“This guy doesn’t have a clue. He doesn’t know where the hell he is,” Trump told his supporters in Pittsburgh a week to the day before the first debate. “This guy doesn’t know he’s alive.”

At a campaign rally Saturday night in Pennsylvania, the president both attacked Biden as “dumb” before immediately lauding him as an experienced debater. “He’s a dumb guy. Always known as a dumb guy. But we look forward to seeing him in the debate. He’s got a lot more experience. He’s got 47 years. I’ve got 3 1/2 years. So we’ll see. But he’s got 47 years of experience.”

On Friday, the president delivered an extended attack on Biden, comparing the showdown to a boxing match while repeatedly pointing to his head and saying, “To win matches you need that up here. … This wins, probably, it’s 50% of it. … It’s great that it’s that way, isn’t it?”