This week, one presidential candidate has called the other a loser, made fun of him for selling Bibles, and even poked fun at his hair.
That kind of taunting is generally more within the purview of former President Donald J. Trump, whose insults are so voluminous and so often absurd that they have been cataloged by the hundreds. But lately, the barbs have been coming from President Biden, who once would only refer to Mr. Trump as “the former guy.”
Gone are the days of calling Mr. Trump “my predecessor.”
“We’ll never forget lying about Covid and telling the American people to inject bleach in their arms,” Mr. Biden said at a fund-raiser on Thursday evening, referring to Mr. Trump’s suggestion as president that Americans should try using disinfectant internally to combat the coronavirus.
“He injected it in his hair,” Mr. Biden said.
He is coming up with those lines himself: “This isn’t ‘S.N.L.,’” said James Singer, a spokesman and rapid response director for the Biden campaign, referring to “Saturday Night Live.” “We’re not writing jokes for him.”
The needling from Mr. Biden is designed to hit his opponent where it hurts, touching on everything from Mr. Trump’s hairstyle to his energy levels in court. Mr. Biden has also used policy arguments to get under Mr. Trump’s skin, mocking the former president’s track record on abortion, the coronavirus pandemic and the economy.
The president’s advisers say Mr. Trump’s legal problems have created an opening. As Mr. Trump faces felony charges that he falsified business records to pay off a porn actress ahead of the 2016 election, Mr. Biden and his aides have refrained from talking directly about the legal proceedings. Mr. Biden has made it a point to say he is too busy.
