Senate GOP fears Trump setting bar too low for Biden

Senate Republicans say former President Donald Trump made a mistake in setting expectations too low for President Biden during next month’s first debate and that his successor in the White House is “impossible to put two sentences together.” It claims to claim.

They argue that there is a danger that Trump will lower the floor for Biden and that decent performance rather than superlatives will help the president. And they say this is a common complaint for them, as President Trump also lowered his expectations for Biden ahead of the first debate of 2020, a move that backfired spectacularly.

“It makes no sense,” one Senate Republican said on condition of anonymity. “It was a disaster. [in 2020]And I think he motivates himself to do the same thing. ”

“Mr. Biden is willing and ready to debate Mr. Biden. Mr. Trump will continue to be Mr. Trump,” he added, adding, “The last time Mr. There wasn’t.”

Biden on Wednesday asked President Trump to participate in two debates scheduled for June and September that are independent of the Commission on Presidential Debates. The former president immediately agreed, immediately disparaging Biden’s abilities on the debate stage, declaring him “the worst debater I’ve ever faced.”

The rhetoric was incredibly similar to President Trump’s comments leading up to the first debate of 2020, including accusations that Biden has dementia and is taking performance-enhancing drugs.

What followed was a disastrous night for Trump, who was aggressive throughout the debate and constantly interrupted Biden’s remarks. He was visibly sweating and announced days later that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, infuriating the Biden campaign.

Trump continued to lose elections.

Republicans worry that events leading up to the June event could lead to a sense of déjà vu for Biden, who is trailing President Trump in polls in battleground states.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who is running next year to succeed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) as the top Republican in the Senate, said, “I don’t think we need to under-promise and over-deliver.” I always thought that,” he said.

Biden challenged the former president to two debates after months of questions about whether he would finally make it this cycle, especially after the 2020 debate ended in chaos. .

Republicans believe Mr. Biden has put up a gauntlet to give his campaign the boost it needs.

Trump has a relatively steady lead over Biden in national and key battleground state polls, but a new New York Times/Siena College/Philadelphia Inquirer poll this week shows , giving the presidential team new cause for concern.

According to the results, with less than six months until the November election, Trump is leading in five key states (Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada). President Trump has a double-digit lead in Nevada and Georgia.

While many Republicans question the political wisdom of setting the bar low for Biden, some Trump supporters believe that Biden’s harsh words may have helped Trump excite his own fans and not show up on the show. I think this may be increasing their desire to do so.

“The thing about President Trump is that he’s an incredible marketer,” said Sen. Mark Wayne Mullin (R-Okla.), predicting that the June debate will be the most-watched debate in history. . The first meeting between President Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton left its mark on 84 million viewers.

“I think Mr. Trump is just promoting himself, and I think Mr. Biden is piggybacking on that,” Marin said.

The Oklahoma senator said he doesn’t think Biden will make a “bombshell” in the debate, but the president faces more challenges in a debate with Trump than in delivering the State of the Union address to Congress. suggested that it was a possibility.

“There’s a difference between reading a book and giving a speech in front of Congress and actually thinking and constructing a sentence in your head,” he said.

The June debate will be held in Atlanta and hosted by CNN. The candidates also agreed to hold a second debate in September, hosted by ABC News in its New York City studios.

Both candidates are taking a calculated risk by appearing on stage together early in the election cycle, ahead of both parties’ conventions scheduled for late summer. For Biden, any symptoms of forgetfulness could spark public criticism that he is too old for the job.

But retaliation for Trump’s performance in his first debate since 2020 could be problematic for the former president.

Starting debate season so early also signals the Biden campaign’s push to turn the election into a choice between the candidates rather than a referendum, and to draw voters’ attention to the race earlier than usual.

“I’m really happy that Biden is being proactive on this,” said Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vermont). “He’s going to have to show the union performance he’s internally advocating for in this campaign, and the debate will give him that chance.”

Unsurprisingly, one group elated by Trump’s opening salvo at the president was Senate Democrats, who said Biden made a wise decision on the debate front after months of speculation about whether they would meet. He claimed that he was undermining the

“Give me those hopes, Donald Trump!” exclaimed Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). “I think Donald Trump should keep talking about Donald Trump.”