OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Michael Tyler, the communications director for Biden-Harris 2024, outrageously claimed that former President Donald Trump may not attend the highly anticipated CNN debate with President Joe Biden.
CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will moderate the presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on Thursday night.
Noting that Trump missed all of the GOP primaries in 2024, Tyler passive-aggressively doubted Trump’s attendance in Atlanta. There has been no indication at all that Trump or Biden will not show up to the debate.
Below is a transcript of the exchange:
KATE BOLDUAN: Where are you willing to set expectations for tonight?
MICHAEL TYLER: Listen, I think the Trump team is playing games that we’ve always seen them do it right. They like to use debates as entertainment process. They like to complain about debates. Sometimes they skip out on debates.
The president will be there tonight. We still assume that Donald Trump will be there as well. But listen, the fact of the matter is they play these games because they know on the issues that matter. Most of the American people, Donald Trump is a loser, right?
When you talk about the things that the president said he wants to talk to Donald Trump about, the role that Donald Trump played in overturning Roe v Wade. The American people fundamentally disagree with that. Donald Trump still thinks that the extreme state level abortion bans that he’s responsible for are playing out brilliantly.
When you talk about the type of economy that Donald Trump wants to return us to, where he’s out on the stump talking about more tax breaks for the ultra wealthy, more give out giveaways for corporations. The American people fundamentally disagree with that.
And of course, when you talk about the threat that Donald Trump poses to our democracy, most definitely seen on January 6th, but every day, again, out on the stump at his MAGA rallies, where he’s promising to pardon the insurrectionists of January 6th, the vast majority of American people again disagree with that.
So he doesn’t want to talk about the issues going into the debate. But the problem for him is he’s going to have to answer for all of those things on the debate stage tonight.
WATCH:
Biden Team Suggests ‘Loser’ Trump Might Skip Debate At Last Minute In CNN Interview https://t.co/gru7ydEptr via @mediaite pic.twitter.com/3LidT7YzUF
— Tommy moderna-vaX-Topher (@tommyxtopher) June 27, 2024
Trump will have an advantage over Biden in the first presidential debate on Thursday.
According to a recent poll by The New York Times and Siena College, 48 percent of Americans would vote for Trump if the 2024 race were held now and just Trump and Biden were on the ticket.
Roughly 42 percent of the 1,226 registered voters polled said they would vote for Biden, while 10 percent said they “don’t know” or “refused” to vote.
Preliminary polling leading up to the November election indicates that both candidates will likely face off in a head-to-head race for a second term in office. In recent months, Trump has performed better in important swing states like Georgia and Pennsylvania, both of which voted blue in the 2020 election.
However, Biden looks to have a hold on young voters, who have played an important role in Democrats’ election victories in recent years.
According to research site FiveThirtyEight, regarded as one of the best pollsters in the country, the most recent New York Times/Siena College poll revealed that people overwhelmingly oppose either candidate’s second term.
Nearly 60% rate Biden as “somewhat unfavorable” or “very unfavorable.” Approximately 52% expressed the same thing about Trump.
Polling has not been good for Biden lately.
Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, revealed that “voters who think the cost of living is rising support Trump over Biden, 56% to 32%.”
Kimball added: “Income perception aligns with candidate preference, with those feeling their income is far below average favoring Trump 50% to 32% and those feeling it’s far above average favoring Biden 55% to 29%.”
Trump has 46% of the vote, compared to 43% for Biden, according to the Emerson College poll. Since Emerson’s survey from earlier this month, Biden has seen a two-point decline. In contrast, Trump kept his 46% of the vote.
Emerson also examined how voters are attracted to Biden or Trump based on the number of hours they put in at work each week.
Not even close, for those who work the hardest to make a living.
From Emerson: “Analysis of voter work hours reveals distinct candidate preferences. Non-workers are evenly split: 45% support Trump, 44% Biden. Those working 30 hours or less favor Biden over Trump (52% to 37%), while those in the 30-40 hour bracket are divided (45% Biden, 43% Trump). Trump gains support among those working 40-60 hours, with increasing margins as hours increase, peaking at 80% for those working over 60 hours, compared to 7% for Biden.”
Below are some more of the topline findings from the Emerson poll:
–On a ballot test including independent candidates, 44% support Trump, 40% Biden, 8% Robert Kennedy Jr., and 1% Cornel West; 8% are undecided.
–Kennedy Jr. has the support of 13% of independent voters, 12% of voters under 30, and 9% of Black voters.
–In a hypothetical ballot test for the 2024 U.S. congressional elections, a generic congressional Democrat and Republican are tied at 45%, while 11% are undecided.
–Among undecided voters in the presidential election, 31% support the Democratic congressional candidate, and 19% the Republican; 50% are undecided in the generic congressional election.
–The economy is the top issue for 36% of voters, followed by immigration at 21%, threats to democracy at 10%, healthcare at 9%, abortion access at 7%, and crime at 6%.
–Compared with American families in general, 44% of voters think their family income is average, while 38% think it is below average, and 18% think their family income is above average.
