President Joe Biden is beginning an intense period of private debate preparations at Camp David
President Joe Biden begins an intense period of private preparations Friday at Camp David for what may be the most consequential presidential debate in decades.
The 81-year-old Democrat’s team is aware he cannot afford an underwhelming performance when he faces Republican rival Donald Trump for 90 minutes on live television June 27. Biden’s team expects aggressive attacks on his physical and mental strength, his record on the economy and immigration and even his family.
Trump, 78 and ever confident, will stay on the campaign trail before going to his Florida estate next week for two days of private meetings as part of an informal prep process.
The ex-president’s allies are pushing him to stay focused on his governing plans but expect him to be tested by pointed questions about his unrelenting focus on election fraud, his role in the erosion of abortion rights and his unprecedented legal baggage.
The CNN debate will be full of firsts, with the potential to reshape the presidential race. Never before in the modern era have two presumptive nominees met on the debate stage so early in the general election season. Never before have two White House contenders faced off at such advanced ages, with widespread questions about their readiness.
And never before has a general election debate participant been saddled with a felony conviction. The debate stage meeting comes just two weeks before Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on 34 felony counts in his New York hush money trial.
“You can argue this will be the most important debate, at least in my lifetime,” said Democratic strategist Jim Messina, a 54-year-old who managed President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign.
The ground rules for the June 27 debate, the first of two scheduled meetings, are unusual.
The candidates agreed to meet at a CNN studio in Atlanta with no audience. Each candidate’s microphone will be muted, except when it’s his turn to speak. No props or prewritten notes will be allowed onstage. The candidates will be given only a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water.
There will be no opening statements. A coin flip determined Biden would stand at the podium to the viewer’s right, while Trump would deliver the final closing statement.
The next debate won’t be until September. Any stumbles June 27 will be hard to erase or replace quickly.
