Investing.com — Here are five keys to watch out for in the highly-anticipated debate between U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump later this week, according to Reuters.
The two candidates will square off from Atlanta at 21:00 EST on Thursday (0100 GMT on Friday) in a televised debate on CNN.
With national opinion polls largely split between the two, the debate could serve as a vehicle for either candidate to make their case to undecided voters prior to November’s election .
1. Fitness in focus
Both the Democratic incumbent Biden, 81, and his Republican challenger Trump, 78, will likely face a series of questions over their health and age.
Together, the men will be the oldest candidates to ever seek the U.S. presidency.
Trump has accused Biden of being physically and mentally unfit for office, while Biden has called Trump “unhinged” in the run-up to the debate.
2. Temperament test
Biden and Trump have been known for their impatience and tempers, leading Reuters to predict that neither man will want to yield to his opponent.
However, both are out of practice on the debate stage.
Biden has not taken part in a such an event since his successful 2020 presidential campaign, which saw him beat then-incumbent Trump. Meanwhile, Trump chose to sit out the 2024 Republican primary debates, although the move proved to have little impact on his ultimately winning bid for the GOP nomination.
3. Disinformation warning
Both candidates have previously been accused of telling falsehoods on the campaign trail, meaning that doubts could swirl around the veracity of each man’s statements, Reuters said.
News organizations will likely be attempting to fact-check Trump and Biden alike as a result, the news agency added.
4. Narrative traps ahead
Reuters argued that the Biden team may be tempted to focus on Trump’s conviction at the hands of a New York jury for falsifying business records to cover up a payment to a porn actress ahead of the 2016 election.
However, a Republican debate consultant told the outlet that doing so may backfire, and instead bolster Trump’s argument that he is the victim of political persecution.
Trump, at the same time, could be in danger of saying things that underline the Biden campaign’s ongoing claim that he will chip away at democratic norms, Reuters said. Trump himself has suggested that he could use the Justice Department to go after his political enemies.
5. No studio audience
One possible wild card heading into the debate may come from its new format, which will see the absence of a studio audience, Reuters suggested.
The lack of a crowd could present a hurdle for both candidates, depriving them of real-time feedback to their statements, Reuters said.
This means that each man will have to work to develop a connection with people watching at home, the outlet added.
Reuters contributed to this report.