Trump, who remains under a gag order, will take the debate stage for the first time since he was president on Thursday.
The nation will tune into the 36th televised presidential debate on Thursday, the first-ever debate where one of the candidates remains under a court-imposed gag order.
Former President Donald Trump will come face-to-face with President Joe Biden for the first time in nearly four years tonight.
Trump notably bowed out of the five Republican primary debates held last year and early this year. CNN, which is hosting the debate, has not revealed which topics will be covered, but there will be comments Trump will have to avoid in order to comply with the existing gag order in his hush money case.
Trump’s ability to comment on the witnesses and jurors in the case has been limited since March. He’s also been prohibited from attacking prosecutors, court staff and their families. During the trial, Trump was fined $10,000 and threatened with jail time for violating the order 10 times.
However, following his conviction last month, his team has urged Judge Juan Merchan to remove the gag order, arguing that it’s no longer justified and emphasizing Trump’s need for „unrestrained campaign advocacy“ as the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee. Merchan agreed Tuesday—two days before the debate—to partially lift the order, allowing Trump to comment on witnesses and the jury as long as he doesn’t reveal the identities of the jurors.
Whether the modification will help or hurt Trump in Thursday’s debate, however, remains to be seen.
Republican strategist Alex Patton told Newsweek that because Trump „has hardly ever shown self-control“, it’s likely that the earlier gag order and the fines it threatened have „pent up some things that he will spew.
