Ahead of the highly-anticipated presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have mixed feelings about the event.
After months of refusing to debate Trump, Biden finally agreed to take the stage, with several conditions—of course.
However, some Republicans and Democrats are unsure about the two 2024 hopefuls battling it out on stage, which will take place in June and September on CNN and ABC.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) questioned whether Trump could contain himself if Biden’s age and mental difficulties began to show. The Republican suggested he is concerned the former president won’t be able to follow one of the conditions: to not speak when the other candidate is talking.
“I think people are worried about President Biden’s ability to serve four more years,” Graham said. “And can Trump handle it? Will he go off like a Roman candle, and can Biden coherently respond to questions?”
Graham, however, did offer Trump a few words of advice ahead of the long-overdue debate— and that is to talk about his achievements and his plans to nurse the United States back to health rather than criticize what Biden has done to the country.
Ultimately, Graham gave a thumbs-up to the event saying, “As long as you can’t use the teleprompter, I’m good with it.”
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) had a similar opinion about the contentious debate as Graham, suggesting that Trump “let Biden speak” without interruption. However, he encouraged the 45th president to challenge Biden when it was his turn to talk.
On Friday, Trump predicted that the 81-year-old president would be all “jacked up” during the debate, saying he will demand for Biden to be drug tested.
“I am, no I really am. I don’t want him coming in like the State of the Union, he was high as a kite,” Trump said during a GOP dinner in Minnesota.
Meanwhile, Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) seems to be as excited about the debate as much as he looks forward to watching fireworks on the Fourth of July.
Hickenlooper and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) echoed similar thoughts on the debate, suggesting that it will make for nothing but pure television entertainment.
Cruz, however, advised Trump to focus on hot-button issues such as illegal immigration and the economy.
“The race should focus on the policy records of each president, and on that criterion, there’s a stark difference between the two,” the Texas Republican said.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) appeared less impressed the two candidates agreed to debate one another, saying that such events don’t usually change people’s minds about who they will vote for.
“Debates typically really aren’t meaningful or affect anything,” he said. “After everything we’ve all been through collectively since 2016, is anyone going to [change from], ‘I’m with Trump, I’m with Biden?’ It’s very clear. It’s not going to really change much. I don’t think it’s going to mean anything.”
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) also had a similar view on the debate, predicting that very little change would come out of the debate. However, he did say Trump has more of a chance to win since Biden “doesn’t do well in the evening.”
