President Donald Trump has begun preparing to face Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden with mock debates, something he refused to do before the first debate against Hillary Clinton in 2016, Politico reports.
In 2016, Trump refused to engage in a mock debate prior to the first televised debate with Clinton, the Democrat candidate in that election. He refused to allow anyone to play Clinton, and he would not allow his campaign team to simulate the question-and-answer routine that he would be facing. Trump reportedly later felt that he failed in the first debate because he skipped preparations and is now seeking to avoid making the same mistake.
White House officials and outside advisers are reportedly investigating words and phrases that will cause Biden to "reboot" during the debate. However, one unidentified adviser noted that the former vice president "did a very effective job at debating the wunderkind that was [then-Republican vice presidential nominee] Paul Ryan in 2012, so I take his knowledge and skills seriously."
"Biden has certain tells when he is not telling the truth, and those are things I have picked up in my review of his debates over the years," said Jason Miller, a senior Trump campaign adviser who is a key member of the president’s debate prep team. "Biden has been debating for a half-century. He is very good. Part of the reason he is very good is that he gives the same answers over and over again to questions for the last 30 years. But he does have certain tells that he uses when he is not confident in his answer or trying to change the subject or make viewers forget what the actual question is."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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