By Steve Peoples The Associated Press
The president, Joe Biden, began an intense period of private preparations on Friday at Camp David for what may be the most consequential presidential debate in decades.
The 81-year-old Democrat’s team is aware that he cannot afford to disappoint when he faces his Republican rival Donald Trump on June 27 for 90 minutes and live on television. Biden’s campaign expects aggressive attacks on his physical and mental strength, his record on the economy and immigration, and even his family.
Trump, 78 and always confident, will remain on the campaign trail before heading to his Florida estate next week for two days of private meetings as part of an informal preparation process.
The former president’s allies are pressing him to stay focused on his government plans, but expect him to be tested with pointed questions about his relentless focus on voter fraud, his role in the erosion of abortion rights and his ongoing legal problems. precedents.
The debate on CNN will be full of firsts, with the potential to reshape the presidential race. Never before in the modern era have two virtual candidates faced off so soon on the debate stage in the general election season. Never before have two candidates for the White House faced each other at such advanced ages, with widespread doubts about their ability.
And never before had a participant in a general election debate been convicted of a serious crime. The onstage meeting comes two weeks before Trump is convicted of 34 felonies in his trial over paying porn actress Stormy Daniels’ hush money in New York.
“You can argue that this will be the most important debate, at least in my lifetime,” said Democratic strategist Jim Messina, a 54-year-old who ran President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign.
Pressure on Biden
The ground rules for the June 27 debate, the first of two scheduled meetings, are unusual.
The candidates agreed to meet in a CNN studio in Atlanta and without an audience. Each candidate’s microphone will be muted, except when it is their turn to speak. No props or pre-written notes will be allowed on stage. Candidates will only have a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water.
There will be no opening speeches. A coin toss determined that Biden would stand on the podium to the viewer’s right, while Trump would deliver the final closing speech.
The next debate will not be until September. Any stumbles on June 27 will be difficult to erase or replace immediately.
[Las reglas que Biden y Trump tendrán que cumplir en el debate presidencial de CNN]
Biden arrived at Camp David on Thursday night and is expected to meet with senior campaign officials until the debate arrives. While traveling to the mountains, he greeted reporters when they asked him how the preparation for the meeting was going.
The president’s team has been reluctant to share details about its preparations, led by former chief of staff Ron Klain. However, he has noted that he is prepared to be aggressive and that he would not hesitate to use the term “convicted felon” to describe his opponent.
An adviser not authorized to speak publicly about debate strategy said Biden has been increasingly scathing in his recent comments about Trump and plans to carry that theme into the debate. This without ceasing to try to project himself as “the wise and firm leader” in contrast to Trump, the advisor added.
Among some political operators, there is a sense that Biden may have more to lose given his struggle to build momentum amid signs of weakness within his political coalition. Trump and his allies have set an extraordinarily low bar, however, by suggesting for months that Biden is dealing with serious physical limitations that make it difficult for him to stand for 90 minutes or string together two sentences.
“It’s like the mirror test. Put a mirror under Biden’s nose, and if it fogs up, he wins, right? That is more or less the threshold for Biden,” David Urban, Republican strategist and Trump ally, said with a laugh. “Can Biden demonstrate that he is mentally agile? That is the big question”.
Trump, however, sought to upend expectations in an interview Thursday on The All-In Podcast in which he veered sharply from his typical mockery of Biden. He recalled that Biden “destroyed” vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan in their 2012 debate.
“I suppose he will be someone worth debating,” Trump accepted about Biden. “I don’t want to underestimate him.”
Biden’s aides have dismissed concerns about his age and mental preparation. They are fighting what they allege is misleading editing of video clips to suggest he is confused.
[Cómo se preparan Biden y Trump para su primer debate y por qué los presidentes en turno suelen batallar con eso]
But while some Democrats project confidence, the president’s allies also say he has spent much of the last two weeks traveling — in Europe and on the West Coast — limiting his ability to prepare. Others point out that incumbent leaders often have difficulties in the first electoral debate of the season.
Messina addressed both issues while trying to downplay Trump’s political interests. He suggested Trump was taking an unnecessary political risk by debating Biden.
“If I were him, I wouldn’t have participated in the debate,” Messina accepted, referring to Trump. The strategist added: “Why would you want to give him that air? He decided that he wanted to do this to knock him out, and if he doesn’t do it, then I think he’s in real trouble.”
Trump projects confidence
Trump’s team sees the face-to-face as an opportunity to demonstrate a clear contrast to Biden’s leadership ability and government record.
And while they downplay his preparations, Trump’s aides have a habit of insisting that he doesn’t prepare for debates when, in fact, he does, in his own way. Instead of mock debates with lecterns and stuntmen or hours spent studying political books, the former president is expected to rely on a series of conversations about policy and strategy with aides and political allies.
Trump also had public appearances scheduled in the coming days.
On Saturday he already held a rally in Philadelphia and gave a speech at a conference of Christian conservatives in Washington. He also has a fundraiser in New Orleans on Monday before heading to his Florida estate for meetings.
“Biden needs to rehearse with the manipulators to find some way to explain this mess he has made of our nation,” said Trump spokesman Brian Hughes. “President Trump is always prepared to present to Americans his record of successes and Biden’s weaknesses and failures.”
[Trump presiona a Biden para celebrar otro debate electoral, centrado en la comunidad latina y organizado por NBC y Telemundo]
The Biden camp is aware that Trump will likely focus on his son Hunter, as the then-president did on the debate stage four years ago. Hunter Biden was recently convicted of three felony charges related to purchasing a gun while he was allegedly addicted to drugs. Republicans have also criticized Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings when Joe Biden was vice president.
Biden’s allies are also concerned, however, that his famously combative rival will behave.
“For both campaigns, the goal here is to reach an audience of moderate, independent and doubtful voters in swing states who, in many ways, will be the deciding factor in this election,” said former Biden Administration official Bill Russo.
“Trump has a kind of golden opportunity here. “If he can pretend that he is a reasonable human being for 90 minutes while he is in the spotlight, he has a lot to gain,” Russo added. “The real key here is which Trump will show up.”
