Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said he, too, struggled how much to focus on the former president once Trump left office.

“I think a lot of us just hoped he would go away and if we stopped talking about him, everybody else would stop talking about him,” he said. “But that’s not how it’s turned out. He’s running for president and he still runs the Republican Party, and I don’t think we can disengage anymore.”

This past week, Biden left no doubt he was prepared — perhaps even eager — to directly challenge Trump in a way he hadn’t before.

In prerecorded remarks to the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives’ annual conference, Biden made repeated references to the “defeated” former president who did nothing as law enforcement officers worked for hours to protect the Capitol as lawmakers met to certify Biden’s victory.

“The police were heroes that day. Donald Trump lacked the courage to act,” Biden said in his remarks. “The brave women and men in blue all across this nation should never forget that.”