Former President Donald Trump has had “policy discussions” with close allies and advisers to get ready for his first 2024 showdown with President Biden — a strategy his team believes will lead him to victory because he doesn’t “need” more practice.
Former President Donald Trump is opting for “policy discussions” with close allies and advisers to get ready for Thursday’s showdown against President Biden — eschewing more traditional debate prep in the belief he doesn’t “need” more rehearsing.
Campaign spokesperson Danielle Alvarez told The Post Tuesday that the 45th president, 78, hasn’t gone in for practice Q-and-A sessions or mock debates featuring a stand-in for Biden — and isn’t even employing a preparation podium.
“He just hasn’t done that, and very candidly, doesn’t need to do that,” Alvarez said. “He does several tough interviews a week. He keeps a very rigorous campaign schedule.”
Trump himself told the Washington Examiner in an interview published Monday that he believes the coming CNN forum is about “common sense” and “an attitude.”
“It’s very hard to prepare,” he told columnist Byron York. “You’ve got to know this stuff from years of doing it. And I know all the leaders, and I know what I know.”
Among those involved in the policy chats with Trump have been Sens. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), former Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Tom Homan, ex-White House officials Stephen Miller and Kellyanne Conway, and former acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell — a roster first reported by Politico.
In contrast to the presumptive Republican nominee’s more relaxed prep, the 81-year-old Biden has been sequestered at the presidential retreat at Camp David in western Maryland since June 20, surrounded by more than a dozen allies putting him through his paces.
