2020 Presidential Debates: How Biden And Trump Plan To Attack Each Other

President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will square off Tuesday night in Cleveland for the first of three highly anticipated presidential debates.

Both candidates will attempt to discredit each other but with different attack methods.

Trump's debate tactics are similar to the way he gives speeches, relying on insults and rapid-fire counters. In 2016, he attempted to physically intimidate Hillary Clinton by lurking behind her and at one point brought up sex scandals involving her husband, former President Bill Clinton, calling his Democratic rival a "nasty, mean enabler."

During the Republican debates, he dubbed Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla, "Little Marco" and called him a "lightweight.”

It's not likely Trump's debate tactics will change much this time. He will focus on insulting Biden's mental capacity and will capitalize on any speaking blunder the former vice president presents.

Trump aides also said they hope to use the debate to draw out Biden on some of his more liberal positions, such as his support for the Green New Deal, in hopes of softening the former vice president’s support among more moderate voters. Senior Republicans say Trump’s main objective is to keep Biden on defense and not spend too much time in back-and-forths over the president's first-term record and Covid-19, Politico reported.

Republicans also spent months promoting the idea that Biden can’t string together a sentence without a teleprompter. Trump even suggested that if Biden performs well at the debate it’s because he’s on performance-altering drugs.

But after months of attacks against Biden’s mental stability, the Trump campaign admits the former vice president is a threat.

“Joe Biden is actually a very good debater. He doesn’t have as many gaffes as he does in his everyday interviews,” campaign adviser Jason Miller told The Washington Post. “I would make the argument that Joe Biden would even be the favorite in the debates since he’s been doing them for 47 years.”

NBC reported Biden released a snippet of his debate strategy at his campaign fundraiser. His approach includes focusing on the facts, explaining his agenda to voters, and pointing out promises Trump made but has failed to fulfill. Biden added that he does not want to see a shouting match with Trump.

“I hope I don’t get baited into getting into a brawl with this guy,” he said. “It’s going to be hard because I predict he’s going to be shouting." Biden added that there was “a lot more I can say” about strategy but declined to disclose the rest of his game plan.

Biden's stick-to-the-facts plan will hit topics including Covid-19, the economy, and the tax evasion allegations against the president. Biden’s campaign doesn’t want to waste valuable time fact-checking the president unless there is an egregious lie told by Trump, Politico reported.