Insiders have revealed how Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are preparing for their debate, which will air next week.
The presidential candidates will compete in Philadelphia, led by ABC anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis.
Their preparations have taken very different forms, sources close to their campaigns told the New York Times.
According to insiders, Harris is fighting with a Trump stand-in in a suit and tie in a hotel in Pittsburgh.
The former president has since maintained that he does not prepare for debates, instead calling them “policy time,” during which he reportedly brushes up on his record and occasionally asks questions.
Insiders have revealed how Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are preparing for their debate to be broadcast next week
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz reportedly asked the toughest questions.
Trump is also said to be studying his opponent’s techniques and listening to her speech at the Democratic Party convention.
In addition to the different approaches, the challenges each candidate faces are also unique.
Experts say Harris must try to assert her political identity among key swing voters who are unfamiliar with her style and record.
Trump, meanwhile, may need to rein in some of his personality to avoid coming across as too aggressive, as he has done in other debates.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the request by both sides to mute the microphones during the speech.
Trump’s team has agreed to turn off the microphones when the candidates are not speaking, while Harris wanted to leave them on in the hopes that the Republican nominee would talk over her or make snide remarks.
Harris has holed up in a Pittsburgh hotel and is fighting with a Trump stand-in in a suit and tie, insiders said.
This technique worked well for Harris during a confrontation with Mike Pence, where she managed to thwart his attempts to interrupt her.
The debate should serve as a warning to Trump, who wants to avoid a repeat of the situation.
But former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton hopes Harris can still elicit the colorful outbursts that have earned Trump equal praise and loathing on both sides of the political divide.
“She should not be challenged, she should challenge him,” Clinton told the NYT.
“When I said he was a Russian puppet, he just spluttered on stage. I think that’s an example of how you put out a fact about him that really throws him off.”
There are fears he could repeat the same performance against Joe Biden in the 2020 debate, where he repeatedly interrupted the president.
His team is also bracing for tough questions on issues including his criminal convictions and his stance on abortion, which has been the subject of some confusion of late.
But Jason Miller, a senior strategic adviser, hopes Trump can focus on the perceived shortcomings of the current administration and the role Harris plays in it.
Trump, pictured earlier this year during a debate with Joe Biden, is said to be looking to brush up on his past during ‘policy sessions’
Harris reportedly hopes to incite Trump and make him lose his cool
“You cannot ‘turn the page’ if you are solely responsible for the current economic and border nightmare our country finds itself in,” he said.
Harris is reportedly trying to portray Trump as someone who is repeating the old tactics of his previous policies, and no longer wants to portray him as a bad person.
Trump has another advantage: he has been involved in more debates lately than Harris.
Yet he would prepare for the encounter more than ever.
Sources also indicated that Trump considered withdrawing, citing perceived bias on ABC’s part, but ultimately decided it would look weak.