(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are gearing up for what could be the pivotal debate of the 2024 presidential election.
The two candidates are taking two very different approaches to debate prep, with Biden surrounding himself with his closest advisers at Camp David and Trump hitting the campaign trail in key battleground states before two days of private meetings in Mar-a-Lago.
Trump spent the weekend taking the temperature of his supporters, asking the audience at a Pennsylvania rally how he should act during the debate.
“How should I handle him?” Trump asked his crowd of supporters in Philadelphia. “Should I be tough and nasty and just say, ‘You’re the worst president in history?’ Or should I be nice and calm and let him speak?”
The CNN debate will be different from the Biden-Trump faceoff in 2020. The candidates’ mics will be muted when the other candidate is speaking, campaign advisers won’t be able to check in during the two commercial breaks, and there will be no opening statements and no audience.
After winning a coin toss, Biden chose his position on stage, which will be to the right of the screen. Trump decided to speak last.
While Biden does debate prep at Camp David until the Thursday debate, Vice President Kamala Harris is on the campaign trail.
Harris will speak at an event in Maryland on Monday, focusing on the second anniversary of Roe v. Wade’s overturning.
The campaign says Harris will be reminding voters that Trump is responsible for what she called “the health care crisis,” adding that a second Trump presidency would be a threat to women nationwide. This comes as Biden’s team makes abortion the central focus of their campaign.
