by Nathan Layne and Trevor Hunnicutt
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic President Joe Biden holed up with his advisers at the Camp David residence to prepare for a June 27 debate with his Republican rival for November’s U.S. presidential election, Donald Trump, who favored informal meetings on the sidelines of his campaign.
Never in the modern history of the United States has a presidential debate taken place so early in the year. A second televised face-to-face is planned for September 10, less than two months before the election.
Already opposed during the 2020 presidential election, the two men will take part next Thursday in Atlanta (9:00 p.m., Friday 01:00 GMT) in a debate which could mark a turning point in the race for the White House.
Joe Biden, 81, and Donald Trump, 78, are neck and neck in voting intentions, according to national polls, which show that a significant portion of the American electorate is still undecided.
One of the questions concerns the age and mental acuity of the two candidates, while the winner of the November 5 vote will in any case be the oldest president-elect in the history of the country.
It will be an “incredible test of their cognitive skills,” said Patrick Stewart, a political science professor at the University of Arkansas and author of a book on the presidential debates. “This is an opportunity for us to see how much they have declined or if they have declined.”
The terms of the 90-minute debate, which will be broadcast on CNN, will take both politicians out of their comfort zones and force them to prepare for tough questions, Stewart added.
Speaking times will be strictly regulated, cards will be prohibited and no spectators will be present.
INSIST ON “CONTRAST”
At Camp David, considered the second home of American presidents, about a hundred kilometers from Washington, Joe Biden’s working sessions are led by Ron Klain, former Biden secretary general and veteran in debate preparation.
A Biden campaign spokesperson declined to say whether former White House counsel Bob Bauer would again play the role of Donald Trump for “rehearsals” of the debate, as he did in 2020.
Joe Biden and his advisers are focused on honing the argument that Donald Trump wants to impose extremist measures on abortion and other issues, represents a danger to democracy and is beholden to the wealthy donors who finance him, told Reuters a representative of the Democratic president’s campaign.
If Joe Biden will not hesitate to attack Donald Trump on his actions, including the role of the former Republican president in the bloody insurrection of January 6, 2021 at the Capitol in Washington, the current tenant of the White House wants to project an image wisdom and stability to stand out from the chaos of Trump’s mandate, added the Biden campaign representative.
What Joe Biden wants “is to show, in this split screen (in two), this contrast and that President Trump is forced to account for his more extreme opinions”, indicated another strategist who requested anonymity who advises the Biden campaign.
The opposite camp intends to force Joe Biden to defend his administration’s record on immigration and inflation, said a high-ranking adviser to the Trump campaign. The Republican candidate also wants to hold his Democratic rival accountable for his management of a “world on fire”, added Brian Hughes, referring to the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
A REPETITION ? “NOT TRUMP’S STYLE”
In recent weeks, Donald Trump has increased meetings with US senators and advisers at his Florida residence at Mar-a-Lago and other locations to discuss key policy points he wants to emphasize during the debate.
Among those involved in these discussions are Senators JD Vance and Marco Rubio, considered leading contenders to appear on the Republican “ticket” with Donald Trump and become his vice president if he wins on November 5. Stephen Miller, a senior White House adviser during the Trump presidency, known for his hard line on immigration, also takes part in the meetings.
According to advisers, Donald Trump has adopted a more informal approach to the debate than in the past and should not organize a “rehearsal”, unlike in 2016 and 2020 – at the time, his former ally Chris Christie had each once played the role of the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton first, then Joe Biden.
“The idea that (Donald Trump) sits in a room and engages in a fictional exercise – first he does this, then you do that – is just not his style,” Brian Hughes said.
“If we have to do anything, it’s just to review with him the policies and the successes, and look forward to what he will do in the next four years,” he added.
In the eyes of Alan Schroeder, professor emeritus of journalism at Northeastern University, there is a certain risk for Donald Trump to adopt a less formal approach when, unlike Joe Biden, he has not held a debate in four years , having refrained from facing his rivals for the Republican Party nomination during the primary debates.
One of the rules of the debate could prove to be an annoyance for Donald Trump: the microphones of the two candidates will be cut off when they are not given the floor.
“He’s been on so many televised events of all kinds that he figures he can improvise,” said Alan Schroeder, an expert on presidential debates. “But debating is something very specific. Just showing up doesn’t really pay.”
(Nathan Layne and Trevor Hunnicutt; French version Jean Terzian, edited by Blandine Hénault)
©2024 Thomson Reuters, all rights reserved. Reuters content is the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters or its third party content providers. Any copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. “Reuters” and the Reuters Logo are trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies.