President Joe Biden has been proactively getting in Donald Trump's face in recent days.
Biden has been taunting his predecessor with slights, calling him "the defeated former president of the United States."
He's called him out by name, dubbing him a liar and saying he lacks courage.
Biden has even ripped Trump's patriotism and loyalty to the country, pointing to his actions on Jan. 6, 2021: “You can't be pro-insurrection and pro-cop. You can't be pro-insurrection and pro-democracy. You can't be pro-insurrection and pro-American," Biden said in a virtual address Monday to the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives conference.
A day later, Biden took to Twitter, in a rare move, to rip Trump again: "Call me old fashioned, but I don't think inciting a mob that attacks a police officer is 'respect for the law.'"
Earlier this month, Biden said while he could not offer a prediction on whether Trump would be the Republican nominee in 2024, he said he "would not be disappointed" if he were to face off with Trump again in 2024.
After ending his COVID-19 isolation, Biden appeared to take another shot at Trump, noting that the former president, who got COVID before vaccines were available, had to be "helicoptered" to Walter Reed hospital.
The Trump insults are becoming more common, and they are no accident.
With the midterm elections inching closer, Biden is expected to play up the contrast between Democrats and Republicans and at times would be expected to use Trump as his foil.
The January 6th committee hearing has offered Biden the perfect backdrop for the rash of new attacks, providing evidence of Trump's alleged involvement in the insurrection on the Capitol and his willingness to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
And it coincides with the hopes of Democratic campaigns that voters will come out and vote against the GOP because of Trump.
"Why not compare and contrast the person who truly is the face of the Republican Party?" said Democratic strategist Rodell Mollineau. "Donald Trump is the face of the opposition, and it's smart to remind Americans who he is."
Such strategies have not been entirely effective for Democrats. Just last year, Republican Glenn Youngkin won the Virginia governor's race as Democrats sought to tie him to Trump.
But it's still a solid strategy, say Democrats, given dealmaking with Republicans is largely over.
"He's gotten everything he can for now from Senate Republicans, and Trump is making noise about announcing soon, so it's the perfect time to drop the gloves and get back up in their faces," Democratic strategist Eddie Vale said. "And then it's also perfectly timed up on top of that with the January 6th hearing putting the spotlight on Trump's insurrection to draw the direct contact between his danger and demagoguery and Biden's growing-rapidly-by-the-day achievements."
Although Biden received unwelcome news on Thursday in the form of a Commerce Department report showing the economy shrunk in the second quarter, it hasn't been a bad week for the president.