With special rules and great expectation among voters, Joe Biden and Donald Trump are holding tonight (three in the morning in Spain) the earliest debate in the history of the US presidential elections. It arrives three months earlier than is usual in … the calendar and both candidates promise that it will be “civilized.” Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, will meet face to face for the first time since 2020 in prime time (9:00 p.m. on the east coast) at the headquarters of the CNN television network, located in Atlanta, Georgia.
Both candidates hope to consolidate their respective positions. The duel finds the Democrat with a 9-point advantage in the polls among independents and a healthy campaign chest to sustain the formidable mobilization that he will require in the next four months if he wants to stay in the White House. The Republican, for his part, is backed by massive collections since his conviction last month for 34 criminal offenses, nullifying the financial superiority that Biden maintained until now.
To avoid the chaos caused by Trump’s lack of self-control, who in 2020 interrupted Biden more than a hundred times, the organizers have established special rules to try to maintain ‘civility’ and focus the debate on the political program and the history of each one. They include muted microphones except during the shift itself. It will also not be allowed to carry written notes or accessories and during the two commercial breaks, candidates will not be able to consult with their teams.
For the first time since the debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960 there will be no studio audience. This will prevent live reactions from the public in the room to crazy comments and the theatrics that Trump usually uses effectively in front of his followers.
The new rule will also deprive the mogul of the opportunity to bring special guests with the aim of intimidating his opponent, as he did in the face-to-face with Hillary Clinton in 2016, in which he invited three women who had accused her husband of inappropriate sexual conduct. It will also not be allowed to carry written notes or accessories and during the two commercial breaks, candidates will not be able to consult with their teams. Alone face to face for 90 minutes, Biden and Trump will have only pen, paper and water.
The strategies
In a debate in which the stakes are high, advisers to both campaigns have focused their bosses’ training on avoiding the traps of their opponents. Biden’s strategists have placed emphasis on the vigor of his presentation, on showing his authority and knowledge of the domestic and international political challenges facing the country, while Trump’s strategists have been preparing the billionaire in self-control of his excesses, his strength in the polls, and the reaffirmation of the image that brought him to power in 2016, that of a tough businessman with the mission of ‘cleaning up’ Washington.
The Democratic campaign will be more aggressive in trying to expose Trump to the broader electorate as a convicted felon, provoking him to display his dangerous violent rhetoric, his dehumanization and racism, and his wild notions on political issues. Trump will also not spare the low blows aimed at humiliating Biden on the emotional ground of his family, due to his son Hunter’s drug history and recent conviction, as well as outlining a profile of a president weak on “uncontrolled immigration.” that »spares« weapons to Israel and »squanders« them in support of Ukraine.
