President Donald Trump and his challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, will meet for the first time on the podium. But they do not shake hands. The very first television debate of the presidential candidates will be completely different this year than in previous years.
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Only about 80 to 90 people will be present in the auditorium. Everyone will have to have a negative covid-19 test result. The impartial Commission of Presidential Debates has promised to follow all safety and health rules.
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The first television meeting between Republican Trump and Democrat Biden will be held at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. The original site, at the University of Notre Dame, had to cancel the debate due to a coronavirus pandemic.
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The clash of candidates will be moderated by Chris Wallace, the presenter of Fox News, which is generally in favor of the Republican Party, including Donald Trump.
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But moderator Wallace is known for his hard conversations on a wide range of topics. According to a 2018 survey, he was named one of the most trusted moderators in America. He holds many journalistic and television awards.
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Wallace has identified six sets of questions in advance, which he and the candidates will address every fifteen minutes.
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Tuesday’s debate topics:
1) The past of Trump and Biden
2) The Supreme Court
3) Covid-19
4) Economic situation
5) Racism and urban violence
6) Fairness of elections
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Preparing for the debate
According to The Washington Post, Donald Trump is not significantly preparing for the election. He did not hold a practice debate, but rather relies on his experience as president of the United States and attacks on his opponents. He practiced his famous attacks during election rallies.
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Joe Biden prepares in a more traditional way. He will reportedly confront some of Trump’s statements in the studio with the facts, if he considers it important and will try to avoid conflicts on a personal level. One such topic is the family.
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According to a source in The Washington Post, Trump will try to get Biden into trouble precisely over the topic of his son Hunter Biden. This strategy has already proved its worth to Trump on the road during the election campaign. “I hope I don’t get into a fight with this guy. That’s the only thing he feels good about, “Biden told Trump. “I know how to treat those who bully.”
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Folks, this is a big week for our campaign: Tomorrow, I face Donald Trump on the debate stage for the first time — and Wednesday is our final end-of-quarter fundraising deadline.
We can’t afford to fall short here. Chip in today: https://t.co/PBlWnV8pBr
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 29, 2020
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In an interview with Fox News Radio, Donald Trump tried to lower his expectations before the debate, especially regarding his own performance. He thinks he will receive challenging questions from moderator Chris Wallace. Wallace was already hard on Trump in a July TV interview. “It won’t be fair tonight, I have no doubt about that,” Trump said. “But it will be under the control of the radical left,” he added.
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After insulting Biden for weeks, Trump said he still felt Biden’s undeniable advantage. He believes he is more experienced as a former vice president. “I think it’s me who has no experience, I’ve only been doing it for a few years. He’s been doing it for over 47 years, “said Trump.
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Both Biden and Trump have already faced questions from voters on the roadside during a political campaign. But then each one separately, each in a separate hall in Pennsylvania. This, too, outlined what the first debate would look like: Trump struggled with difficult questions, and Biden struggled with expression difficulties.
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Tuesday’s debate comes at a time when Donald Trump is trying to play more of a defense. Not only because of the coronavirus pandemic and the problems of racism and violence in the United States, but also because of new information about paying taxes. Donald Trump has hardly paid federal taxes in the last two decades. It also turns out that Joe Biden could win in some so-called swing states, ie states that have traditionally balanced preferences for both political parties and that Trump needs to win.
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Further debates will take place on 15 and 22 October. A debate between Vice Presidential candidates, current Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris, is scheduled for October 7.
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