By Curt_Anderson May 15, 2024 1:44 pm Category: Politics (0.0 from 0 votes) Rules of the Post Write A New Article How To Post Here Rate this article (5=best, 0=poor)

The Trump team swiftly accepted [Biden's debate offer]. And Mr. Trump proceeded to do Mr. Biden the favor of lowering expectations for his performance, writing on social media that his rival was “the WORST debater I have ever faced.” The post was a preview of the insults to come, with Mr. Trump accusing the president of being unable to “put two sentences together” and calling him “crooked” three times.
[...snip...]
Mr. Trump, who turns 78 in June and skipped all of the Republican primary debates, has been eager to meet Mr. Biden onstage, publicly and privately casting him as diminished since 2020. Within hours of Mr. Biden’s announcement on Wednesday, both sides had publicly agreed to a debate on June 27 hosted by CNN in Atlanta and one with ABC News on Sept. 10.

There is also peril for Mr. Trump because Mr. Biden has performed well in key moments when expectations were set low for him — including the 2020 debates and his recent State of the Union addresses.

By accepting Mr. Biden’s deal for two debates, Mr. Trump lost almost all his leverage to demand more, even as his campaign asked for monthly contests and Mr. Trump said he had accepted a Fox News debate in October. The Biden campaign made clear that the president would participate in only two.

Cited and related links:

1. nytimes.com

Comments Start Below

by Indy! on May 15, 2024 2:39 pm Paywall. by Curt_Anderson on May 15, 2024 2:58 pm Indy, Here is a non-paywall article more or less making the same point I did in my headline: Trump is making a mistake by disparaging and underestimating Joe Biden. Republicans Issue Warning to Trump About Biden Debates --Newsweek. Since the start of the era of presidential debates, candidates have sought to embellish their rival's debating skills...Trump being the lone exception. Trump should have learned a lesson in the 2020 when the polls indicated that Biden was perceived to have won the debates. Post-debate CNN poll: Six in 10 say Biden won the debate Poll: Majority of viewers say Biden won final debate Debate watchers surveyed in a POLITICO/Morning Consult poll said, by a 15-point margin, Biden performed better than Trump. The first post-debate polls say Biden won newsweek.com cnn.com politico.com vox.com by HatetheSwamp on May 15, 2024 3:22 pm I can't wait to see how the string-pullers have "that feckless dementia-ridden piece of crap" juiced. Clearly, they overdid it for the SOTU. They have to get it just right. They underdid for that CNN interview last week and he averaged a whopper a minute. But, gang. Talk about your Must See TV! Oy, as po says, freakin friggin EFFINvey! by Indy! on May 15, 2024 5:18 pm I probably will not be watching, but if I had to bet money - I'd put it on Biden because Trump is his own worst enemy whenever he opens his mouth. It will be nice if the debate moderators actually called BOTH of them out on their whoppers for a change. by Curt_Anderson on May 16, 2024 11:34 am Incidentally, unlike past debates these debates won't be simulcast on all the networks. The first debate will only be seen by cable subscribers who get CNN. Everybody else will have to be satisfied with reports, clips and highlights on other channels. by Indy! on May 16, 2024 12:57 pm "Highlights" = gotchas. by Indy! on May 16, 2024 12:58 pm I'm glad it's not on all networks because they often interrupt interesting TV fare. People who want to watch have a place to go - CNN. The rest of us can watch the game or whatever else is on. Go To Top

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