Within the months since Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination, the Trump marketing campaign and its conservative media allies have portrayed Joe Biden as a senile octogenarian being puppeteered by White Home aides, Weekend at Bernie’s–type. This line of assault has actually resonated with voters’ justified concerns about Biden’s superior age. However it additionally carries a big danger going into Thursday’s presidential debate on CNN: A robust exhibiting by Biden will neutralize Trump’s claims about his opponent’s cognitive decline.
The Trump marketing campaign is aware of this. That’s why, in latest days, Trump and his aides have been working extra time to mitigate the harm ought to Biden ship a commanding efficiency just like his fiery State of the Union tackle. The Trump marketing campaign’s first tactic is probably the most Trumpian: Unfold a nasty smear. At a Pennsylvania rally on June 22, Trump made the baseless declare that Biden will use medicine to get “jacked up” for the controversy. Trump senior adviser Jason Miller informed me that Biden’s State of the Union speech was “proof” that Biden makes use of performance-enhancing medicine. “The Joe Biden who delivered the State of the Union isn’t the identical Joe Biden the American folks see daily. It’s clearly two totally different folks. It’s actually Jekyll and Hyde,” Miller mentioned. (Requested about Trump’s drug claims, a Biden marketing campaign spokesperson mentioned the previous president is “resorting to determined, clearly false lies.”)
Secondly, the Trump marketing campaign is decreasing the bar by enjoying the media’s sufferer. If Biden wins on Thursday, Trump can say CNN rigged the controversy in Biden’s favor, no matter no matter tens of millions of Individuals see with their very own eyes. “It’s a three-on-one dynamic with Biden, [Jake] Tapper and [Dana] Bash,” Miller informed me. “The construction makes it inconceivable for President Trump to get a good shake,” Miller mentioned. The Trump marketing campaign will even say the media grades Biden on a curve. “The media has lowered the bar a lot that if Biden can rise up for 90 minutes, he’ll be declared the winner,” Miller informed me.
Trumpworld’s third transfer is to show Biden’s serious debate preparation towards him by highlighting that Trump is conspicuously not doing formal debate prep—a transparent flex to point out Trump isn’t apprehensive about Biden. In accordance with Miller, Biden is spending every week prepping at Camp David as a result of the Biden marketing campaign didn’t anticipate Trump to just accept their provide to debate with a mainstream media moderator. “The Biden folks didn’t need the controversy to occur. The phrases of the controversy have been so one-sided of their favor they didn’t suppose Trump would settle for. However Trump known as their bluff. That’s why Biden is freaking out and taking every week off to arrange,” Miller mentioned.
All of those ways add as much as a troublesome messaging problem: Trump desires to maintain up the assaults on Biden’s age whereas additionally explaining away a probably robust efficiency from Biden. Some in Trumpworld are apprehensive Trump is strolling right into a lure. In accordance with two sources, Steve Bannon has informed folks Trump ought to by no means have agreed to debate. One of many sources informed me Bannon defined that if Biden bombs the controversy, Democrats will discover a strategy to exchange Biden on the ticket (a situation Miller shot down), and if Biden performs nicely, the race turns into even nearer. Bannon declined to remark.
