First presidential debate (3 Viewers)

[Optimus Prime]

Since we usually have a separate thread for these
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NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden begins an intense period of private preparations Friday at Camp David for what may be the most consequential presidential debate in decades.

The 81-year-old Democrat’s team is aware that he cannot afford an underwhelming performance when he faces Republican rival Donald Trump for 90 minutes on live television Thursday night. Biden’s team is expecting aggressive attacks on his physical and mental strength, his record on the economy and immigration and even his family.

Trump, 78 and ever confident, will stay on the campaign trail before going to his Florida estate next week for two days of private meetings as part of an informal prep process.

The former president’s allies are pushing him to stay focused on his governing plans, but they’re expecting him to be tested by pointed questions about his unrelenting focus on election fraud, his role in the erosion of abortion rights and his unprecedented legal baggage.

Thursday’s debate on CNN will be full of firsts, with the potential to reshape the presidential race. Never before in the modern era have two presumptive nominees met on the debate stage so early in the general election season. Never before have two White House contenders faced off at such advanced ages, with widespread questions about their readiness.

And never before has a general election debate participant been saddled with a felony conviction. The debate-stage meeting comes just two weeks before Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on 34 felony counts in his New York hush money trial.

“You can argue this will be the most important debate, at least in my lifetime,” said Democratic strategist Jim Messina, 54, who managed former President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign.

PRESSURE ON BIDEN


The ground rules for Thursday’s debate, the first of two scheduled meetings, are unusual.

The candidates agreed to meet at a CNN studio in Atlanta with no audience. Each candidate’s microphone will be muted, except when it’s his turn to speak. No props or prewritten notes will be allowed onstage. The candidates will be given only a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water.

There will be no opening statements. A coin flip determined that Biden would stand at the podium to the viewer’s right, while Trump would deliver the final closing statement.


The next debate won’t be until September. Any stumbles Thursday will be hard to erase or replace quickly.………..

How Biden and Trump are taking very different approaches to preparing for next week's debate

President Joe Biden is beginning an intense period of private debate preparations at Camp David. His trip comes as officials in both parties scramble to set expectations for what may be the most consequential presidential debate in decades.

apnews.com

 

[LA - L.A.]

Lol....I know. It's like someone asking you: "Do you want to die by lethal injection or the electric chair". Well...people should have chosen my candidate Haley, but not enough people are as wise as I am....lol.

Pride is one of the seven deadly sins. Hubris is even deadlier. You're statement is bursting at the seams with both.

 

[LA - L.A.]

You don’t always have to give excuses for bowing out of conversations. It’s okay to just not reply back.

That's another tell of Trump supporters. Trump supporters always feel a need to talk to us to tell us how they aren't going to talk to us anymore. I don't see anyone do that except Trump supporters. Trump kind of does that too. He has to let people know when he's shunning them.

 

[SteveSBrickNJ]

What is the deal with the republicans on this forum always disappearing when they’ve lost an argument?

Like every single one of them, every single time.

I am a Christian who tonight went to Sunday 6pm Worship Service. I took my niece and 2 nephews with me. They are/were first time visitors.
So I am an Uncle who neglected his live in relatives today to post NUMEROUS posts. I posted MANY posts. Yet I MUST stay online all day and night? I must?
I have living with me right now.... my wife's sister, her husband and their 3 children.
I am driving all seven of us from Brick NJ to Niagara Falls NY on the USA side. Google Maps says 7 hours and 10 minutes. 444 miles. Leaving hopefully by 9:30AM tomorrow morning.
Everyone's counting on me to be rested , organized, and a safe driver.
So "What is the deal?" with certain people on here that think I live my life only to answer their questions? LOL... I'm not allowed to be with my family or go to church?
Now I'm gonna sit down with me wife and our relatives and eat Salmon and Rice for dinner.
IF....that's ok with you @brandon?

 

[Incumbent]

I have no idea. It's strange to put this out there. It comes across like his camp is signaling a withdrawal.

Or that they aren’t blowing off concerns.

One problem is that Biden has made it clear that he believes he is the guy who can beat Trump, and I’m not totally sure he was wrong. His more humble background and long history likely do connect well with many of those uncertain swing voters in blue collar areas. Of course that might not hold up now.

If he decides to step aside, they are going to have to identify somebody they can endorse who they feel equally confident can win. I don’t know who that is. The potential for fighting and fractures at a brokered convention is also deeply concerning to me. A lot of people are just focused on Biden dropping out with no clear vision of what happens next.

If they make an age related change, the optics will force them to go young enough to maximize a benefit. Do you have names of realistic candidates you can see stepping in? (It’s a long thread so apologies if you’ve already covered that but I’m interested in your thoughts).

 

[LA - L.A.]

He deserves an apology from all the Democrat politicians who attacked him while knowing Biden was in the state that he described.

I'd advise against holding your breath waiting for that, because it ain't coming because it ain' justified.

Man, the opera ladies are singing way too soon. Things don't really get cooking until mid-Sept. It's not until then that we'll have an idea how things are shaping up.

 

[Incumbent]

I am a Christian who tonight went to Sunday 6pm Worship Service. I took my niece and 2 nephews with me. They are/were first time visitors.
So I am an Uncle who neglected his live in relatives today to post NUMEROUS posts. I posted MANY posts. Yet I MUST stay online all day and night? I must?
I have living with me right now.... my wife's sister, her husband and their 3 children.
I am driving all seven of us from Brick NJ to Niagara Falls NY on the USA side. Google Maps says 7 hours and 10 minutes. 444 miles. Leaving hopefully by 9:30AM tomorrow morning.
Everyone's counting on me to be rested , organized, and a safe driver.
So "What is the deal?" with certain people on here that think I live my life only to answer their questions? LOL... I'm not allowed to be with my family or go to church?
Now I'm gonna sit down with me wife and our relatives and eat Salmon and Rice for dinner.
IF....that's ok with you @brandon?

We all have lives, Steve. I’ve been dealing with a water heater leak in a new house off and on this afternoon and all the calls that’s required, spending time with my wife, tending to an obnoxious and needy but adorable dog, getting weekend chores done and watching Olympic trials.

Participate or don’t.

 

[LA - L.A.]

Imagine criticizing someone for not wanting to vote for someone for President who isn't mentally competent.

Amen. I really don't get why people criticize people for not voting for Trump when it's so clear Trump has never been mentally or psychologically competent to be president. It's crazy that so many people are going to vote for Trump a third time, innit?

 

[LA - L.A.]

Yeah it's fairly obvious what he meant there.. Democrats can jump on it but I don't think it really lands because most people can discern what he meant.

Yeah it's obvious what Trump meant. He meant certain jobs are for blacks, just like he used to brag about only hiring Jewish accountants, because accounting is a Jewish job. He's said similar things about other groups.

You can try to wave away Trump's racist bigotry, but its a real thing with decades of history and testimony documenting it. He meant that the shirthole immigrants from shirthole countries are taken the shirthole jobs that are for black people, hence "black jobs."

 

[bdb13]

We all have lives, Steve. I’ve been dealing with a water heater leak in a new house off and on this afternoon and all the calls that’s required, spending time with my wife, tending to an obnoxious and needy but adorable dog, getting weekend chores done and watching Olympic trials.

Participate or don’t.

Got a new roof on Tuesday aka how to make $9,000 go poof. Feels nice to be able to take care of it though honestly.

Didn't realize the Olympic trials were on now, thanks.

Edit: Guess they aren't on right now LOL

 

[bdb13]

Yeah it's obvious what Trump meant. He meant certain jobs are for blacks, just like he used to brag about only hiring Jewish accountants, because accounting is a Jewish job. He's said similar things about other groups.

You can try to wave away Trump's racist bigotry, but its a real thing with decades of history and testimony documenting it. He meant that the shirthole immigrants from shirthole countries are taken the shirthole jobs that are for black people, hence "black jobs."

That's fair and a good point.. I hadn't quite thought about it in that particular way actually and so.. you can consider this a retraction of my semi-defense of the statement.

 

[Heathen]

As long as we’re talking about the Bible, I remember an old idiom about “writing on the wall”. I don’t think much else comes close to describing the situation the Democratic Party is in now, about 4 months out from the general.

Either chuck that Hail Mary now, or lay in that bed you made and pray more voters see Trump as incompetent and highly dangerous as those who see Biden as weak, tired, being cognitively not all there, etc,

I’m not hear to argue any of it. I just think that’s the reality of how voters will see it. Perception is everything to voters, whether one likes it or not.

 

[bdb13]

As long as we’re talking about the Bible, I remember an old idiom about “writing on the wall”. I don’t think much else comes close to describing the situation the Democratic Party is in now, about 4 months out from the general.

Either chuck that Hail Mary now, or lay in that bed you made and pray more voters see Trump as incompetent and highly dangerous as those who see Biden as weak, tired, being cognitively not all there, etc,

I’m not hear to argue any of it. I just think that’s the reality of how voters will see it. Perception is everything to voters, whether one likes it or not.

I think you nailed it.

 

[Incumbent]

Got a new roof on Tuesday aka how to make $9,000 go poof. Feels nice to be able to take care of it though honestly.

Didn't realize the Olympic trials were on now, thanks.

Edit: Guess they aren't on right now LOL

We recorded them so I don’t know when they actually aired. It’s been a day.

Houses can sure suck up large sums of money and it’s never a good time. I understand the feeling of getting it done, though. We listed our previous house last year and just after getting lined up to go on market, we sat in the living room and listened to hail pound our just over two year old roof. The eventual buyers got a new roof on our insurance and deductible.

 

[MT15]

I'm surprised to see Dale. He usually only pokes his head out to fact check Trump and usually stays silent on Biden.

This is just a lie. Dale has always checked both sides.

 

[LA - L.A.]

This has been posted twice in this thread.

'It's a mess': Biden turns to family on his path forward after his disastrous debate

Democratic leaders have stood by the president as he faces questions about his ability to defeat Trump in November. But privately, many are expressing concern.

www.nbcnews.com

This would have come from the Biden campaign. You don't need a narrative of prominent Democrats forcing out an old man. He is putting out messaging himself. That he is reconsidering his run.

That's a misleading story. The family gathering for the family photo was planned weeks ago. They are not meeting to discuss the campaign, but they are obviously going to talk about it while they are all together. Key quotes from that article:

President Joe Biden is expected to discuss the future of his re-election campaign with family...

“Any discussion about the campaign is expected to be informal or an afterthought,” the source said. “No one is sitting down for a formal or determinative discussion.”

Anita Dunn, one of Biden’s handful of closest advisers, said Saturday on MSNBC’s “The Weekend” that Biden has not discussed dropping out of the race with aides and that internal talks have focused on moving forward.

Sources have described three buckets of Democrats: those who will defend Biden under any circumstances, those who are ready to dump him, and those who are waiting to see what he does — and what his poll numbers look like in the coming days and weeks — before passing judgment. It’s the third bucket that Democratic insiders are monitoring closely.

“Democrats need to take a big breath and look at that polling, look at swing voters,” said one state Democratic Party chair. “Until I see something differently, he’s the person that’s put this coalition together, he’s the person that has the record, he’s the person that beat Donald Trump. Until I see something differently, he’s still the best person to beat Donald Trump.”

Biden insisted Friday that he will remain the party’s standard-bearer in November, telling a crowd at his rally in North Carolina: “I would not be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul I can do this job.”

Inherent in the wait-and-see approach is an acknowledgment that there is no clear replacement for Biden and that his departure could touch off a bloody eleventh-hour intraparty battle that might allow Trump to cruise to victory.

There’s also no feasible way to force him from his perch. All but a handful of the delegates to the Democratic convention were elected on their pledge to nominate him at the party’s convention in August. If he chooses to stand for that nomination, party insiders say, he will get it.

“We need to have as much discipline as emotion,” the senior Democratic official said. “It’s not politically smart for Biden to step down.”

There was nothing in that article that suggests Biden put this story out to let people know he's reconsidering his run. That article actually suggests the opposite. What Biden and the anonymous sources indicate very clearly that the only way Biden will considering stepping down is if his wife, Jill, makes a strong argument for him to considering stepping down. There are zero sources are reports indicating that she's considering that.

This is a classical example of a news outlet framing a story in a way that is factually accurate, but misleading to make it more dramatic and sensational of a story than it actually is, so they can make more money.

The opening line say he's "expected to discuss the future of his re-election campaign with family." Well no duh they're going to discuss the future of his re-election campaign with his family. And water's wet. What's he going to discuss about the future of his campaign? Crickets on that information in the article. That's because they don't have a clue or a single hint of what will be discussed. They just know the family will discuss it. I could have reported that myself without a single anonymous source.

 

[LA - L.A.]

As long as we’re talking about the Bible, I remember an old idiom about “writing on the wall”. I don’t think much else comes close to describing the situation the Democratic Party is in now, about 4 months out from the general.

Either chuck that Hail Mary now, or lay in that bed you made and pray more voters see Trump as incompetent and highly dangerous as those who see Biden as weak, tired, being cognitively not all there, etc,

I’m not hear to argue any of it. I just think that’s the reality of how voters will see it. Perception is everything to voters, whether one likes it or not.

True. But it's also true that we are individuals who have different perspectives. There's no way of knowing what the majority of voters perceive after the debate. We can't go by our own perceptions, the perceptions of people we know and definitely not the perception of pundits and news outlets, those guys are notorious for completely misreading the general public's perception. No one has an informed opinion of what writing is on the wall at the moment. The unknown is what's causing all the anxiety.

 

[MT15]

Harris would lose imo and negate a lot of that excitement. If she's bypassed and doesn't call for unity.. that'd be awful of her and it's possible I guess, but I just can't imagine her being selfish enough to do that but I guess anything is possible.
..
Yes, if he is staying in they need to put him out there and see if he can pull it together enough to give himself a chance.. it can't be more of what we saw on Thursday though. Just can't be.

Harris wouldn’t even have to do it. She could call for unity and her supporters could say “NO”. It happened with Bernie in 2016. We’ve been down this road before. It didn’t work out that time, either.

Also, I don’t want to give up the incumbency advantage. If Biden drops out, then Trump basically becomes an incumbent because he was president before.

I don’t think all of these people calling for Biden to step down have any insider knowledge of any serious decline. I think it’s a knee-jerk reaction. And I’ve seen polls saying that more people want Biden to stay in than get out - like 55 to 45. And it’s the opposite for Trump - more people want him to drop out than stay in, in the 57% range want him to drop out.

 

[LA - L.A.]

That's fair and a good point.. I hadn't quite thought about it in that particular way actually and so.. you can consider this a retraction of my semi-defense of the statement.

My bad actually. When I said you can't wave it away, I meant the general you, not you specifically. I was railing at Trump and his supporters that make lame excuses for Trump. I wasn't railing at you.