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What Trump Needs To Do In Debate
The 2024 election is Donald Trump’s to lose.
Right now, he is running even with Joe Biden in all the national polls. He’s running ahead in Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada; he’s running even in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin; he’s closing within striking distance in Minnesota and New Hampshire. The map has radically expanded for him. Meanwhile, Biden’s approval ratings are stagnant: he’s stuck at below 40%. Americans’ view of the economy remains dim, as does their view of Biden’s foreign policy; they don’t see Biden as a commanding or charismatic figure.
What’s more, Americans’ perceptions of the two candidates are unlikely to change dramatically before the election. Biden has been underwater with voters since September 2021 and his ignominious Afghanistan withdrawal. He’s been losing to or dead even with Trump in the national polling since September 2023.
But that doesn’t mean that Trump will necessarily win.
The debate this week is one of the few possible turning points in the race. The Republican and Democratic conventions are unlikely to shift momentum. There’s the possibility that Donald Trump will be sentenced to jailtime in July, but even that is unlikely to radically shift the numbers. And, of course, it is possible that Joe Biden suffers a health crisis.
But the debate itself can change opinions. Or, rather, it can change focus.
So far, the race has been about Joe Biden. No new information has been added to the litany of criticisms against Donald Trump since 2021. Meanwhile, Joe Biden has been the president — and he’s been doing a terrible job of it, setting things on fire both at home and abroad. He’s also in a state of obvious mental and physical decline.
But the debate could shift the focus back to Trump. Obviously, that’s Biden’s plan — and, presumably, the plan of the interlocutors at CNN. As George Stephanopoulos recently told CNN’s Abby Phillip, the “most important question” is whether Trump will accept the results of the 2020 election as legitimate. “If you can’t pass that fundamental threshold of saying, ‘Yes the last election was not stolen,’ two, ‘I will abide by the results of the next election,’ then I think that’s all voters and viewers need to know,” said Stephanopoulos.
Presumably, Biden and anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will follow that advice. Which means that Trump had better have an answer that shifts the focus away from his views of 2020 and back toward 2024. He ought to say, “We disagree on what happened in the 2020 election. I believe, for example, that your Democratic colleagues changed a lot of the voting rules in shocking ways, and that you and your friends in the media covered up a story about your son’s corruption, even though they knew it was true. But none of that matters much to the American people. What matters is now. Today. 2024. You’re the president, regardless of what I think happened in 2020. And you’ve been awful, which is why you’re losing.”
Keeping the focus on Biden will be key. If asked about Jan. 6 — which he surely will be — Trump should respond, “Joe, you’ve said I’m a threat to democracy because I don’t believe I lost the 2020 election. Well, Hillary Clinton doesn’t believe she lost the 2016 election, and that’s apparently just fine. In reality, you’re the threat to democracy: you’ve sicced your political allies on me in the courts, used OSHA to try to mandate vaccines for 80 million Americans, violated the Constitution to try to let people skate on their student loan debt, and violated your Constitutional oath by keeping the border open and letting through 7 million illegal immigrants. Americans care less about Jan. 6, 2021, than Nov. 5, 2024.”
Again, this election is Donald Trump’s to lose. That means steadily, calmly keeping the focus on the man who occupies the White House — regardless of whom Trump thinks ought to have occupied the White House in January 2021.
Ben Shapiro, 39, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and co-founder of Daily Wire+. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author; his latest book is “The Authoritarian Moment: How The Left Weaponized America’s Institutions Against Dissent.” To find out more about Ben Shapiro and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website.
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Tomorrow night’s debate is not an actual debate, that most people seem to be expecting. Team Biden only agreed to allow Old Joe to “debate” if they could control all the moving parts. The moderators are in the bag for Biden based on years and years of their own on-air comments supporting everything Biden has said or done. All the questions were given by CNN to the WH, so Old Joe could be coached on the order of the questions and what answers to give. That is what the has been going on at Camp David for over a week now. The topics were all agreed on between CNN and the WH ahead of time to ensure Biden is presented in the best possible light. Tomorrow night’s topic will be abortion, January 6th, Trump trials and climate change. That’s it! Trump’s mic will be shut off except for when he is answering a question from the moderators. There is no audience in the studio to ensure Biden is not distracted by anything, which would only lead to one of his “moments”. I’m sure the TV cameras will only be on Biden for most of the night, with Trump only appearing on TV when he is answering a moderator’s question. In short, Trump will be in a blackout zone in terms of being seen or heard aside from when he is asked and answering a moderator’s questions. Biden on the other hand will be given free rein to spout off as much as he wants unless CNN starts to see him drifting. Then they will either go to commercials (a new thing just for these debates to favor Biden’s inability to do long-term TV appearances without making a gaff) or just show the moderators on camera until Biden clears up. In short, a very scripted and tightly controlled theater.
The second ABC hosted debate will work the same way. I expect it will be on the same limited topics as the CNN debate. The only difference is you’ll have two different pro-Democrat moderators from ABC for that one instead of two pro-Democrat moderators from CNN.
There is NO WAY Biden is Even with TRUMP, these Polls are BS
I hope President Trump will direct his answers to us, the people. He could look at the camera and ask, “What are the voters concerned about? Do you think the number one priority for most people is recharging their EV or is it coming up with the mortgage or the rent every month? We have to address the top issues facing all of us these days if we want to help the most Americans: runaway inflation, an unsecure and very dangerous border, rampant crime in the streets, a weaponized judicial system aimed at conservatives, underemployment, and many other problems that have gotten out of hand during this administration.”
Good luck, Mr. President, and MAGA.
Communist News network already lying about the Economy with first question on groceries costing $100 under President Trump and now under Dictator Beijing biden they cost $120 when in reality groceries cost $300 for the same $100 under President Trump.
You can tell Dictator Beijing biden is drugged so he can complete a sentence. NO BS.
President Trump has already WON the Debate.
The truth is every day the American people suffer under the corrupt Totalitarian Communist Democrat party comrades and the policies of the current regime.All “We the People” have to do is go outside and we can see it everywhere you go.Well at least the people who are willing to “SEE” and take there heads out of the sand.
Communist News Network (cnn) is going to delay relay of debate to coverup for Dictator Beijing biden.
PaulE’s comment has hit the nail on the head. The CNN moderators are in the tank for Biden. The judge in the DJT trial was in the tank for the prosecutors. The CNN commentators will only ask Joe Biden easy questions and prod him to try and provoke Trump. Trump will get asked questions about who won the 2020 election and Jan 6th. The judge in the DJT trial only allow stupid witnesses for the prosecutors and disallow a key expert witness in the FECA for the defense. The CNN moderators will cut off Trump’s microphone. The judge in the DJT trial put a gag order on Trump and his defense team. When debate is over the CNN moderators will say what a great job Joe Biden did in the debate and his stamina was shown to be outstanding. The judge in the DJT trial gave the jury three different levels of choices to choose from to convict DJT on and only one of those three had to be unfamous. What kind of crap is that.
Trump needs to control his impulsive nature to attack any questions he does not like. Without a crowd egging him on, maybe he will control himself. Someday Trump must look in the mirror & ask how many votes he lost by bashing John McCain & never admitting he was wrong. .How many veteran votes & maybe the state of Arizona by bashing this great patriot.