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As the race for the White House draws near, adequate ehearsals, informal consultations, campaign rallies have become the order of the day as US President Joe Biden and his predicessor, Donald Trump are each preparing in their own unique way for their televised debate next Thursday, the first in the 2024 race.
With a week to go, the Democratic president was set to head to Camp David, a mountainside retreat for US leaders close to the capital Washington, to hone his lines for the debate.
Few details have been released about the 81-year-old Democrat’s preparations, except that his former chief of staff Ron Klain will be involved, and that one of Biden’s aides will play the part of Trump in mock debates.
The Trump campaign has been downplaying the need for the formal dress rehearsals candidates usually plan, a change of tack from 2020 when the former president practiced with former New Jersey governor Chris Christie.
“President Trump takes on numerous tough interviews every single week and delivers lengthy rally speeches while standing, demonstrating elite stamina,” senior Trump advisor Jason Miller said in a statement.
“He does not need to be programmed by staff or shot up with chemicals like Joe Biden does.”.
However, Trump has surrounded himself with influential senators and vice-presidential candidates to discuss issues likely to come up, from foreign policy to immigration, according to media reports.
The Republican, who was convicted of 34 felony charges of business fraud in New York in May, has also reportedly been crafting possible responses for when the debate inevitably turns to his legal troubles.
The showdown, scheduled for 9:00pm (0100 GMT Friday) in Atlanta, is the third between the two men.
Similarly, Biden outlined his debate strategy in a recent interview with ABC: “Say what I think. Let him say what he thinks.”
“The things he says are off the wall… I want to move in a direction where he talks about, you know, suspending the constitution,” Biden said.
Biden campaign chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon said last month the president would go after Trump on abortion rights, threats to democracy and his plans for “tax breaks to billionaires.”
Trump, in fact, has since predicted ahead of speeches and debate performances that Biden would embarrass himself, a low bar that the president has invariably been able to clear comfortably.
