Joe Biden and Donald Trump will spark each other tonight before millions of viewers who will follow the first debate of the campaign for the November 5 elections in the United States. Starting at 10 p.m. Argentine time, the president will try to combat the idea that he is too old for the office and He will present himself as a defender of democracy in contrast to “danger” and “chaos” that Trump would represent, while his Republican rival will attack him for his health, the economy, immigration and the country’s performance globally.
The expectation is enormous. It is the first time that both have been in the same room since the 2020 debate, in the last electoral campaign for the White House that Biden won and whose results Trump always denied. So far they are practically tied in the polls and the clash could tip the balance among the undecided, a key impact in such a tight election. Any misstep can be fatal or very difficult to reverse.
Besides, This face to face is historic in many ways: For the first time, a president and a former president faced each other; the two contenders are also the oldest (Biden is 81 and Trump 78) and never has a debate been held so early in the calendar, four months before the elections, even before the party conventions. Moreover, there is no precedent of one of the candidates being found criminally guilty and at risk of going to prison.
In this context, large audiences are expected on prime time television, in a debate that this time was not organized by an independent commission but by the CNN network in Atlanta, with rules that the candidates accepted, such as no audience in the venue and that the microphones are turned off when the other contestant has the floor.
According to statements by strategists from both campaigns, Biden will seek to establish himself as a defender of democracy and stability, to mark the contrast with his rival, who had a chaotic presidency and who still does not know the result of the last elections and who fueled the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 by his supporters.
Biden is expected to emphasize that The Republican is a convicted criminal for having been found guilty last month of falsifying records to hide payments to a porn actress during his 2016 campaign. On July 11, the judge will hand down a sentence that could reach up to 4 years in prison, although even from prison he could be a candidate.
The Democratic strategy will also be to position the tycoon as the number one enemy of women and a dismemberer of enshrined rights, which is why Biden will insist that Trump will end up banning abortion, which has already been limited by the Court, if he wins the White House again.
Trump, on the other hand, will try to convince voters that the country was better during his presidency than during Biden’s time. He will attack him with inflation, which, although during the Democratic mandate it has fallen from the 9.5% annual post-pandemic to almost 2% expected this year, is not perceived by Americans as an achievement of the Democrat.
Also will attack him hard on immigration, which is one of the president’s main weaknesses, according to polls, and will say that he is to blame for the “invasion” of undocumented immigrants from the southern border. And he will criticize him for his role in the war in Ukraine and Gaza, stating that with him in the White House the world would be more peaceful.
But above all, iwill try to attack Biden’s physical and mental health, something that he has been doing in his speeches and in the days leading up to the debate. He will say that he is old (even though he is only 3 years younger) and that he is not fit for another four years in the White House. He is one of the president’s weakest flanks since he generates doubts even among the Democrats themselves.
Biden has been holed up since the weekend at the presidential vacation home at Camp David, training with 16 advisers and with his lawyer Bob Bauer taking over Trump’s role. The tycoon did not prepare with such dedication, but his ability in front of the cameras is well known. He alternated campaign events with some meetings with advisers at his home in Mar a Lago.
In an election that is currently looking very close, any detail or misstep in a debate can define the opinion of the undecided, especially in the key states that usually define the elections. Biden will seek to be energetic to show strength and leadership, while Trump will have to be firm but not too aggressive to scare away the moderate electorate, which is essential to winning the elections.
A second debate is scheduled for September 10, two months before the elections.
Meanwhile, the independent candidate Robert Kennedy, nephew of former President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who was left out of this debate for not reaching the minimum necessary percentage in the polls, will hold an event on Thursday in Los Angeles (California), which will be broadcast on directly through the X platform.
