The Vice President of the United States, Harris, and former President Trump are actively preparing for the second round of presidential debate next Tuesday (September 10).
The second presidential debate of 2024 in the United States will be held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, hosted by ABC News.
Harris has been staying with her aides at a historic hotel in downtown Pittsburgh since Thursday, focusing on preparing how to give concise answers to questions within two minutes.
Her campaign team announced on Friday that the Democratic nominee for the 2024 presidential election raised $361 million in August. This has brought her a lot of convenience as she does not have to spend energy on fundraising, allowing her to participate in campaign events across the country more extensively.
Republican candidate Trump continues to be on the road, with his campaign schedule packed. He raised $130 million in August, and his campaign funds are trailing behind Harris.
Trump said that once he steps onto the debate stage in Philadelphia, he will naturally know what needs to be done.
This mirrors his response before the debate with former Democratic candidate President Biden at the end of June. Due to the poor debate performance, Biden faced opposition within the Democratic party and eventually dropped out of the race.
Trump plans to let Harris speak first, just as he did with Biden during their debate.
“I let him (Biden) speak first last time. I will also let her (Harris) speak first this time,” Trump said at a town hall meeting in Hannity City.
Trump’s aides say that there will be no significant differences in the preparation for this presidential debate compared to the last one. Trump will not do more traditional preparation, no rehearsing stand-ins, no predetermined arguments or materials, and no role-playing scenarios.
Both campaign teams know that Harris and Trump’s first face-to-face debate could be a decisive event in this fiercely contested election.
Harris said in an interview with The Rickey Smiley Morning Show, “He (referring to Trump) tends to fight for himself rather than for the American people. I believe this will be evident during the debate.”
In preparing for the debate, Harris has had Democratic consultant and longtime aide to Hillary Clinton, Philippe Reines, playing the role of Trump.
Trump’s aides insist that he plans to put Harris on the defensive. He is preparing to portray her as a radical, attempting to tie her to Biden’s economic record and pointing out her inconsistency on issues such as fracking bans.
Trump’s team points out that the former president frequently gives interviews, answers questions at lengthy press conferences, participates in podcast events lasting hours, and attends town hall meetings.
Trump also regularly meets with policy advisors to discuss potential questions that may arise during the debate, his policies during his term, and the plans he has proposed for a second term.
“I have meetings, discussing the debate. But there isn’t much you can do. Either you understand the topics or you don’t. Either you have good policies or you don’t,” he said in a radio interview in New Hampshire.
Recently, Trump quoted former boxing superstar Mike Tyson at a town hall meeting with Fox News host Sean Hannity, saying, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.”
Before the last debate, Trump met with prominent Republicans such as Florida Senator Marco Rubio. This time, he also met with former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who participated in the 2020 Democratic primaries.
Gabbard is now a member of Trump’s transition team, brought in specifically to assist him because she understands Harris, and they competed against each other during the 2020 Democratic primary debates.
Harris’s team hopes to use this debate as a springboard to further solidify the momentum they have created in the current campaign. The campaign team plans to hold 2,000 events with volunteers over the weekend before the debate, reaching over a million voters.
Dan Kanninen, the battleground states director for the Democratic campaign, said in a statement, “With hundreds of offices and thousands of staff in battleground states, we can seize all the hot topics in the debate and reach out to hard-to-reach voters.”
According to the Associated Press, Harris’s substantial funds will support her campaign activities in the last two months, including providing $370 million for media advertising expenses and paying the salaries of over 2,000 field staff in more than 310 offices located in battleground states.
(Note: This article was partially based on the Associated Press report)