With the first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump slated for November, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claimed that the current president is at a “disadvantage” compared to the Republican Party’s probable nominee, Donald Trump.
Clinton has debated both Biden and Trump. During her failed 2016 presidential campaign, she debated Trump. Eight years prior, she had engaged in a presidential primary discussion with Biden.
Live from CNN’s Atlanta studios, Biden and Trump—the presumed Democratic and Republican presidential nominees from November’s election—will square off at 9 p.m. EST on Thursday. Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will host the debate, which will not take place in front of a live audience.
This is the first of two debates between Biden and Trump before the fall election, and it will take place before either major party has formally picked a candidate for president.
When the Republican National Convention in July rolls around, Trump will likely be chosen as the party’s presidential nominee. In August, the formal nomination will be announced at the Democratic National Convention.
Clinton, who has faced both Biden and Trump in debates, posted a critical assessment of Biden’s previous performances in the lead-up to Thursday’s event. During her three debates with the former president in 2016, the former secretary of state said that Trump blitzed the debate with interruptions, lies, and insults that rolled over the moderators and did a disservice to the voters, which contributed to Clinton’s eventual defeat in the general election.
Also, Clinton said it was pointless to try to counter Mr. Trump’s arguments in the same way as a regular debate would be, and she implied that the former president would rant and rave in part to avoid answering honestly about his controversial policies, such as his support for abortion restrictions, his support for tax cuts for the wealthy, and his support for selling out our planet to oil companies in exchange for campaign finances.
Clinton went on to say that she prepared intensely to find a way to cut through Trump’s antics and help the American people understand what was really at stake.
Unfortunately, Biden has to be able to juggle many different responsibilities as president, and that has a long history of making the incumbent’s performance in the first debate worse.
