Upper Marlboro, Maryland — President Joe Biden has come out swinging like never before against his one-time opponent, Donald Trump.
“The guy we’re running against, what’s his name?” Biden asked as the crowd laughed during his first campaign trail appearance with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris on Thursday. “Donald Dump? Or Donald Whatever?”
In a fiery 22-minute speech at a Prince George’s County gymnasium in Maryland, Biden roared about his policy accomplishments, poked fun at concerns about his age, and hit hard against the man who is no longer his opponent.
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Among adoring fans in a blue state, the president seemed perhaps even more determined to win in November than he did when he was actually on the presidential ticket.
“Let me tell you what our Project 2025 is,” he said later. “Beat the hell out of them!”
Walking on and offstage side-by-side with Harris, Biden strode slowly and stiffly but appeared at ease as he blew kisses and fist-pumped. He beamed and nodded as the crowd chanted, “Thank you, Joe!”
Going in, the pair were greeted like a has-been rocker paired with a flashy new act. Many attendees wore pink and green, the colors of her sorority; others could be spotted in “Kamala Harris 2024” and “Karma is Kamala” T-Shirts. The crowd cheered at the mention of Biden but got much louder Harris’ name was brought up.
The vice president spent almost her whole speech praising her boss, calling him “the most extraordinary human being, and American, and leader.”
“I could speak all afternoon about the person that I’m standing on stage with,” Harris said, appearing emotional.
Instead of standing over Biden’s shoulder like she did when she introduced her running mate, Tim Walz, in Philadelphia last week—Harris walked all the way offstage after opening for the president.
President Joe Biden in his first campaign trail appearance with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Reuters/Elizabeth FrantzAt first, Biden spoke quietly, mumbling about drug costs. He seemed to stumble over his words at times. His biggest applause line might have ended up centering on Harris: “She’ll make one hell of a president!”
But he quickly found his voice—and his sense of humor.
“I served in the Senate for 270 years,” Biden joked as the whole crowd chuckled. “I know I only look 40, but I'm a little bit older. For the longest time, I was too damn young because I was only 29 when I got elected, now I'm too damn old.”
That wasn’t the only time he reframed his age and health concerns as a strength. The president seemed right at home talking about lowering drug costs as many other seniors looked on, even making a rare mention of a condition that nearly killed him in 1988.
“Years ago, I had two craniotomies, because I had an aneurysm,” he said. “My bill, if I didn’t have insurance, was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Well, guess what? It matters. It matters whether or not—if I didn’t have insurance, the rest of my life, I couldn’t do anything.”
