After months of waiting, the biggest rematch in American history is finally here. At 9:00 PM Eastern on CNN, Donald Trump and Joe Biden will finally square off on the debate stage.
Americans are ready to tune it, writes The Associated Press.
Most U.S. adults plan to watch some element of Thursday’s presidential debate and many think the event will be important for the campaigns of both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Both men remain broadly unpopular as they prepare to face off for the first time since 2020, although Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, maintains a modest enthusiasm advantage with his base compared to Biden, the Democratic incumbent.
About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say they are “extremely” or “very” likely to watch the debate live or in clips, or read about or listen to commentary about the performance of the candidates in the news or social media.
The poll suggests tens of millions of Americans are likely to see or hear about at least part of Thursday’s debate despite how unusually early it comes in the campaign season. Both Biden and Trump supporters view the debate as a major test for their candidate — or just a spectacle not to miss.
While many will be focused on Trump and Biden, CNN will also be under heavy scrutiny, something that it has not handled particularly well so far.
Former lead political analyst for the news channel, Chris Cillizza, has stated that the debate rules are heavily tilted to help Joe Biden make it through unscathed because it could be his last chance to change the narrative of his ailing reelection campaign.
Despite going into “enemy territory” Trump has said that he agreed to the rules because he wants to debate Biden again.
“If [Biden] gets through the debate, they’ll say it was brilliant,” Trump argued.
Over the past few months, President Biden has appeared to have cognitive problems in which he, like Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, appeared to freeze up.
The White House has attacked viral, unedited videos showing the president wandering away from groups or seeming confused as “cheap fakes” after several G7 leaders appeared to express concern over the president’s health during his visit to Europe.
Earlier in the month, The Wall Street Journal released a bombshell article in which they interviewed Democrats off the record who said they are worried that the president is “slipping” mentally.
