[ad_1]
The 90-minute clash Tuesday night is a chance for Americans to finally see Donald Trump, 74, and Joe Biden, 77, go head-to-head.
This combination of archive images created on September 28, 2020 shows Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden (L) speaking in Tampa, Florida on September 15, 2020 and United States President Donald Trump speaking during an event. for black supporters at the Cobb Galleria Center on September 25, 2020, in Atlanta, Georgia. Image: AFP.
CLEVELAND – There will be no handshake, but venom to spare when President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden meet in Cleveland on Tuesday for the first of three televised debates that could shake an already volatile race for the White House.
The COVID-19 restrictions will give the debate moderated by Fox News star Chris Wallace a streamlined appearance with a smaller audience. Naturally, there will be no standard display of goodwill, even if occasionally forced, in a handshake as rivals take the stage.
What the 90-minute clash will have is a chance for Americans to finally see Trump, 74, and Biden, 77, go head-to-head.
With Trump claiming that Biden is virtually brain dead – “Biden doesn’t know he’s alive” – and Biden calling the president “a toxic presence,” it won’t be for the faint-hearted.
Significantly behind in the polls, Trump is in fighting mode, embarking on a stress test program of rallies on key battlefields several times a week.
Biden, however, arrives hoping to use his advantage.
And he arrives helped by The New York Times‘publication of a report purporting to reveal the contents of Trump’s deeply secret tax returns, finding that the self-proclaimed billionaire and working-class champion avoids paying nearly all federal income taxes.
HARD AND LOW
Trump, who loves his verbal boxing skills, is expected to hit hard and low.
For months he has painted Biden as senile. As the debate grew closer, he became increasingly focused on his claim that Biden takes performance-enhancing drugs.
Biden has laughed at the suggestion, but Trump, a longtime master at making insults stick to his opponents, is doubling down.
“Joe Biden just announced that he won’t accept a drug test. Wow, I wonder why.” Trump tweeted on Monday.
Biden’s deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield responded in kind, saying that if Trump wants the debate to take place via “urine” samples, “he can.”
Trump possibly has little to lose. His unconditional support is already built in, and Americans are now almost unable to be shocked by his convention-busting style.
He also goes to Cleveland with what he hopes will be his own silver bullet: the nomination of conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.
If Barrett is quickly confirmed, as the Republican-led Senate hopes, Trump will have managed to tilt the highest court firmly to the right in the next few years.
Democrats are crying over the hasty timing on the eve of the election, but Trump hopes the power game will energize many conservatives.
BLUE BOOST NECKLACE
The president is sure to insist on earlier claims that Biden’s son was involved in corruption in Ukraine. Last year, Trump was accused of using the power of his office to try to pressure the Ukrainian government to publicly endorse that theory.
Biden, as a favorite, wants to stay stable, but has a reputation for losing his cool when challenged in public.
“I hope they don’t fool me in a fight with this guy, because that’s the only place where he feels comfortable,” he said.
Instead, Biden will aim to keep his eyes focused on the coronavirus pandemic, which polls show that roughly two-thirds of Americans say Trump mishandled it.
He will also respond to the occupation of the Supreme Court seat, saying that Trump’s plan is for the court to restrict abortion and roll back the Obamacare health program, two areas that could be of concern to undecided voters.
But the hottest moments can come when Biden himself gets personal, painting Trump as a spoiled playboy posing only as a white working-class friend who helped him get elected in 2016.
Biden, who spent his early childhood in the rugged town of Scranton, Pennsylvania, is increasingly mocking Trump’s dazzling New York roots, calling them “Scranton vs. Park Avenue” elections.
Trump notes that Biden only lived in Scranton as a child and spent most of his life in Congress. But the Times report on the president’s ability to avoid nearly all federal income taxes will give Biden a trove of new ammunition.
Download the EWN app on your iOS or Android device.
[ad_2]
