and knocked down in life “this campaign is for you”. He was even able to laugh off yet another gaffe when
he mixed up his wife Jill Biden and sister Valerie Biden Owens on stage – the kind of mistake that just a
week ago would have been used by critics to suggested he has lost a step or two.
Mr Biden criticised Donald Trump, saying the president “has no compassion” and views “honour and
respect” as weaknesses. “He doesn’t believe we’re beacons of the world,” the former VP said of Mr Trump,
underscoring his campaign’s major theme that he is best-suited among all Democrats to beat the incumbent
in a head-to-head race.
Mr Biden surged to a lead in the all-important Democratic delegate count, but he must still defeat Vermont
senator Bernie Sanders, who was the frontrunner until Tuesday night when he won only three states.
Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg‘s “exit and his endorsement of Biden means that all the
moderates are gone and they have all endorsed the former vice president,” said Brad Bannon, a Democratic
political strategist. “The Tuesday results put Biden in the driver’s seat but there have been so many twists
and turns that it would be a mistake to rule Sanders out. Voters like to build up frontrunners and then they
take delight in knocking them down.”
Here are five things that Mr Biden’s big night mean for the 2020 race.
‘Where’s Hunter?’
As Mr Biden and Mr Sanders get set for a two-candidate fight for the Democratic nomination, expect the
president to ramp up his attacks on the longtime Delaware senator after focusing on “Crazy Bernie” for
weeks.
But Mr Trump’s rhetoric probably won’t be limited to “Sleepy Joe.”
The president also has attacked Hunter Biden, the son of the former vice president. It was the son’s seat on
a Ukrainian energy company’s board while his father was leading the Obama administration’s anti-
corruption push there that Mr Trump asked the country’s president to look into.
Testimony during the House impeachment inquiry by current and former administration officials stated the
president made a $391m (£305m) military aid package contingent on the announcement of an
investigation of the Bidens.
Mr Trump has asked “Where’s Hunter?” on Twitter and at political rallies. His campaign even sold
“Where’s Hunter?” T-shirts. The answer appears to be in Los Angeles. Painting.
Bernie bro
The president has been trying for a year to paint all Democrats as “radical” and “extreme” and “socialists.”
He has described Democratic politicians like Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Mr Biden as standing
by while progressives like Mr Sanders have taken over their party.
At a campaign rally on Friday night in South Carolina, Mr Trump conducted a poll of his supporters, asking
whether Mr Sanders or Mr Biden would be easiest to beat. Mr Sanders won. It was a continuation of Mr
Trump’s almost daily advocacy for the self-described “democratic-socialist,” tweeting frequently that the
“establishment” wing of the party will stop at nothing to block him from becoming the nominee.
“You see what’s happening, right? It’s being rigged against [Mr Sanders],” the president said on Monday
night at a campaign rally in Charlotte. “It’s sad, it’s being rigged against crazy Bernie.”
But Mr Trump’s Bernie bro act appears to have backfired.