Donald Trump's debate plan is simple, but its execution is uncertain
WASHINGTON - Former President Donald Trump has a very basic plan for debating Vice President Kamala Harris - attack, attack, attack - but says he has no idea how it will play out in prime time on Tuesday.
Describing debates as spur-of-the-moment events, Trump braced supporters for the Harris showdown in Philadelphia by citing a quote attributed to 1980s boxing champion Mike Tyson: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
"You can go in with all the strategy you want, but you have to sort of feel it out as the debate's taking place," Trump said last week during a Fox News town hall in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
That said, Trump and aides said he plans to go after Harris over issues like the economy, inflation, and immigration - and will likely make a few personal attacks, despite admonitions from allies that he stick to the issues.
Trump has also prepared by seeking to lower expectations - and trying to intimidate moderators - by questioning the fairness of the debate sponsors, ABC News.
"It'll be an interesting evening," Trump told Fox.
Prep work
As with previous presidential debates against Democratic foes Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, Trump and his aides said he has prepared in his traditional non-traditional way: Discussions with aides and advisers, interviews, and speeches.
One difference this time around: Debate consultations with former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who ran for president as a Democrat and ripped Harris during an early primary debate in 2019.
Trump is hoping for the kind of debate he had June 27 against Biden, the incumbent president whose poor performance pretty much pushed him out of the presidential race. The 81-year-old Biden endorsed Harris, his vice president, right after announcing his withdrawal on July 21.
Since then, Trump has oscillated between policy attacks and personal attacks on Harris, even while acknowledging that his advisers are urging him to stick to the issues.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who almost wound up as Trump's running mate, told NBC's "Meet The Press" that "when he stays on the issues, policies ... those are the winning issues."
Trump aides said his top priority is to tie together Harris and Biden in both domestic and foreign policy. "She owns every failure of the Harris-Biden administration," said senior adviser Jason Miller.
Negative approach
Yet since Harris joined the race, Trump has mocked the pronunciation of her first name, her race, and even her laugh. He has falsely accused Harris of being a "communist" and a "Marxist," all in unprecedented language for a major party candidate.
Political analysts said pollsters said Trump's conservative base loves the personal attacks, but they tend to turn off moderate and independent voters who believe politics is too negative and divisive.
Pollster Frank Luntz said Trump also risks alienating voters by going off on negative tangents, as he did over the weekend.
On Friday, he held a "news conference" in which he took no questions from reporters but complained about the numerous women who have made allegations against him. Over the weekend, he posted angry Truth Social messages threatening to prosecute opponents over alleged campaign "skullduggery" during his 2020 election loss to Biden.
"Conditions are favorable for him to win the election," Luntz said, but "just, like in 2020, his persona may sink him."
'Lowering expectations, working the refs'
Like any boxer, Trump must also be prepared to defend himself.
After the June 27 debate, Democrats said Biden's troubles obscured coverage of the 78-year-old Trump's many lies about their record. Harris and aides indicated they plan to make that an issue during Tuesday's set-to in Philadelphia.
"We should be prepared for the fact that he is not burdened by telling the truth,” Harris said Monday in an interview with radio host Rickey Smiley, adding that Trump has an "old and tired playbook."
While exuding his usual confidence, Trump is also preparing for a possible bad night by engaging in the time-honored practice of lowering expectations.
In this case, Trump has attacked the debate sponsors by claiming that ABC News has been unfair to him; his criticism also looks like an effort to intimidate the questioners.
Discussing his debate plans, Trump told the Fox News town hall that "it depends a lot on ABC. Will they be fair or not? If they're not going to be fair, I'm going to be a little bit different than if they are."
Trump made the same sorts of complaints about CNN right before his encounter with Biden.
Aaron Kall, debate coach at the University of Michigan who has watched all of Trump's previous debates over the years, said this is an example of the maverick candidate engaging in more a more traditional form of preparation.
"Lowering expectations," he said. "Working the refs."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's debate plan is simple: Attack Harris. But how will he do it?
