Biden heads to Camp David for five days to prepare for the debate
President Joe Biden heads to the reclusive mountain resort of Camp David on Thursday night to lock himself up with advisers to prepare for next week's debate with Donald Trump . With the showdown one week away, Biden, who prefers briefing binders and practice sessions, will be focused on holding Trump accountable on his record and coming up with punchy one-liners to throw off the former president.
Trump, meanwhile, has been trying out new catch phrases and bits of rhetoric, ready to pound his rival with his words. Next Thursday's debate in Atlanta is believed to be the first time the two men will be in the same room together in four years - since their final presidential debate on October 15, 2020.
The Biden campaign is already down playing expectations, noting the president has been busy with his day job instead of preparing for the debate stage. 'The President will have less time for debate prep than 4 years ago given his day job, so prep will largely be confined to immediately prior,' a campaign official told DailyMail.com.
Biden is coming off a hectic two-week travel schedule, having spent five days in France for the 80th anniversary of D-Day and a state visit. He then went to Italy for 48 hours for the G7 conference. He spent the weekend on the West Coast fundraising. But the biggest hurdle the 81-year-old will have to overcome are the concerns about his age. The Trump campaign has pummeled him about recent incidents showing him freezing or having to be guided off stage.
The White House claims the videos are edited to make the president look bad. And Biden's campaign has struck back at the 78-year-old Trump, pointing out times he fell asleep in court during his New York trial on business fraud. Trump, meanwhile, also has been down playing the upcoming showdown. At a rally in Wisconsin this week, he argued he won't just be debating Biden but also CNN's two debate moderators - Jake Tapper and Dana Bash - who he says doesn't like him.
'I'll be debating three people instead of one half of a person,' he said. Biden will get the first word and Trump will get the last when the two men meet. The campaigns participated in a coin toss with host CNN on Thursday to determine speaking order and podium position. The debate will last 90 minutes with two commercial breaks.
During that time, the president will focus on attacking Trump for 'ripping away reproductive rights, promoting political violence and undermining our democratic institutions, and doing the bidding of his billionaire donors to fund tax giveaways to the ultra-wealthy and corporations by hurting seniors and the middle class,' a Biden campaign official said. But neither man has held back in attacking his rival. Trump claims Biden is physically and mentally unfit for office, while Biden has called his Republican rival 'unhinged' and a danger to democracy.
Biden's supporters also point to Trump's role in the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol, his attempts overturn the 2020 election and his conviction on May 30 for 34 felony counts for his involvement in a hush-money scheme to keep an alleged sexual encounter with a porn star from the public. Trump, meanwhile, could attack Biden's son Hunter, who was convicted last week on three felony charges related to a 2018 gun purchase. Neither man has been on the debate stage in years.
Biden didn't have a serious Democratic primary challenger and Trump refused to participate in the GOP primary debates - which didn't harm him given he won the nomination. Biden's former chief of staff Ron Klain is leading the effort to help the president get ready for the debate. Klain has prepped presidential candidates going back to Hillary Clinton.
Trump is not expected to do any mock debate sessions that would require someone to play the part of Joe Biden. As for the Biden campaign, they said the role of Donald Trump has yet to be cast for their mock sessions.
Biden's personal lawyer, Bob Bauer, played Trump in Biden's debate prep sessions four years ago. But Trump will get time to practice his attack lines. He's holding a campaign rally in Philadelphia on Saturday, four days before the debate.
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