Tipsheet

CBS Raises Eyebrows for What It Told Viewers to 'Expect' From Biden in Debate

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  June 21, 2024 12:30 PM

President Biden went to Camp David on Thursday to prepare for next week’s first presidential debate where he will face off against former President Donald Trump after independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. failed to qualify.  

The CNN debate on June 27, which will be moderated by anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, will be the first of two scheduled, with the second coming Sept. 10. 

According to a campaign official, Ron Klain, Biden's former chief of staff, is leading the debate preparations. Other senior campaign aides and longtime advisers, including Cedric Richmond, a former White House aide and current campaign co-chair, will also be on hand.

This won't be Klain's first time in a leading role. In addition to assisting Biden in his 2020 debate prep, he led Hillary Clinton's preparation in 2016, Barack Obama's in 2008 and 2012 and John Kerry's in 2004.

In 2020, Biden said his debate prep strategy involved "going over what [Trump] has said and multiple lies he's told," in an interview with NBC News. This year, Biden's debate prep could look similar with his facing the same opponent.

Biden will be aiming to hold Trump accountable for not only his administration's track record, but also comments Trump has made on the campaign trail on topics ranging from reproductive rights to the economy, to perceived threats of political violence, to what Biden campaign officials say are his efforts to undermine the judicial system. (ABC News)

Reporting on the upcoming face-off, CBS News raised some eyebrows for telling viewers to “expect some surprises…not only on the content but on his physical performance as well.”

The remark comes as an overwhelming majority of voters, 86 percent, believe Biden, 81, is too old to carry out a second term.