President Joe Biden has been honing his reelection message at a series of high-dollar fundraisers across the country where White House rules prohibit cameras, according to CNN.

Biden's repertoire varies from unusually frank straight talk to the type of zingers Americans rarely see from mild-mannered Joe.

At recent events in Los Angeles, Boston, and Washington, Biden relayed a version of this: “[Trump] didn’t even show up for my inauguration. I can’t say it disappointed me. My guess is he’s not going to show up on my next inauguration either.”

The president has also been more explicit about the mess he inherited and his ability to steer the country through it.

“When I came to office and this nation was flat on its back, I knew what to do,” he said.

At times, Biden actually name-checked Trump, adopting a more combative tone.

“Trump just talks to talk. We walk the walk,” he said at an announcement for new rail investments. “He likes to say America is a failing nation. Frankly, he doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about.”

In Boston last week, Biden leveled with the audience about the gravity of the situation the country is facing.

“Trump’s not even hiding the ball anymore,” Biden told donors. “He’s telling us what he’s going to do. He’s making no bones about it.”

The campaign is clearly prepping for the moment when it's time to start framing the choice that voters face—a message Team Biden chose to bypass earlier this year when they poured millions into an ad buy playing up Biden's accomplishments. Biden's stagnant polling suggests that investment failed to move public opinion.

“There’s a time and a place for everything," one campaign official told CNN. "I think there will be a time when this decision becomes very binary for people."

Biden's reelection hinges on that proposition and his campaign's ability to bring home the consequences of a second Trump term for voters.

Republished with permission from Daily Kos.