Biden Planned This Week’s Speech for Months

Playbook: “Months ago, with the economy in flux, his legislative agenda adrift and his approval ratings mired in the 30s, President Joe Biden was ill-positioned to break through with any compelling message to the American people — let alone an existential warning about the state of American democracy.”

“But Biden’s late-summer bounce has buoyed not only his poll numbers but also his credibility as he chose this week to launch a new broadside against his predecessor and his ‘MAGA Republican’ loyalists. Its centerpiece — his Thursday speech warning against the anti-democratic assault from former President Donald Trump and his core followers — was an election-season clarion call unlike anything in modern American history, Eugene, Sam Stein and Jonathan Lemire write this morning.”

“The speech was months in the making. Aides said Biden started planning a democracy-themed address in June, but events continued to get in the way of its delivery.”