The US presidential election
How gaga is Biden really?
Wolfgang Hansson
This is a commenting text. Analysis and positions are the writer's.
Published 15.52
For Biden, it's about not appearing so confused and frail that voters question his ability to govern for four more years.
Trump needs to show the independent voters that he is not a lunatic who intends to set the world on fire.
The first televised debate is a unique opportunity to reach as many Americans as possible, but at the same time a threatening pitfall.
Quick version
The question of President Biden's degree of confusion has gained renewed relevance ahead of the debate.
Not least since video clips were spread after the G7 meeting in Italy. In the clip, an apparently deranged Biden is seen wandering aimlessly out into the landscape, away from the other world leaders. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni takes him under the arm with motherly ease and brings him back to the group. A bit like the staff at a nursing home.
Had Biden completely lost it?
Not really.
When the clip is seen in its entirety, it appears that Biden walks up to a paratrooper who has just landed next to the leaders and says a few words. Meloni calls him back to be in a group photo of the leaders.
In other words, the video clip was a deliberate fake that was quickly exposed. But the damage was already done. For those who are already convinced that Biden is demented or has a severely weakened intellectual capacity, the image of an elderly man on the rope is reinforced.
It is the one that Biden, 81, with his debate performance must forcefully refute.
He needs to do it the same way he did during the State of the Union address in March when he surprised many with a powerful and committed performance in which he eagerly sparred with Republican hecklers.
Deathstroke
Then the demands of many within their own ranks who believed that Biden must be replaced by a younger candidate fell silent.
If he succeeds in coming across as coherent and forceful, the debate can reverse a negative trend for Biden, where his popularity figures have steadily declined. Likewise, a lackluster performance that seems to confirm Biden's lack of mental capacity could be the death knell for his chances of reelection.
Donald Trump and his campaign have long tried to consolidate the image of Biden's physical downhill. Before the debate, Trump has claimed at election meetings that Biden "gets a shot in the ass" to appear more alert during the debate.
Who is considered to win a debate is a lot about expectations. The Trump camp has realized the danger of lowering expectations for Biden and changed tactics in the race.
After months of accusing "Sleepy Joe," Trump's witty and oft-repeated nickname for the president, of being so confused and demented that he can't put two sentences together, Trump is trying to raise expectations for Biden. Suddenly the president is described as a worthy opponent and capable debater.
Microphone muted
Instead, the Trump campaign focuses on questioning the two CNN hosts who will lead the debate. Both are described as Trump haters.
By implication, Trump will not receive fair treatment.
Trump wants to reinforce the image that he is the victim of a witch hunt by his political opponents and the political establishment.
He can pull it off in the first debate. CNN certainly cannot be accused of being pro-Trump in its reporting. In debate two, which is organized by the television company ABC, which has a more neutral stance, it becomes more difficult.
The Biden camp has pushed through some format changes since the two debated each other ahead of the 2020 election.
No audience will be allowed. It is a disadvantage for Trump, who often gets his energy from the audience.
Both microphones are turned off as soon as it is not their turn to speak. This means that Trump cannot, as four years ago, continue to talk or try to interrupt Biden. Viewers won't hear anything.
The rules have been created in the hope that politics will take center stage instead of personal attacks. Something that on the surface definitely favors Biden, but which can also make Trump appear more sane.
Dislike both candidates
Trump, 78, doesn't have to worry about convincing his core voters. He already has their vote. Trump needs to woo the independent voters and Republicans who are hesitant to vote for him because of the chaos that characterized his first four years in the White House and the fact that he is the first candidate with a felony conviction.
The real estate billionaire must show a more statesmanlike and reasonable side that refutes the image that the Democrats want to give that Trump is a threat to democracy.
He must not come across as a bitter, half-mad man out to wreak revenge on his opponents and turn into a half-dictator if he gets to move back into the White House.
Trump's advantage over a normal challenger is that he has already been president and can point to some successes. Like the economy doing relatively well under him and the fact that he managed to appoint three conservative justices who overturned federal abortion rights.
But both candidates are fighting the fact that a majority of the American people dislike both and would have preferred two completely different candidates to vote for.
The debates are unusually early in the election campaign this time. Wicked tongues claim that it is so that the viewers will have time to forget in case Biden does away with himself.
The two televised debates will be the American people's only opportunity to directly weigh the two presidential candidates against each other.
They can play a big role in the election on November 5. Even be decisive.
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