Addressing Donald Trump's early attacks on former Vice President Joe Biden as being "senile," MSNBC host Joe Scarborough and "Morning Joe" regular John Heilemann stated the president's campaign has backed off that talking point because it 'backfired" on the president -- particularly with the senior voters he desperately needs.
As host Scarborough noted, "You know, so much of what Donald Trump has done has backfired we've talked about June 1st, Kenosha," he began. "But also when you're talking about seniors and coronavirus, that's one part of it. But another part, isn't there polling out that shows constant attacks on Joe Biden is senile when obviously Joe Biden is not senile is actually backfiring on Donald Trump as well."
"Yeah, I don't know about polling, Joe, but it's a suspicion that you and I have had for some months that we talked about," Heilemann replied. "So in Florida this week I was asking some smart Republicans down there, beyond COVID, the obvious the way Trump has kind of been casual and mismanaged the pandemic and how that's hammered the senior community what else is it about? And a lot of them pointed to this notion that if Trump had run a subtle campaign -- which is kind of impossible for Trump -- but if he ran an attempt to make Biden unacceptable, playing going after his age and saying he lost a step, that he wasn't up to the job, he lost his fastball whatever, that was the kind of attack that would have resonated with a lot of seniors."
"A lot of seniors are aware in their 70s they've lost a few miles per hour on their fastball, they can't do what they did in their sixties," he continued. "But when they hear Trump attack Biden as if he's addled, senile and lost it, that's the kind of thing that -- and we all know seniors in our own lives -- that's like, we're 'wait a minute, you're saying because the guy in his 70s that he's lost it, he's addled, he's senile,' they take that personally."
"Among Republican strategists in Florida, if you ask them why is Trump hurting with seniors they come with two answers: one is COVID and the other is he overplayed his hand when Trump attacked Joe Biden as being mentally infirm at this point in his life," he added. "They think that's backfired."
"Especially when you look at the reels of tape that "The Daily Show" has on Donald Trump unable to complete sentences. It's a ridiculous argument," host Scarborough suggested.
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