The President needs a desperate boost to his opinion polls. The former President wants to play the attack dog and avoid talking about his indictments.
The millions of voters who will be glued to their TV sets during the night leading up to Friday, Swedish time, will likely be looking to see who is mentally sharpest, notes Tevi Troy, presidential historian at the bipartisan think tank Bipartisan Policy Center, for the news site The Hill.
People are not enthusiastic about the candidates, but they want to see if there will be a meltdown on stage. Such a meltdown can occur in two variants: Trump can have a meltdown due to anger, Biden can have an age-related one, says Troy.
Restraint?
Donald Trump recently turned 78 and Joe Biden will be 82 in November. The two gentlemen's age has been the subject of malicious campaign tricks, memory lapses, and so-called "old man" jokes for months.
It's all about that. Can Biden be so thoroughly powerful that people say "hm, maybe the old guy can do it"? reasons Karl Rove, senior Republican strategist and high-ranking adviser to former President George W Bush, for The New York Times, and adds that for Trump's part, it requires restraint.
Biden and Trump have not debated since the 2020 election campaign. The verbal duel is taking place at a time when the USA is characterized by enormous political divisions – regardless of whether it's household economics, the abortion issue, immigration, climate change, or global conflicts being discussed in front of the TV cameras.
Hard to Overcome
In general, a challenger usually has an advantage in debates. This is because the sitting President is responsible for the politics of the past few years and is therefore grateful to attack.
But in this case, both are former Presidents. And the Biden side has a goldmine to draw from when it comes to reminding voters about Trump's four indictments and the unpredictability that characterized parts of his presidency.
Just the unpredictability and Trump's unique leadership style, however, seem to be longed for by the loyal so-called MAGA Republicans.
Democrats, on the other hand, are increasingly frustrated over Joe Biden's stagnation in the opinion polls, where the President seems unable to pull away from the challenger. Party strategists hope that the debate will shake up voters, particularly in the swing states where the election is actually decided, according to media leaks.
Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican former President Donald Trump, who are expected to face off in the US presidential election on November 5, made headlines in May. This was when they announced that they would deviate from the tradition of three debates during the election campaign, arranged by a special non-partisan commission. Instead, the duo agreed on two debates, on June 27 and September 10.
Both Biden and Trump are generally unpopular among voters. Trump has a small lead in the opinion polls: currently, the former President has national support of 45.8 per cent compared to 45 per cent for Biden, according to a compilation of current measurements.
Trump leads Biden in all seven swing states, places where it stands and weighs between Republican and Democratic majorities and where the election is actually decided.
Source: Real Clear Politics and others
