James Carville, the man behind Bill Clinton’s 1992 White House victory
“They have certain rules. [candidates] Always forget. The camera is always pointed at you. Don’t frown. Don’t frown. Don’t shake your head.
Biden and Trump will have blank notepads and pens at the podium. Don’t frantically take notes. “Just write: ‘Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm.'”
Biden’s age and health are sure to come up at some point during the debate. What should Biden say? “‘I’m turning 82, that’s for sure. And by the way, I want to wish my opponent a happy birthday. He just turned 78!'”
Philip Raines, who played Trump in Hillary Clinton’s 2016 debate rehearsals:
If Trump insults Biden, the president should not hesitate to hit back.
“He immediately [Biden] It’s a good moment to see him in good spirits.”
“He will be solely responsible for delivering the Joe Biden life that the Democratic Party wants to see, and even more so, the people are waiting for.”
How should Biden respond to questions about his acumen? He could tell Trump: “Neither of us would probably do well on Jeopardy.”
Biden should cite the cognitive test on which Trump claims to have “excelled”: “Why don’t you take an immigration test? You wouldn’t get half the answers right as the people you’re trying to shut out!”
Jennifer Palmieri, senior adviser to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign:
If Trump remains disciplined and doesn’t try to interrupt repeatedly, Biden should seize the opportunity to hammer home his core message.
“I want people to know that he is [Trump] teeth.”
Biden can argue that Trump “owns every abortion ban in the country” and that Trump “poses a fundamental threat to democracy by refusing to accept the results of the 2020 election and by refusing to accept the results of a fair trial in New York.”
Dan Quayle, former Republican vice president under George H.W. Bush:
Quayle said the risk in the debate was greater for Biden than for Trump: If Biden performed poorly in the debate, he said, there could be a push to replace him on the list of candidates.
“If he [Biden] “If Joe has a bad night, a lot of my Democratic friends will be secretly grateful for that, because they’ll realize that this is a real opportunity for Joe to step aside. And frankly, my view is that if you field a sensible Democrat, a fresh face, that would really challenge Trump.”
Jim Messina, Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign manager:
Messina hopes that Biden’s advisers showed him his State of the Union address in March while he was preparing for the debate, after Biden gave an energetic performance that was largely well-received.
“I don’t really believe in making a candidate into something they’re not. I just want him to be Joe Biden. The best I’ve seen him do is that speech.”
