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Mother Jones; Julio Cortez/AP; Getty

Like many Americans, I am dreading the first presidential debate of the 2024 election, an event thats all but certain to feature a litany of vile lies by one candidate and awkward, if not painful stumbles by another.

But Thursdays high-stakes 90-minute encounter will also see an exceedingly rare moment: Donald Trump onstage with a mic mutedat least when its President Bidens turn to respondafter the two candidates agreed to CNNs rules. An audience wont be present for the event either, another key departure from previous presidential debates.

The new rules appear to be an attempt to avoid the incoherent mess American voters witnessed during the 2020 debates, with Trump spewing toxic rhetoric, lies, and vicious personal attacks at a relentless clip. But will guardrails prove to be enough to shut up a man who, during countless moments, seems genuinely incapable of even the slightest restraint?

I was surprised that Trumps people let them agree to the muting of the microphone issue, Will Baker, director of New York Universitys Debate Fund, told me. Its going to be interesting to see how that actually plays out.

For decades, Baker has coached some of the countrys top college debaters and I reached out to hear his thoughts ahead of Thursdays rematch. He offered some insight into what strategies Biden could employ to win over a serial liar, what he about those absurd cocaine insinuations, and what Trump could do to circumvent the mic-muting.

Lets start by reflecting on the 2020 debates. What was your reaction at the time?

It was disappointing. It fell apart so dramatically and voters were ultimately deprived of any debate on real issues. It sadly felt much more like watching a couple of teenagers that I needed to discipline than an actual presidential debate.

Going into tonight, who would you say has the advantage?

Its fascinating because the advantage really comes down more to the performance of the night, rather than innate skills. Its going to be about momentum tonight. On policy though, I think Biden has the advantage because thats always where hes most comfortable. Hes got the track record of the past few years and also a chance to correct any misperceptions.

As for Trump, his biggest advantages are connection and charisma. Again, very surprised he agreed not to have an audience there because thats always been shown to be a huge benefit for him. If Biden has any type of slip-up on the policy front, getting a date or event wrong, Trump can pounce on those things in the moment.

He might take the opportunity to literally walk over to Bidens face and talk through Bidens mic.

Do you think Trump is going to stick to the mic rules? Because I can totally see this man just shouting anyway.

I have been wondering about that. He might take the opportunity to literally walk over to Bidens face and talk through Bidens mic. Trump could even say at the outset, Hey, yeah, dont cut off my mic when I start telling the truth about Biden. There are lots of ways that [Trumps team] could play that, so Im fascinated to see how it goes. My assumption is that they agreed to it because [Trumps team] has a strategy. So Ill be interested to see that play out.

Wow, thats both fascinating and horrifying. What about Trumps record of lying? How do you debate someone known to straight up lie on stage?

In some forms of debate, you have protection because the judges are looking at evidence. But in an environment like the one Biden will be in, the lying is already baked into the calculus, right? So Bidens strategy has to be to identify overarching themes where the lies dont change things. For example, if Trump says, Look, youve broken far more laws than I have, or, you know, your sons done XYZ, Biden needs to have a compelling, quick, catchy phrase. Not a long explanation of all the felonies. Like, I hope his team wont have a listing of these charges because thats going to bore the audience.

He should prepared to say something like, Only one of us has a sentencing hearing in two weeks for 34 felonies. Or, You can lie to the American public but the courts dont lie. That would change the pace. Its all about rhythm. Everyone knows that Trump is going to lie. What they dont know is, how will Biden handle it and demonstrate that hes presidential and has leadership.

A few weeks ago, Trump was mocking Joe Bidens debate skills. Now hes claiming, without evidence of course, that Biden is going to be getting a shot in the ass to enhance his debate performance. What are we to make of that?

I was stunned that they went back to performance-enhancing drugs because they did that both in 2020 and 2016 against Hillary Clinton. This is just an old trick that hes that hes bringing back up. Seeing it come up again was sad to me because its a sign of desperation, rather than something new or innovative around that. Its also an indication that Trump is trying to lower expectations. If your strategy is that your opponent cant remember anything, that they cant function in public and those types of things, youve already lowered that bar and you have to raise it if you want your guy to have a shot at winning the debates.

Is there a drug of choice among college debaters?

Not to my knowledge. But as directors, our students would hopefully keep that away from us over plausible deniability concerns. Ive never had a student come and say, Hey, what do I need to take thats illegal? Stay awake? A lot of them instead have had way too much coffee or Red Bull. But I dont know of any kind of amphetamines or drug of choice in the college circuit.

Not even beta blockers?

No. Im going to be in five different debate director meetings over the next week and were not having a drug epidemic conversation.

Trump seemed to imply that Biden would be using cocaine during the debate. From a professional perspective, would the use of cocaine even be a good strategy?

That is a horrible idea. Cocaine creates hyped-up reactions, right? The whole thing about a debate is that you dont have a list of the questions beforehand. So if you get ahead of yourself, thats how people often make the most mistakes.

So being coked-up for a presidential debate is probably the worst idea ever.

Aside from drugs then, what is your best advice for debate prep?

Sleep is a weapon. Most of the time, when people make mistakes during debates, theyre tired or not focused. I tell my debaters that when they are getting ready for a debate, they should do things that help them stay focused and relaxed. For some people that might be coffee, for others, it might be a 20-minute walk. For some people that might be meditation. There isnt one magic elixir.

Originally posted here:
A Renowned Debate Expert on How Biden Can Beat Trump's Lies in Real Time Mother Jones - Mother Jones