Senate Republicans are urging former President Trump to avoid a repeat of his heavily criticized performance in a debate with President Biden four years ago, as the two men take to the stage on Thursday for a key moment in the rematch.
Trump’s 2020 debate performance is remembered for his interruptions, constant pestering and bullying of Biden and debate moderator Chris Wallace, and his infamous response that the Proud Boys should “stand back and stand by.”
Now Republicans are urging him to tone down his rhetoric, citing his successful presidential campaign.
“Don’t take the bait,” said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate who is running for party leadership next year. “Attitude matters, tone matters. I think you can be decisive and strong as President Biden, but in many ways I think you want to give President Biden as much leeway as possible, because I don’t think that’s going to end well for him.”
“So it’s natural to have a debate, right? The debate will be as important as it always has been,” he continued. [Trump] If he comes in there and shows strength and leadership, but keeps a cool head and lets Biden go, it will work out well for him.”
This week’s debate is the first to be scheduled ahead of both national conventions since televised debates began in 1960, and will mark one of the first key moments in the general election battle.
Biden has struggled to surpass Trump in opinion polls in battleground states, and this race could be a turning point.
But as failed candidates in past elections have shown, a campaign can change in just one night of missteps — as happened with Trump four years ago — Republicans are hoping that this time around things will be reversed.
“The main focus is whether Biden is competent,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Trump’s main ally in the Senate.
“If I were President Trump, I would talk about the right or wrong path,” he continued. “I don’t think he needs to be overly aggressive. If he thinks we’re on the wrong path, he just needs to make the case that we’re on the right path.”
Trump, who has said for months that he wants to face off against Biden in as many debates as possible, quickly agreed to Thursday’s one at CNN’s studios in Atlanta. For weeks, Trump’s campaign has lowered expectations for Biden’s performance and portrayed the president as weak, sickly and mentally incompetent.
But the Trump campaign is also preparing for the possibility that Biden will outperform expectations, and is prepared to dismiss it as a farce, just as it did after Biden’s State of the Union address in early March.
Biden’s team is also jumping on the opportunity to hold a debate next week, hoping to raise the profile of the election and draw attention to voters who aren’t already paying attention to the political season.
“I think they’re looking for other clues in terms of whether President Biden’s answers are going to adequately answer all the questions and whether President Trump is on track,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of Virginia. “No one knows. So I [the debate] It raises all kinds of questions.”
Biden Leaving for Camp David Join Thursday It took days to prepare for the debate. Trump has avoided the process since launching his 2016 presidential campaign.
But the significance of Thursday remains a mystery to Trump supporters who know all too well what happened four years ago. Not only was Trump extremely aggressive and barely interrupted Biden, he was also visibly sweating — a fact made worse by Trump’s positive COVID-19 test days later.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who is reportedly on the shortlist to be Trump’s running mate, acknowledged the stakes are high but remained confident the outcome would be favorable for the former president.
“I think it’s going to be a good night, but a very important night,” Vance said. “Trump needs to make his case to the American people. There’s a clear difference between where we are under a Trump administration and where we are under a Biden administration. I think he’s going to have to get that theme across, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Other Trump supporters are optimistic that Trump will reverse course from 2020.
“Trump is going to beat him,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). “You can quote me on that.”
