden’s “calamitous & failed” presidency as No. 46 seeks re-election BUT can old war horse No. 45 … not saddled with such a policy record … show to fence-straddling Indies he can drink from more unifying trough?

Mr. Trump said he can’t wait to “compare our records” when he gets on the debate stage with Mr. Biden again, i.e., assuming Joe will be willing or able to wobble his way to the podium. The former will be 78 at the time, but the latter will be 82. It may be hard to argue with Trump the Younger’s blistering indictment as long as he sticks to attacking Mr. Biden’s “socialist spending” that led to record inflation, an open border that arguably made our cities a “dumping ground”, and “weaponizing law enforcement” against political opponents while defunding police that weaponizes criminals. Then again, on the foreign policy front, Mr. Trump will easily score points on Mr. Biden’s Afghan withdrawa fiasco that encouraged Russia to invade Ukraine & China to become more belligerent vs Taiwan. Did we mention Mr. Biden’s “War on Fossil Fuels” that has roiled the economy to the point even liberal economists say it is headed toward recession?

What Mr. Trump may find hard to do, however, is to stick to those finger-pointing talking points & fend off his own personal baggage from 2016-2020. Not talking about the several lawsuits & prosecutions Mr. Trump is facing … they can be deflected & even get some sympathy votes on his familiar “witch hunt” retort. But, AM talking about constantly wasting political capital in no-win fights vs oppo pols, & incessant Tweets over petty issues & people (elites, celebs, radicals, derelicts). Perhaps most important of all, Mr. Trump will impress more voters by simply stealing Joe’s line about “fighting for democracy … [while] … treating each other with dignity”. Showing he’s figured out how to compromise with a reasonable opposition wouldn’t hurt either, especially on abortion & environmental.

Davd Soul