Biden's picturesque setting with a dark twist

Elections are about choices. When elections go poorly for presidents, the choice becomes a referendum on their performance in office - one often decided in the negative.

Joe Biden made the short flight from Washington to Philadelphia on Thursday to try to reframe this November's mid-term election choice as not about him, but about choosing between democratic freedoms and "Donald Trump and the Maga Republicans".

"Maga Republicans do not respect the Constitution," said Mr Biden. "They do not believe in the rule of law... and they're working right now as...