For weeks the Trump reelection effort has diligently cut, catalogued and pushed out viral videos of every verbal stumble Joe Biden makes in interviews, relentlessly pushing the idea that the presumptive Democratic nominee is mentally unfit for the presidency. …
But behind the scenes, the offensive has become a point of contention among some of President Trump’s closest advisers, who have spent weeks debating without resolution the best message and strategy to accomplish the Trump campaign’s central goal of tarnishing the Biden brand as poll numbers continue to show a rocky road to reelection for the president. …
Republicans need the election to be a choice between Biden and Trump and not a referendum on the president’s performance and rhetoric in office, according to Republican and Democratic strategists. On this score, Democrats said they are — for the moment — more bullish on Biden’s prospects than they expected to be just a few months ago. CONT.
Michael Scherer & Josh Dawsey, Washington Post