OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former President Donald Trump will have the last word when he debates President Joe Biden on Thursday after flipping a coin to decide where the podiums will go and the order of closing comments.
When the coin fell on Biden’s pick, “tails,” his campaign could choose whether to choose the president’s spot at the podium or the order of the closing remarks.
They picked the right podium position for Biden, which means that the Democratic president will be on the right side of TV screens and his Republican opponent will be on the left, CNN reported.
Then, Trump’s team picked the former president to give the last closing statement. This means Biden will speak first at the end of the debate.
On Thursday, Biden and Trump will be the first candidates for president to debate against a sitting president. That being said, it will be the first debate with either Biden (who didn’t have a strong opponent for the Democratic nomination) or Trump since 2020. Trump skipped debates during the Republican primary fight.
For Trump, giving the final closing speech in CNN’s debate is very different from the criminal trial and conviction he went through in New York last month. During the hush money case, he was furious that his lawyer wouldn’t have the last word, even though it’s normal for the prosecutor to say the last words in a hearing.
CNN is already worried about how Biden will perform at the debate.
CNN political commentator Jamal Simmons suggested that Biden should smile more when discussing the upcoming presidential debate on Sunday and said the president had a “resting old face.”
“For President Biden, one more piece of advice, because this is still a physical, visual medium, he‘s kind of got resting old face, right? So he needs to smile and when he smiles, it goes away a little bit. When he smiles, his face comes to life. I would just say, they‘re practicing this, practice smiling,” Simmons, who served as a communications director for Vice President Harris, said during CNN’s “State of the Union.”
CNN host Kaitlan Collins, political commentator Bakari Sellers, political commentator Alyssa Farah Griffin, and former adviser to Trump, David Urban, discussed what to expect from the June 27 debate.
Simmons mentioned he felt President Biden was not specific enough about his second term plans., adding, “I can‘t tell you exactly which policy to finish the agenda that they are really kind of basing this on.”
Sellers argued that Biden’s biggest problem was that he didn’t articulate a vision for the future.
“And that actually is being captive in age, because it’s hard for someone 81 years old to articulate a vision for a future they may not be a part of. If he’s able to do that well, then we will see what happens,” Sellers said.
The rules for the debate include no live audience, no consulting with campaign aides during commercial breaks, no props or prepared notes, and each candidate’s microphone will be muted when it is not their turn.
Urban suggested Trump let Biden talk and encouraged him not to overstep.
“I think if former President Trump were smart, he would just say to the crowd, ‘are you better off now than you were four years ago’ and then just let Joe Biden talk. Just let him talk. Don‘t try to overstep. Let him try to make his case, because he has a record to defend, of four years. So if I was Trump, that’s what I’d do here,” Urban said.
Griffin suggested that the absence of a live audience might benefit Trump during the debate. Without the presence of a live audience, Trump may not get into a “bombastic mindset.”
“I do worry for Biden on the energy. He got through the State of the Union, but that was a hometown crowd cheering for him. It’s right off of a teleprompter. This is quiet. Nobody is telling you you did a good job. No one is applauding for you and to keep the energy going for 90 minutes. It’s a lot,” Griffin said.
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CNN’s Van Jones suggested the debate was make-or-break for Biden.
“Because if Biden goes out there and messes up, it’s game over. If he walks out there and a week later he’s lower in the polls, it’s panic in the party,” he said. “But if he goes in there and he can handle himself against Donald Trump — a runaway train, a locomotive, a raging bull — then this guy deserves another shot to be president, because that is tough.”
