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WASHINGTON (AP) – Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden will meet for the first time on Tuesday (Sept. 29) in a pivotal debate that will generate a sharp clash of styles and the prospect of a fierce and brutal confrontation of rancor. personal.
With more than a million Americans already casting their early votes and time is running out to change their minds or influence the small fraction of undecided voters, the stakes are huge as the two candidates for the White House take the stage five weeks before the elections on November 3.
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Fuel Trump and the more discreet Biden will discuss a number of urgent political challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 200,000 people in the United States and left millions out of work, a looming battle over the situation by Amy Coney Barrett. Nomination to the Supreme Court and ongoing protests across the country for racial justice.
The latest point of contention emerged Sunday when the New York Times reported that Trump paid only $ 750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017, and none in 10 of the previous 15 years.
The meeting could be crucial for Biden, giving him the opportunity to show that he is a steady hand that is capable of entering the Oval Office and ending the tumult of Trump’s first term, strategists said.
Biden has maintained a consistent lead over Trump in national opinion polls, although polls in the battlefield states that will decide the election show much closer competition.
About 9 percent of likely voters currently do not endorse any candidate from a major party, which is less than half the number who were not committed to a major contender in September 2016, according to a Reuters / poll. Ipsos.
“Voters have made up their minds about Donald Trump. They are still not quite sure what to do with Joe Biden,” said Republican strategist Alex Conant, aide to Senator Marco Rubio during his 2016 presidential primary bid against Trump.
“If Biden comes in and shows that he’s not scary to independents and he’s capable of getting the job done, he will help himself significantly,” he said.
White House advisers say the 74-year-old Trump will aggressively challenge Biden’s record on issues such as trade, energy and taxes and be prepared to defend himself against his own taxes.
Trump, who has repeatedly questioned the integrity of the election, is likely to face questions about his refusal to commit to accepting the election results if he loses.
Biden, 77, will describe where Trump has failed to deliver on his own promises, said a source familiar with his strategy. He is also sure to press his criticism of Trump’s response to the pandemic and highlight Trump’s efforts to eliminate the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
DEBATE PREPARATION AND FACT CHECK
The 90-minute showdown, with an in-person audience limited and socially estranged due to the pandemic, will begin at 9 p.m. EDT (0100 GMT Tuesday) at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. It is the first of three planned presidential debates.
The debate will be divided into six segments: the Trump and Biden records, the US Supreme Court, the coronavirus pandemic, the economy, electoral integrity, and “race and violence” in American cities.
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Trump, a polemic striker who regularly questions Biden’s mental fitness and physical energy in direct personal terms, will try to shake the former vice president off his talking points, strategists said.
Before the debate, Democrats have demanded that Fox News moderator Chris Wallace correct Trump when he makes false claims. But Wallace, whom Trump has called “disgusting and disgusting,” said he would not perform a fact-checking function.
Biden began preparing for the debate in August, reviewing voluminous informational materials and has participated in mock debates with his aide Bob Bauer, a Democratic lawyer who plays Trump, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Trump has met with his top advisers on several occasions to discuss approaches to the debates and spent part of the weekend preparing with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, a Trump adviser said.
Both candidates have a lot of experience. In 2016, Trump dominated the crowded Republican primary debates with swift attacks on his rivals.
She tried to intimidate Democrat Hillary Clinton during the general election debates, stepped up to be behind her at one point, and brought in some of the women who accused Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, of sexual misconduct to sit in the audience.
Biden participated in two one-on-one meetings between the vice presidents with Republicans Sarah Palin in 2008 and Paul Ryan in 2012. But he was sometimes defensive during the 11 Democratic primary debates this cycle.
Biden’s allies say that Trump, who regularly criticizes Biden as “Sleepy Joe” and suggested that Biden would need to take drugs to get through the debate, has helped lower expectations of his performance.
“I don’t know why Trump’s people seem to lower the bar,” said strategist Steve Schale, a longtime Biden ally. “Joe Biden is a player. He shows up when it matters, and I think he will.”
