Here's what I'll be looking out for:
How much will Biden stumble?
The best thing that Joe Biden has going for him is that the bar is pretty much on the floor. President Biden has spent the last several days hidden away at Camp David. We never see the president out in public late in the evening (see: sundowning). I'm sure the mad scientists on his medical team have been experimenting with best practices, contemplating how to juice him up just right for his appearance on stage tonight.
Even with his team having carved out the best possible debate settings for Biden, I still expect him to struggle mightily. The president has stumbled through all of this public appearances in recent weeks and months.
How bad are the moderators?
The Trump campaign has been making a considerable effort to "work the referees," hoping to ensure some semblance of fair treatment from CNN's Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, who will be under a lot of pressure to push back against allegations that they are laughably one-sided corporate media hacks.
With that being said, it's safe to expect all of the framing in the debate questions to be incredibly favorable to Biden. You can also expect that CNN has granted the Biden campaign access to all of the questions in advance.
What is Trump's strategy?
Given the stakes, I don't think it's necessary for President Trump to generate interest purely for entertainment value. The whole country will be watching. Presenting a "presidential" stature might be the most effective means to win over undecided or uninspired voters.
"CEO" Trump is the best Trump, and it creates the necessary separation between himself and President Biden.
But of course, Donald Trump famously marches to his own beat, so we shall see!
See you tonight, starting at 8:45PM ET!
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