Does anybody believe the first presidential debate on June 27 between Donald Trump and Joe Biden will be fair?

I don’t—not when the moderators are Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, both of whom are afflicted with TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) and are perhaps the biggest Trump haters at CNN.

If anybody believes this debate will be moderated fairly, I have a bridge in Brooklyn that I would like to sell to you.

All you must do is look at the presidential debates in 2020 to see how the moderators did their best to orchestrate a Biden win. In the first debate, Chris Wallace argued with Trump about as much as Biden did while doing his best to protect sleepy Joe.

At the time, the Trump campaign complained that Biden had a “teammate on the debate stage” in Chris Wallace.

The second debate was to have been moderated by Steve Scully, senior executive producer and political editor at C-SPAN. However, this debate was canceled because of Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis and his subsequent refusal to appear remotely rather than in person.

The final debate was moderated by NBC White House correspondent Kristen Welker, who, like Wallace, made sure she interrupted and challenged Trump incessantly. The candidates’ mics were muted in this debate while their opponents answered questions—the same rule that will be imposed during the 2024 debates.

Both candidates have agreed that podiums will be used in addition to the muted microphones. The White House wanted both candidates to be seated, which is a definite advantage for Joe Biden, who has difficulty standing for long periods.

The candidates also agreed that the first debate would last 90 minutes and include two commercial breaks, during which the candidates may not interact with their campaign staff.

The position of the podiums will be determined by a coin flip. No props or pre-written notes will be allowed. The candidates will each be given a pen, paper pad, and water bottle. There will be no live studio audience.

The second presidential debate is scheduled for Sept. 10 and will be hosted by ABC. God help Trump. ABC, NBC, and CBS are rabidly anti-Trump. TDS courses unchecked through their left-wing news divisions.

Here are a few things you should keep an eye on during the first debate.

First and foremost, check Biden’s ears for mini air pods that his staff could use to coach him during the debate. Our mumbler-in-chief will not have the use of a teleprompter or a binder of notes that he routinely has during those highly managed “press conferences” at the White House.

Get a notepad and track how often Tapper and Bash interrupt or challenge Trump. Then, note how often they allow Biden to prevaricate during the debate. For example, see if they let him get away with the barefaced lie that inflation was at 9 percent when he took office in 2021. It was 1.4 percent. Look it up.

Watch for attempts by Tapper and Bash to bait Trump into fulminating about the 2020 election, his stance on abortion, or the 300 or so imprisoned people he calls the “martyrs” of January 6—all traps that the two TDS-ridden facilitators will adroitly use to make Trump appear unsympathetic and injudicious.

These traps are critical if Tapper and Bash are to do their jobs and prevent an estimated 140 million viewers from observing a cerebrally and physically deteriorating Biden.

See if the two moderators assist Biden when he discusses our wretched economy, galloping inflation, and outrageously high prices for groceries, fuel, and housing.

Pay attention to the number of times they refer to Trump’s recent conviction and what he thinks of becoming a president who is also a convicted felon. I will count the number of times I hear the phrase “convicted felon” during the debate.

I recall a few debating rules from when I was a high school debate team member eons ago.  Trump may want to heed them to overcome the attacks he will face, not only from Biden but also from the moderators.

First, avoid making an argument in a vacuum. An argument in a vacuum is an argument that does not apply to a real-world context. Be sure your argument makes sense to the average person and that he or she can empathize and identify with it. For example, in discussing inflation and high prices, make the argument relatable by providing a solid example of what a typical basket of groceries or a full tank of gas costs today instead of four years ago.

Second, don’t use false dichotomies. Here’s what I mean by that fallacy. “X causes Y harm. Therefore, if we remove X, we get the opposite of Y.”  That argument is problematic because the cause-effect relationship is rarely that simple.

For example, take the argument that says we should ban all guns because using guns correlates with violent death, so banning them would lead to fewer violent deaths. At first glance, that seems to make sense. However, you could also point out that if guns were not available, people intent on causing death would turn to other deadly weapons such as knives, clubs, or poison. Perhaps instead, we should examine the core causes of violent death in society, not just one implement out of many that is used to accomplish it.

The 2024 presidential debate will feature the oldest candidates ever to run for president: Biden, 81, and Trump, 78

Biden will undoubtedly accuse Trump of being irrational and a “danger to democracy.” Trump will respond by accusing Biden of being senile and corrupt.

How the moderators handle those personal attacks will tell us a lot about how fair they will be in controlling the debate.

Both Trump and Biden are known for their volatile temperaments. Both are impatient and have explosive tempers. Both have been president and are used to commanding the stage—though one seems to have trouble finding his way off it.

There is palpable bad blood between the two men. Tapper and Bash know that. How they choose to encourage or discourage that mutual hostility will go a long way in raising or lowering the temperature in the room.

The Biden team wants their man to fluster Trump as he did in the first debate in 2020. In that debate, Trump continually interrupted Biden and bickered with Chris Wallace, who never challenged Biden’s lies. In the end, it made Trump look small and weak. Trump needs to avoid that trap this time around because, believe me, both Tapper and Bash will be baiting him into that kind of behavior.

Trump needs to be aggressive but avoid rudeness. Rudeness and bullying turn off moderate voters, and Trump is capable of both if the moderators bait him into them.

One thing that will get Trump into trouble is trying to correct Biden’s lies on stage. Mostly, he should leave fact-checking to campaign aides who can quickly tweet or post statements that challenge and refute Biden’s fallacious assertions.

Both men have limited time to communicate their points, and spending valuable minutes arguing ineffectively about the other’s mendacities takes time away from that.

Trump needs to appear presidential—to be the adult on the stage. Remaining cool and collected, as he did in his 2016 debates with Hillary Clinton, will serve him well and disarm Tapper and Bash, who will do their best to make Biden seem cool and presidential while Trump is petulant and impetuous.

One thing Trump needs to remember during the debate is this: Undecided voters are not interested in the perceived forces working against the former president and making him the victim of a political conspiracy. They don’t care about Trump’s problems. They care about their problems, which are many under Joe Biden.

Trump should focus on cost-of-living issues such as high grocery, housing, and energy prices to show he is in touch with voters’ concerns. He needs to bait Biden into defending his miserable record in handling the American economy with “Bidenomics”—a failed economic strategy that has left millions of Americans living from paycheck to paycheck.

Biden loves to boast about Bidenomics. Let him. But be prepared to refute his boasts with economic facts that show how Americans are suffering.

Trump needs to spend time on Biden’s open-border policy that has allowed some 10 million migrants from more than 120 countries to invade our country illegally. He should point out that thousands of these migrants could well turn out to be terrorists who may be plotting 9-11 types of attacks on Americans. If that happens, only one man will be responsible: Joe Biden. Democrat bosses regard those 10 million migrants as new imported voters designed to replenish disgruntled Democrats who have left the party because of Biden’s failed policies.

The fact that there will be no live audience during the debate works against Trump, who feeds off the energy generated by a boisterous crowd. He will get no real-time feedback telling him how his arguments resonate. Perhaps that fact will allow us to see a more restrained and solicitous Trump. I hope so.

In any case, the June 27 debate will be a minefield for Donald Trump. He must tread carefully and adroitly because Tapper and Bash will do their best to lead him onto one mine after another.

If they are successful, watch for a series of explosions. If they aren’t, the debate could be a walk in the park for Trump.

After all, he is the only candidate who can walk without falling.

–30—

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