Donald Trump will have the last word

Everyone, until next Thursday evening, holds their breath. Finally, all those who follow the presidential race and who see in the first debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump the possibility of “uppercuts” capable of shaking, or even bringing the opponent to the ground.

Electoral debates have always had the trick of increasing the pressure of political enthusiasts, and particularly of the debaters. However, in the United States, since Donald Trump, they have become stagings where shouting matches and insults have removed presidential decorum.

As a result, preparations for the face-to-face meeting no longer focus as much on the risks of a slide into a Third World War or the best policy to adopt to combat the scourge of armed violence on the country’s streets; rather, you have to know how to stay calm when the other person says that you are consumed by dementia or that you are just a complete crook.

PREPARE FOR ANYTHING AND WORSE

Since 2008, with the clash between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, I have missed nothing of the teams built, the arrangements made and the self-imposed retreats to prepare candidates for potentially the most decisive moments of their careers. policy.

Joe Biden and his team, this year, are surpassing everything I have observed before. Ten days before the debate, he first went to his residence in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. From there, forty-eight hours later, he and his strategists moved to Camp David, the famous presidential refuge about a hundred miles northwest of Washington.

They will spend all this time until next Thursday immunizing themselves against the expected criticism from their Republican opponent on the state of the economy and the so-called “migrant invasion” on the Mexican border. They will also shield the Democratic candidate against the attacks that will not fail on his age and possibly even his difficulties in standing without wavering, which Trump likes to imitate in his electoral rallies.

PREPARATIONS? WHAT’S THE POINT?

For their part, the former Republican president’s entourage is reluctant to use the expression “debate preparation.” Donald Trump hates – and this was already clear when he occupied the White House – reports heavy on details and punctilious explanation sessions.

He prefers to propagate the image of a man above this polish which, according to him, distorts professional politicians. Instead, Trump is increasing discussions with like-minded elected officials and testing “one liners” that he hopes will be picked up for weeks afterward on social media.

CNN, which organizes and presents this first presidential debate, has however placed what the channel hopes will be solid safeguards to prevent the meeting from degenerating into a circus like in 2020. Trump then interrupted Biden repeatedly, to the point where the democrat had said to his opponent: “Are you going to shut up?”

A LITTLE LITTLE LIVING KNOWLEDGE, GENTLEMEN!

When a candidate answers questions from moderators Dana Bash and Jake Tapper, their rival’s microphone will be turned off. The room will not accommodate an audience, which will put Donald Trump at a disadvantage, who has never been shy about exploiting the mood of his supporters. In return, the debaters will not be able to bring pre-written notes, a crutch that Joe Biden uses almost systematically now.

Both candidates certainly heaved the same sigh of relief upon learning that Robert Kennedy J^r had not met CNN’s requirements to appear alongside them. The independent candidate could have become the heckler who stole the show.

Despite everything, this debate will occupy a unique place in American presidential history. Never, in a race for the White House, has such a meeting taken place so early. This will be the first time that two candidates who have occupied the Oval Office will face each other. And these two presidential candidates have never been so old.

In the drawing, Joe Biden chose the podium to the right of the screen; Trump was granted, therefore, the privilege of speaking last. We’ll see what he does with it.