PREPARATION. >> KRISTEN HOLMES, LIVE FOR US IN PHILADELPHIA. THANK YOU SO MUCH, BRIANNA WITH US NOW IS POLLSTER AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIST FRANK LUNTZ AND FRANK RECENTLY AFTER TRUMP POSTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA ABOUT PROSECUTING HIS OPPONENTS YOU TWEETED MESSAGE TO DONALD, FOCUS ON HELPING VOTERS, NOT YOURSELF. >> YOU JUST HEARD KRISTEN REPORTING THAT ALLIES ARE CONCERNED. THAT'S NOT SO EASY FOR HIM. DO YOU THINK THAT HARRIS WILL BE TRYING TO AND EFFECTIVELY GOADING HIM INTO TALKING ABOUT 20:20 HE ELECTION FALSEHOODS AND GRIEVANCES IN THIS DEBATE ABSOLUTELY. BUT THERE'S A RESPONSE TO THAT. >> AND I'M CURIOUS TO SEE HOW PREPARED THESE BOTH THESE CANDIDATES ARE, HOW DISCIPLINE THEY ARE, HOW FOCUSED THEY ARE ON PUTTING OUT THEIR MESSAGE BECAUSE HARRIS IS ABSOLUTELY GOING TO SAY, LET ME FINISH OR I'M TALKING OR STOP INTERRUPTING. >> AND TRUMP HAS A PERFECT LINE FOR THAT, WHICH WOULD BE IF HE WAS PAYING ATTENTION YES. YOU'RE TALKING YOU'RE ALWAYS TALKING. AND WHAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WANT IS DOING AND YOU'RE NOT DOING ENOUGH THERE'S SO MANY OF THESE TYPES OF RESPONSES THAT TRUMP CAN DO. AND IN HIS CASE, WHICH SHE CAN DO TO HIM IS FOR ALL THE MOTHERS OUT THERE AND THE DAWN OWNERS AND THE SISTERS AND THE NIECES AND THE GRANDCHILDREN? STOP INTERRUPTING, AND START RESPECTED AND THAT'S A REALLY POWERFUL STATEMENT FOR HER ADVANTAGE, WHICH IS AMONG WOMEN BOTH OF THESE CANDIDATES HAVE CLERY WEAKNESSES THAT I'VE NOT SEEN IT DEBATE SITUATION LIKE THIS. BUT BOTH OF THEM HAVE GO-TO LINES AND GO TO STRENGTHS IN TRUMP'S CASE HIS ADVANTAGE IS ON THE ISSUES ON THE POLICIES. AND HARRIS HIS CASE. >> HER ADVANTAGE IS HER CHARACTER AND HER PERSONA. >> AND EVERY CANDIDATE GETS TO FOCUS ON THAT ADVANTAGE IS THE CANDIDATE WHO WINS AND AHEAD OF THIS DEBATE, TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN SPOKESPERSON, JASON MILLER SAID, ON CNN THAT IT WAS HARRIS NOT BIDEN IN CHARGE OF THE COUNTRY OVER THE LAST THREE-AND-A-HALF YEARS. >> DO YOU THINK THAT THAT IS A PREVIEW OF SOMETHING THAT TRUMP MAY TROT OUT. AND DO YOU THINK THAT THAT IS EFFECTIVE WHEN IT COMES TO THE PERSUADABLE VOTERS THAT TRUMP IS TRYING TO WIN OVER ABSOLUTELY NOT IN FACT HARRIS, HIS GOAL TONIGHT OR MISSION TONIGHT IS TO SHOW THAT SHE IS RELEVANT, IS TO SHOW THAT SHE HAD SOME ROLE IN THE BIDEN MINISTRATIONS, BE ABLE TO PROVE THAT SHE'S NOT ONLY BEEN NUMBER TWO, BUT IS FULLY PREPARED TO BE NUMBER ONE. >> SO I DON'T BELIEVE THAT ARGUMENTS CAN WORK AT ALL. IN FACT, I COULD MAKE THE ARGUMENT THAT IF TRUMP DOES TRY TO SAY THAT HE'S ACTUALLY HELPING HARRIS RATHER THAN HURTING HER WE ASKED THE PUBLIC, CAN YOU NAME ONE THING THAT KAMALA HARRIS HAS DONE? THAT'S HAD A MEANINGFUL, MEASURABLE IMPACT ON YOU AND 70% COULD NOT SO NOW HE'S SWITCHING AND SAYING THAT SHE'S IN CHARGE. THAT WOULD BE AN AWFUL STRATEGY FOR HIM TONIGHT AND IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE HARRIS NOT BEING ASKED, CERTAINLY BEING TAKEN TO TASK. >> WE EXPECT THAT BY DONALD TRUMP, IT JUST NOT EVEN BEEN ASKED HERE WE EXPECT SHE WILL BE TO ACCOUNT FOR POSITIONS ON BANNING FRACKING AND BORDER SECURITY POSITIONS OF HERS THAT HAVE CHANGED HERE IN RECENT YEARS, SHE REPEATED HER LINE RECENTLY IN HER INTERVIEW WITH OUR DANA BASH, MY VALUES HAVE NOT CHANGED CHANGED DO YOU THINK THAT SHE'S GOING TO HAVE TO EXPAND ON THAT? IS THAT SUFFICIENT TONIGHT IS NOT SEDITION. >> AND SHE SAID IT THREE TIMES THAT WHEN SOMEONE SAYS SOMETHING, THREE TIMES, I KNOW IS SOMEBODY WHO STUDIES HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND ANTHROPOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY YOU ASSERT TOO MUCH THAT BECOMES TOO REHEARSED. IT'S A GO-TO LINE THAT WILL ABSOLUTELY FAIL, AS SHE SAYS, THAT IN FACT, IT'S FAR BETTER FOR HER TO SAY IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE WHO'S NOT CHANGED HER MIND ON SOMETHING IMPORTANT OVER THE LENGTH OF THEIR CAREER THAT ACTUALLY WHAT YOU WANT IS SOMEONE WHO LISTENS AND LEARNS AND THEN LEADS WHAT YOU WANT IS SOMEONE WHO REEXAMINES THE ISSUES BASED ON WHAT'S HAPPENING. THE ECONOMY BASED WHAT'S HAPPENING IN SOCIETY, SHE SHOULD TURN THOSE CHANGES BECAUSE THEY ARE CHANGES INTO SOMETHING POSITIVE THAT I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU THE SAME THING TODAY THAT I WOULD'VE SAID 20 YEARS AGO BECAUSE WE'RE NOT THE SAME COUNTRY AND THE CONDITIONS HAVE CHANGED I THINK THAT THIS WOULD BE FOR AGAIN FOR HARRIS AND AWFUL STRATEGY TO TRY TO CLAIM AGAIN AND AGAIN THAT HER VALUES HAVEN'T CHANGED AND BY THE WAY. IT'S NOT VALUES, ITS PRIORITIES, VALUES TELLS PEOPLE WHAT YOU'RE ABOUT PRIORITIES EXPLAINS HOW YOU WILL AFFECT THEM SO I'M SURE THAT HER CAMPAIGN IS PROBABLY TOO BUSY LISTENING RIGHT NOW. BUT IF SHE WERE AN EFFECTIVE DEBATER SHE FOCUSED ON THE PRIORITIES RATHER THAN THE VALUES I'M TRUMP HAS DEBATED A FEMALE CANDIDATE BEFORE WE SAW THAT WITH HILLARY CLINTON. OF COURSE, HE LOST THE DEBATE SOUNDLY, BUT HE WON THE ELECTION. HE HAS NOT DEBATED AND A FEMALE CANDIDATE SINCE, HOWEVER, THE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES THAT HE APPOINTED OVERTURNED FEDERAL ABORTION RIGHTS HOW'S THAT GOING TO AFFECT THIS DEBATE? AND WHAT CAN THESE CANDIDATES DO ABOUT THAT? >> THESE ARE PERFECT QUESTIONS FOR EXACTLY WHAT THE TWO CANDIDATES HAVE TO FIGURE OUT AND TRUMP IS AT HIS WEAKEST AND HARRIS'S AT HER STRONGEST WHEN SHE'S TALKING ABOUT ABORTION, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT TURNS OUT YOUNGER WOMEN HARRIS, HIS STRONGEST ADDITION TO WHAT BIDEN WAS DOING WAS AMONG WOMEN, AMONG WOMEN 18 TO 40 AND TO KEEP THEM THE ABORTION ISSUE IS SO IMPORTANT. AND FOR WOMEN 55 AND OLDER, THE NUMBER ONE ISSUES, HEALTH CARE SO THAT'S WHERE SHE'S AT HER STRENGTH. BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF WOMEN WHO CARE ABOUT INFLATION. IN FACT, INFLATION THE NUMBER ONE ISSUE FOR THE FEMALE BORDER, AND THAT'S WHERE TRUMP IS STRONGEST FOR HIM TO TALK ABOUT SHOPPING FOR GAS FOOD, AND FUEL SHOPPING FOR A HOUSE THAT EVERY WOMAN WANTS TO HAVE A HOME A HOME, A PLACE TO CALL THEIR OWN AND UNDER THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION IS BECOME INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE THAT IS WHERE TRUMP DOES BEST AMONG THESE VOTERS. SO IN THE END YOU TALK ABOUT THE ISSUE WHERE HE IS STRONGEST, YOU TALK ABOUT THE ATTRIBUTE YOU WILL, YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND TRUMP SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT THE FAILURES OF THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION AND HARRIS SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT THE FAILURES OF DONALD TRUMP. IN FACT, IN A SINGLE SENTENCE, DO YOU REALLY WANT THIS CHAOS AGAIN AND AGAIN FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS? TRUMP RESPONSE WITH ARE YOU BETTER OFF TODAY THAN YOU WERE FOUR YEARS AGO? THERE IS SO EQUALLY MATCHED. THERE'S SO AMERICANS, SO EVENLY DIVIDED THAT I WOULD ARGUE THAT TONIGHT IS GOING TO BE THE MOST IMPORTANT NIGHT IN AMERICAN POLITICS, POTENTIALLY OF THE LIFETIME OF YOU AND ME WELL, THAT IS QUITE THE SETUP FOR THIS EVENING. >> FRANK LUNTZ. THANK YOU SO MUCH. WE KNOW THEN YOU'LL BE WATCHING VERY CAREFULLY AND CURIOUS TO HEAR WHAT YOU SAY TOMORROW THANKS AGAIN, FRANK, AND YOU CAN FOLLOW CNN FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE, AN EXCLUSIVE ANALYSIS BEFORE AND AFTER THE DEBATE THE ABC NEWS PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES SIMULCAST