Biden - Trump, different approaches to the first presidential debate, next week

2024-06-21 19:43:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Biden - Trump, different approaches to the first presidential debate, next week

Donald Trump, Joe Biden. Source: AP

President Joe Biden begins an intense period in what could be the most important presidential debate in decades at Camp David, Maryland, on Friday.

The 81-year-old Democratic nominee's campaign team is mindful that he cannot afford to have a disappointing performance when he faces Republican nominee Donald Trump in a 90-minute televised debate on June 27. The Democratic candidate's campaign team expects the attack on him to focus on the president's physical and mental abilities, data on the economy, migration, and Mr. Biden's family.

Mr Trump, 78, who has appeared confident, will continue campaigning before heading to his Florida residence next week, where he is expected to hold private meetings for two days as part of his unofficial preparation for the debate. .

Allies of the former president are urging him to focus on his governing agenda, but expect him to be tested with direct questions about his positions on election rigging, his role in limiting the right to abortion in the US, as well as in the unprecedented legal challenges to it. The debate on the CNN television network will be the first between the two candidates and could give another direction to the presidential race.

Never before in the modern era have the two candidates faced off in a debate so early in the election cycle.

Never before have two contenders for the White House been of such an age that it has raised questions about whether they are capable of running the country.

Likewise, it has never happened before that a presidential candidate has been found guilty of criminal offenses.

The debate takes place just two weeks before a New York court will hand down the sentence after Mr. Trump's guilty plea to 34 criminal charges.

"This is going to be the most important debate I've ever watched in my entire life," says Jim Messina, who managed President Barack Obama's 2012 campaign.

Pressure on President Biden

The rules for the June 27 debate, the first of two scheduled debates, are unusual.

The candidates agreed to meet at the CNN television studios in Atlanta without the public present. The microphones will be closed and will only open when it is your turn to speak. Candidates will not be allowed to carry notepads. Candidates will be provided with a pen and pad to take notes and a water bottle.

There will be no introductory speech. Based on the draw, Mr. Biden will stand on the right side of the stage, while Mr. Trump will make the final statement at the end of the debate. The second debate will be held in September.

Mr. Biden arrived at the presidential resort of Camp David on Thursday evening and is expected to remain there with his advisers and top campaign officials until the day of the debate. While driving to the mountain resort, he responded to reporters' questions about how preparations for the debate are going by raising a finger in the affirmative.

The president's advisers have not provided details about the preparations, which are being led by his former chief of staff, Ron Klein. But they have given signs that Mr. Biden is preparing to be aggressive and that he will not hesitate to use the label "convicted criminal" for his rival.

An adviser, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the strategy of the debate, emphasized that Mr. Biden has recently been stricter in his statements about Mr. Trump and that he plans to continue this way in the debate as well. He is doing so while trying to present himself as the "wise and stable leader" compared to Mr. Trump, according to the adviser. /AP/