Trump's RNC speech showed all the signs of a man who knows he has already lost: columnist

In a column for the Washington Post, longtime political observer E.J Dionne compared Donald Trump's Republican National Convention speech in 2016 to this year's edition and suggested that the president is just mailing it in because he knows his chances of being re-elected are swiftly dying -- if not dead already.

According to Dionne, Trump's 2020 speech was full of references to Democratic presidential opponent Joe Biden as “low-energy” and “sleepy,” but it was Trump, clutching the lectern and "droning" on for over 70 minutes, who looked exhausted.

"Find footage of his 2016 acceptance speech and watch it back to back with Thursday’s. If that’s too painful, just watch parts of both," the columnist wrote before quipping, "Even a speech instructor at the late Trump University would notice the contrasting levels of vitality."

Referring to the president's background as a reality TV show star, Dionne noted, "Trump looks like a man who knows his show is about to be canceled," before getting to the heart of the matter which was the president's demeanor claiming the president is finding himself tasked with "a herculean effort to turn things around — and he is just too sick and tired of the whole thing to give it a real try."

As Dionne goes on to note, Democrats shouldn't take it for granted that Joe Biden is running away with the race, adding that there are a lot of "persuadable" voters ripe for the picking by both candidates.

"Now, as a general rule, warnings against complacency are a good idea," he wrote. "The Biden camp needs to show persuadable Trump voters in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania just how little the president has achieved for them. There should be more focus on issues that appeal across racial lines: jobs, wages, mobility, education and dignity."

Adding that, "Biden has some careful lines to walk — for example, between support for just and heartfelt protests and warnings against violence of all kinds," Dionne suggested he not make any excuses for the stances he has taken and go on offense.

"Right now, it’s Trump who looks exhausted by his job, over his head, and scrambling for excuses and diversions," he advised before concluding, "Biden must keep things that way."

You can read the whole piece here.