Jennifer Palmieri, an adviser to former President Barack Obama and an MSNBC contributor, expressed surprise Monday that former President Donald Trump was open to debate rules that seemed so favorable to his opponent, President Joe Biden.
CNN The network finalized the rules and format on Saturday for the 90-minute debate between Trump and Biden on June 27 in Atlanta, which will include muted microphones and no studio audience listening in. Palmieri suggested that while the debate rules could favor Trump, that’s not the most likely outcome because each debate seems to favor Biden. (RELATED: ‘Great News’: Sean Hannity Says Biden Debate Was ‘Hugely Profitable’ for Trump)
“Trump knows how to use cameras and he may have a great team around him, and if they behave differently than we expect, there could be a scenario where the rules work in Trump’s favor,” Palmieri told host Katy Tur. “But based on past behavior, I don’t see any rules that would work in Trump’s favor. If anything, the rules all seem to work in favor of Biden and create a better environment.”
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Former Obama adviser ‘surprised’ that Trump would ‘agree to all’ rules discussions that would create ‘better environment’ for Biden pic.twitter.com/pGugUIwMsZ
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 17, 2024
“Katie, I agree,” Palmieri continued. “I don’t understand why Trump agreed to these rules. And [NBC News Correspondent Vaughn Hillyard] “I said, ‘Well, you know, he said we could do it anywhere, anytime.’ But it’s not like Trump keeps his promises. So I’m still amazed that they said yes so quickly to CNN, and they said yes so quickly to ABC, and they agreed to these rules.”
Former CNN political analyst Chris Cillizza said Monday that muting microphones is a “clear advantage to Biden” because it takes away a potential strategy for Trump to unsettle his opponent. He also said that the two commercial breaks during the debate gave Biden time to “gather,” and that the lack of a studio audience is an advantage to Trump, because his supporters are likely to be more vocal in cheering or booing their candidate.
The only rule in Trump’s favor, he said, is that candidates are not allowed to take notes beforehand, because Biden “has a little bit of a hard time improvising” and could appear a bit “lost.”
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will not attend the debate because he did not meet CNN’s eligibility criteria.
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