Joe Biden (77 years old) against Donald Trump (73 years old).
-
SIPANY / SIPA - JAE HONG / SIPA
It is an essential moment of the American elections.
After months of a fight from a distance, Donald Trump and Joe Biden will cross swords face-to-face during the first televised debate, this Tuesday evening, in Cleveland.
Late in the polls, the American president should take out the sulphate and try to destabilize his opponent with personal attacks.
Faced with a debater who shatters all the traditional codes of oratorical jousting, "Joe Biden will have to be aggressive," said Todd Graham, director of the debate team at Southern Illinois University, who won three titles. national “coach of the year”.
Where when how
The debate takes place in Cleveland this Tuesday at 9 p.m. (3 a.m. overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday in France), and it will be to be followed live on
20 Minutes
.
The confrontation should last 1h30, with six sections of 15 minutes devoted to the hot topics of the moment: the Covid-19, the economy, urban violence and racism, the Supreme Court, the integrity of the election and the balance sheets of Trump and Biden.
Moderator Chris Wallace is a well-respected Fox News reporter who put Donald Trump in trouble this summer by fact-checking him in real time on the coronavirus.
The preparations: Rehearsals for Biden, improvisation for Trump
“Training in conditions as close to real life as possible is especially important,” Graham notes.
This means that a candidate adviser plays their opponent in rehearsals.
It was Philippe Reines who had donned Donald Trump's XXL costume facing Hillary Clinton.
He had watched over 45 hours of the Republican candidate's past performances.
According to the
Washington Post
, Joe Biden adopted the same strategy, but Donald Trump, true to his habit, prefers improvisation.
Punchlines: difficult to place at the right time, but they can pay off big
“Advisors prepare punchlines but often they fall off the mark.
The public sees immediately when they are forced, ”warns the coach.
But when they hit the mark, these attacks can pay off big.
Kamala Harris had rang Biden on segregation with her "That little girl was me."
In 2016, Chris Christie eviscerated Marco Rubio with a left-right hook within minutes against Washington politicians and their "25-second memorized speeches."
I immerse myself in the American political debates before Trump vs Biden.
And here is an excellent example of a double punchline at qq minutes intervals (a little stung at The West Wing) with which Chris Christie had knocked out Marco Rubio pic.twitter.com/Ds4Sr8G2LM
- Philippe Berry (@ptiberry) September 25, 2020
But according to Todd Graham, we are in a "low risk / high return" case.
Translation: "A failed punchline does not lose a debate, but a successful one can win one."
They should therefore rain on Tuesday.
Biden's Challenge: Trump's "Lies" and "Interruptions"
Donald Trump "is not a debater like the others", warns Graham: "He interrupts, he lies, he insults, he exaggerates".
And it dodges attacks thanks to “whataboutism” (“so what?”), A technique that allows one problem to be diverted to another.
As his biographer Gwenda Blair explains, “he never apologizes and never admits his wrongs”.
In this street debate, Joe Biden will also have to remove the gloves.
And, adds the expert, "note when Trump is lying without wasting all his time fact-checking him on the details."
Because in a debate, "the clock is the enemy", and Biden must keep time for his own arguments.
Trump's mistake: 'lowering the bar' for Biden
For months Donald Trump nicknamed Biden "Sleepy Joe" and questioned his mental faculties.
Clearly, expectations are so low that any decent performance by the Democratic candidate will be seen as much better than expected.
Donald Trump seems to have realized his mistake and assures in recent days that his opponent is "the favorite" of the debate with his 47 years of experience.
Verdict this Tuesday.
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Joe biden
United States
Donald trump
Presidential election
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