The pair will face each other on the debate stage for the first time
Credit: AP
Donald Trump and Joe Biden will go head-to-head for the first time on Tuesday night with the start of the US presidential debates.
The debates could become a pivotal moment in the election campaign, offering a chance for undecided voters to assess the two candidates during a live, televised battle over their policy platforms.
The American public will finally get an opportunity to see how the two candidates respond when posed the same questions, as well as how each handles the other’s attacks.
Here are the main things to watch out for.
Will Biden stumble?
Joe Biden turns 78 shortly after election day, meaning if he won, he would be the oldest person ever to assume the presidency. Donald Trump and his campaign have relentlessly questioned Mr Biden’s mental acuity in a bid to suggest that he is too old to govern.
The Democrat also has a habit of making verbal slip-ups — and the Trump campaign have played clips of these incidents on repeat in their campaigning to question Mr Biden’s mental fitness and push the message he is simply too old.
Mr Trump believes he has an opportunity to exploit Mr Biden’s weaknesses during the televised debates — just as he did to great effect against Hillary Clinton in 2016. If Mr Biden stumbles on a question, it could wield a real blow to his campaign and help Mr Trump remove his deficit in the polls.
How will Trump respond to a grilling on his taxes?
On the eve of the first debate, a bombshell leak of Mr Trump’s tax information published by the New York Times has claimed that the president sustained such heavy losses on his businesses that he paid hardly any federal income tax for years.
According to the newspaper, Mr Trump paid just $750 in federal income tax in 2016, the year he was elected, and the same amount in 2017. Mr Trump has claimed the report is "fake news" — but he is likely to receive a thorough grilling on his taxes during Tuesday’s debate.
Mr Trump sold himself to America as the billionaire businessman who has “the kind of thinking our country needs”. If the New York Times’ claim that the president is in deep financial trouble is true, can voters still trust him to steer the economy through the pandemic?
The president may argue — as he did in his debate against Hillary Clinton — that paying very little in taxes would make him "smart" and highlight his push to cut taxes for all Americans during his first term.
Will Biden ‘take the bait’ with Trump’s personal attacks?
Mr Trump is expected to unleash a volley of personal attacks on Mr Biden as he seeks to reduce the Democrats’ lead in the polls. Mr Trump is likely to hammer Mr Biden on his record during his decades in Washington, as well as launching personal attacks on the Democrat’s family members. In particular, Mr Trump is likely to bring up Mr Biden’s son Hunter, and his business dealings in Ukraine, China and other countries during his father’s time in the White House.
Mr Biden knows losing his composure in response to attacks on his family could land him in trouble, saying earlier this month: “I hope I don’t get baited into a brawl with this guy, because that’s the only place he’s comfortable”.
Aware of the danger, Mr Biden’s staff have reportedly attempted to dissuade him from attempting to respond to Mr Trump’s attacks and risk getting drawn into a tit-for-tat, instead advising him to take the opportunity to make his case to voters.
Will anything actually be said to sway undecideds?
Pollsters believe that more Americans have made up their minds than in previous years, with one recent poll showing just 3 per cent of voters remained undecided on who to vote for. With the US deeply politicised and voters so locked into their views, will tonight’s debate actually shift anyone’s opinion?
In 2016, the first debate between Mr Trump and Hillary Clintton was watched by a record 84 million people on TV and millions more are thought to have watched online. Neither candidate delivered a knockout blow, with polls finding that only 10 per cent of voters definitively made up their minds “during or just after” the debates.
It remains to be seen whether Mr Biden or Mr Trump will see any gains from their debate.
Will Trump hammer the presenters?
Moderators can play an outsized role in how the candidates fare because they choose the questions, can push back on vague responses and dictate how many interruptions they allow.
Mr Trump has already attempted to claim Mr Biden has an unfair advantage by suggesting Tuesday night’s moderator, Chris Wallace, is biased against him.
Mr Wallace hails from Fox News, Mr Trump’s favourite network, but is one of his toughest questioners at the organisation. Mr Wallace, a registered Democrat, gave the president an intensive grilling during a recent interview, from which Mr Trump did not come off well.
Mr Wallace says he hopes to be "invisible" on the debate stage on Tuesday night, saying: “I’m trying to get them to engage…to focus on the key issues…to give people at home a sense of why they want to vote for one versus the other.’”
The 90-minute debate will focus on six topics: the candidates’ records, the Supreme Court, Covid-19, the economy, racial tensions, and the integrity of the election.
What will the audience be like?
This will be the first presidential debate in the age of coronavirus — and it’s likely to be dramatically different to previous debates. Mr Trump and Mr Biden will not wear masks while on stage, but will forgo the traditional handshake between candidates.
The audience will be much smaller than traditional debates with just 60 or 70 people seated in the debate hall, compared to the usual 1,000. How well a candidate has performed is usually judged by the audience’s response,2 but if the whoops and cheers are on a smaller level it could take some of the power out of their best soundbites.
Everyone attending the debate will undergo Covid-19 testing and be required to follow social distancing guidelines.
Will Trump use theatrics?
In 2016, Mr Trump dominated the stage, looming over Mrs Clinton on stage as she answered questions. Mrs Clinton described how off-putting she found the tactic in her memoir, saying her "skin crawled".
Mr Trump also brought a group of women who had accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct to unseat his opponent. Will Mr Trump attempt similar theatricts this time around?
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