This new Joe Biden, less avuncular, seems to have all of Trump's worst traits, in overabundance, without his humor, humanity, or sense of mercy: Joe Biden is rebranding himself as the "Trump of the left." This new turn is profoundly weird. It feels like a marketing stunt designed to sell a hate themed version of Mountain Dew. But where Trump was a court jester making fun of the ruling class, Biden is selling himself as the angry prince who is ordering that the jester and all who laughed at his jokes should have their tongues cut out.
Trump was happy to remove people from jobs, something any New York CEO hardens to, but rarely wanted to truly destroy people. Biden seems, well, much more evil to my mind---you cannot find a speech in which Trump seemed to be as sincerely possessed by hate as this man does here. His attitude was, "You failed. You're fired. Do something else you are better at." It was rarely truly malicious. I understand why it made people, esp. people employed in government, angry---but it only went so far. Contrast that with the hatred and overt theatricality on display in this speech. Trump never gave speeches where he intentionally deployed ominous lighting and made Hitlerian hand gestures. The pose Mr. Biden is striking here would have elicited envy from both the Fuhrer and Mussolini.
And to light Independence Hall blood red is to desecrate it: It is to take a place devoted to the notion of freedom and to use its symbolic power to advocate for violence. If Trump were to have done such a thing, the left would rightly call it out as an act of desecration. However, this is far from the most taboo thing he did in this speech: What is most telling is that he used marines as props in a speech that did not have a direct ceremonial purpose, like the inauguration, or concern a military matter. Politicians are not supposed to use the military as props in overtly political speeches, and that is exactly what Biden did here. The fascistic signaling in this speech is far more overt than anything Donald Trump did.
I think some consultant must have told Biden that he comes off as senile and incompetent and that trying to seem angry and evil is, well, a good way of tapping into the left's lingering hatred for Trump and to rebrand himself: Evil washes away stupid, it seems. Evil portrays competence.
Also, I wonder if he isn't trying to provoke some sort of reaction from the right that he can weaponize in the upcoming election---holding raw meat in your hand to try to get the dog to bite.
Whatever is going on, this is not an organic phenomenon: It smells of deliberate marketing, and like the very worst marketing campaigns, it seems to be playing with incongruity and the surreal in order to manipulate us.