Donald Trump might be eschewing formal preparations for Thursday’s debate — but that doesn’t mean he isn’t thinking about it.
In fact, the former president couldn’t stop talking about his upcoming bout against Joe Biden as he rallied in the president’s adopted home turf of Philadelphia on Saturday night.
Over the course of nearly 90 minutes, Trump interspersed talk of his economic plans and complaints about his criminal conviction in New York with musings about the potentially consequential political clash.
He mocked Biden for holing up behind closed doors at Camp David to prepare for the debate, suggesting the president would turn to illicit substances to boost his performance. He disparaged CNN debate moderators Dana Bash and Jake Tapper, whom he called “Fake Tapper,” to boos from the crowd gathered at an arena on Temple University’s campus.
As he railed against the Manhattan criminal trial in which he was convicted of 34 charges of falsifying business records, he claimed the gag order he’s under could prevent him from answering some of the debate moderators’ questions.
Trump even attempted to crowd-source suggestions for how he should approach Biden: Should he “be tough and nasty” toward his Democratic rival or should he “be nice and calm and let him speak?” (After some crowd reaction, Trump indicated he was favoring the former).
Still, Trump appeared at least somewhat taken aback when rally-goers roared in response to his question about whether they planned to watch Thursday’s debate in Atlanta.
“I’m shocked,” Trump said, raising his hands. “No, I’m shocked.”
Trump’s repeated references to the showdown indicate that the former president is taking seriously the first debate either candidate is participating in this cycle — an event that could shake up a seeming deadlocked race.
While Biden has decamped to Camp David with a bevy of his top advisers to prepare, Trump has taken an unusual approach to readying for the faceoff. The former president has traded mock debates for a series of informal “policy discussions” with senators, policy experts and other allies. And he has stayed on the campaign trail, hitting two events in two cities on Saturday alone.
Trump spoke to socially conservative Christians at a Faith & Freedom Coalition gathering in Washington, D.C., Saturday afternoon before jetting to Philadelphia for a cheesesteak and a rally in a crucial swing state where he lost in 2020 and is now effectively tied with Biden in polling averages.
Philadelphia is a heavily blue majority-minority city that anchors the Democratic vote in Pennsylvania, and party officials have worried for years about turnout in the city. Biden’s 2020 campaign headquarters were in Philadelphia and he has traveled to the area five times already this year.
Yet polling suggests Biden has lost support among Black and Hispanic voters, especially men, and Trump on Saturday made repeated overtures to those traditionally Democratic voting blocs. He spoke at length about crime — painting Philadelphia as a dangerous place where he would send federal help if elected — and the economy, drawing connections to immigration and the southern border.
He also repeated a controversial remark from earlier in the day about floating the idea of an Ultimate Fighting Championship-style “migrant fight league” to Dana White, the UFC president.
But he kept coming back to the debate.
Trump suggested that Biden might turn to substances to boost his debate performance, claiming the Democrat would get “a shot in the ass” ahead of the bout that’s being beamed into tens of millions of homes and come on stage “all jacked up.” He repeated, though indirectly, his claim that the president has used cocaine.
In talking about third-party and independent candidates, Trump said he would “love to have” independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. join him and Biden onstage. (Kennedy failed to qualify.)
And at another point, he complained that the lack of audience in the Atlanta television studio where the debate will be held — a Biden campaign demand — would be “like death.”
“This could be the most boring, or it could be quite exciting,” Trump said. “Who knows.”
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