Over four years ago, Joe Biden's career was also at a low point, though less dramatic. He lost the Iowa caucus, and polls had him in single digits in New Hampshire, where he eventually came in fifth. On February 4, 2020, I attended a Biden rally, covering it for NewBostonPost. Looking back, Biden was far stronger then than he is now, despite how poorly his presidential prospects looked at that time.
I arrived at the event early, unsure of how many people might attend. A couple of hundred people did, and I got a decent spot in line. While waiting outside, a diehard Trump fan trolled those in attendance. The man drove by in a truck with a snow plow decked out in Trump gear. It had several Trump flags and large stickers. One said, "Build The Wall," while a flag attached to the plow said, "Trump 2020: No More Bullshit." The man honked repeatedly, drove up and down the street a few times, and, at one point, rolled down his window so he could hold up a cartoon of Trump flipping the bird for all of the Biden supporters to see. A woman yelling at the vehicle said that she loved paying her taxes. At least the Trump guy was funny; that's one of the lamest attempts at a comeback I've ever heard.
Biden showed up 50 minutes late. The event at Girls Inc. in Nashua, New Hampshire, had a scheduled noon start time. Biden started speaking at around 12:50 p.m., and his 15-minute speech ended just after one. Biden's remarks had two purposes: bash the front-runner, Bernie Sanders, and tout what he viewed as his past policy achievements.
Biden spent time trashing Sanders’ math on Medicare-for-All. He also talked about how the Vermont governor who attempted and failed to implement single-payer healthcare, Peter Shumlin, backed the Biden 2020 campaign. The former vice president touted the Affordable Care Act and said, if elected president, people could keep their plan if they like their plan—a risky promise given that Barack Obama making a similar claim earned Politifact's 2013 Lie of the Year Award.
Biden avoided calling anyone a lying dog-faced pony soldier, challenging anyone to a pushup contest, and telling people to not vote for him. Two people disrupted the speech. They screamed at Biden and called him a predator. Biden responded with "Give me a break." Afterwards, Biden shook hands and took pictures with many people. I wanted to meet Biden because he was the former vice president; I thought he had no shot of defeating Trump. I got within feet of Biden multiple times. The first time was in a press pool where he spent little time. The other was waiting to meet him, along with many other members of the general public. Biden paid no attention to the people on the left side. He had a campaign worker walking with him, ensuring he acknowledged people's presence and a different campaign worker said he would ensure I could meet Biden if I stuck around long enough. I waited 10 or 15 minutes but eventually left to attend a Tulsi Gabbard event.
That was a mistake. Her campaign was so hopeless that the event was in a library basement. She's no longer a Democrat and flip-flopped on many of the positions she held as a member of Congress back then. In 2024, I can’t fathom Biden as half as competent as he was in 2020—and conservatives already started questioning his cognitive ability in 2019. The 2020 Joe Biden at least beat Trump in a presidential debate, unlike the 2024 rendition who showed the world his brain no longer works.
