Joe has been managing his stutter his whole life. So well it wasn't noticeable. One tool to slow it down and give himself room is the laugh. It breaks up time.

Bc he can't rapid fire back.

So he'll laugh instead, wait his opponent out so he can speak alone at his own tempo. https://twitter.com/Mikeggibbs/status/1311112426948112385

This worked with Paul Ryan bc Paul Ryan is a normal human.

Bc Joe didn't interrupt him - instead just laughing - he gave Joe his full time that he needed to go at his own tempo.

Ryan didn't feel comfortable interrupting Joe bc Joe didn't interrupt him. Ryan is not a bully.

That's why Joe's stutter has not been observable in public with a big audience before- in a repeated cruel way - until tonight. No one refused Joe the space and tempo he needs until now.

But most Americans don't know. There is actually a danger they will think it is sundowning.

When Joe said "sush" and "Donald be quiet please" he was not really shaming...

It was a reflexive SOS from the core of his being. His brain is snapping an alert.

Physically it feels like you're literally drowning or can't breathe when the stutter is tripped.

So that's you may have noticed he was breathless and had a look of fright at times.

*He wasn't afraid of Trump*.

It was his stutter preventing him from speaking. As if someone had gagged him. It suffocates you momentarily.

Beyond my other experience with stuttering - I mentioned earlier -I neglected the most super obvious reason I know so much about this.

I have a stutter. It's milder than Biden's or my Uncle. But it can trip under certain conditions. Far less today but if it does it's awful.

Actually @kevinashe1 would have seen it. I had many stutter fits when I was presenting at our PC riding exec meetings. Do you remember that Kevin?

(Mine will blow as a breathless stammer *plus* shakes. My body and hands will shake. Since I was a toddler. It didn't settle - I learned strategies - until EPCOR. I was in front of the camera and on radio all the time so I had to control it. Still happens but rare.)

Before long I had a mental routine that keeps it in check. I did these every week with no issue. Bizzarely, high pressure incident comms work best. I'm calmer when I have less time to prepare. Overpreparation/anticipation makes me nervous and more likely to trip a stutter.

So, it can be very individual.

Biden's stutter is uniquely his as my uncle's is. No stutter is quite the same and you have to discover what trips it for you, and how best to control it with trial and error.

(Fin)