Donald Trump has always been a master at marketing. You don’t get to where he is without understanding how to brand and how to get your message across, even when some people don’t want you to do so. That’s allowed him to masterfully manipulate the media throughout his tenure. It’s also allowed him to cast his political opponents in exactly the light he wants them cast.

Who can forget Little Marco, Low-Energy Jeb, or Crooked Hillary? And while the names may not seem to roll off the tongue at times, what they do is sink into the subconscious and draw a mental image for those hearing them.

In regards to Joe Biden, Trump’s 2020 opponent has been affectionally called “Sleepy Joe” to this point. But I dare say the President has one-upped himself with his latest entry.

When a Kennedy loses a Democrat Primary in Massachusetts, by a lot, it just shows how far LEFT that party has gone. Joe Hiden’ will never be able to hold them back. Life, 2nd A, Energy, Religion, Jobs and the Economy, would be totally obliterated!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 2, 2020

I don’t know if Trump himself came up with that or if an advisor did, but whoever did deserves a pat on the back and a round of applause. Not only does it roll off the tongue well, it’s memorable and says exactly what Republicans want to say about Biden. Namely, that he’s scared to leave his basement or take questions because he can’t mentally handle doing so.

That’s not hyperbole either. Biden has taken questions from the press only twice in the last four months. Instead, he’s done sparse “speeches,” which are really just quick teleprompter blurbs where he then runs off stage like the building is on fire. He’s scared, both because he knows he doesn’t have good answers for a lot of his campaign’s positions and because he knows his mind will fail him if he starts to get pressed. Remember, Biden is the guy who challenges factory workers to fights and calls voters “lying, dog-faced pony soldiers” when he gets questions he doesn’t like.

Joe Hiden’ has opened the door wide open for Trump to barnstorm the Midwest and other swing states to try to set up his winning coalition from 2016 again. Right now, polls are showing his strategy is working, as the gaps continue to close. Meanwhile, Biden can’t take the risk of doing anything more than what he’s been doing. How he’s going to survive three debates is anyone’s guess. My suspicion is that he fumbles through one and then makes an excuse as to why the other two aren’t necessary. We’ll see how that turns out.

Regardless, Trump has struck gold again, and while Sleepy Joe was decent, Joe Hiden’ is absolutely one of his best nicknames yet.

UPDATE: Biden finally decided to do another presser today. He took a few softball questions and weirdly had his staff call on the reporters for him, something I’ve never seen from a candidate. I guess he doesn’t trust himself to pick only biased media figures or something.

(Please Follow me on Twitter! @bonchieredstate)