LIVE on June 27 at 8 p.m. ET | CNN presidential debate

>>> THE WASHINGTON POST NEWSROOM DELIVERS BREAKING EVENTS AROUND THE WORLD AS THEY HAPPEN. UNRIVALED REPORTING FROM JOURNALISTS YOU'VE COME TO TRUST TO GET THE FACT FAST AND MEET THE CHALLENGES OF TODAY HEAD ON. GET THE NEWS THAT MATTERS MOST WITH A SPECIAL OFFER BY VISITING WASHINGTONPOST.COM/WATCH. SUBSCRIBING UNLOCKS INSTANT ACCESS, BRINGING YOU THE POST'S AWARD WING COVERAGE, ANYTIME, ANYPLACE, BECAUSE DEMOCRACY DIES IN DARKNESS. >>> THE THREAT FOR THE SECOND TERM IS GREATER THAN HIS FIRST. >> JOE BIDEN FAILED ON THE BORDER. >> HE LOST IN 2020. >> THAT'S WHY JANUARY 6th HAPPENED, WHEN HE UNLEASHED AN INSURRECTION. >> HIGH INTEREST RATES AND DEATH FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM. >> OUR ECONOMY IS THE ENVY OF THE WORLD. NINE EMPLOYMENT AT A 50-YEAR LOW. >> IF WE DON'T WIN THIS COUNTRY IS FINISHED. I REALLY BELIEVE THAT. I THINK IT'S FINISHED. >> THEY FOUND DONALD TRUMP GUILTY ON ALL 34 FELONY COUNTS. >> THEY'RE NOT AFTER ME. THEY'RE AFTER YOU, AND I JUST HAPPEN TO BE STANDING IN THEIR WAY. >> THERE'S MORE TO DO, SO LET'S FINISH THE JOB. >> THIS NOVEMBER, BIDEN, YOU'RE FIRED. GET OUT OF HERE! >>> TONIGHT, PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN AND FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP FACE OFF. THE CANDIDATES HOPE TO PROVE THAT THEY HAVE THE ABILITY AND THE TEMPER MEANT TO LEAD THE NATION AND THAT THEIR OPPONENT DOES NOT. THE WASHINGTON POST WILL BRING YOU TONIGHT'S CNN DID HE BOUGHT LIVE SIMULCAST HERE WITH OUR REPORTING AND ANALYSIS. I'M LIBBY CASEY IN THE POST NEWSROOM. GOOD EVENING. TONIGHT'S HIGH-STAKES DEBATE MAKES HISTORY. THE EARLIEST EVER TELEVISED GENERAL ELECTION DEBATE. IT'S THE FIRST ON-STAGE CONFRONTATION BETWEEN A SITTING PRESIDENT AND A FORMER PRESIDENT. AND THESE ARE THE TWO OLDEST MAJOR PARTY NOMINEES EVER. THE DEBATE STARTS IN AN HOUR, AND WE ARE WITH YOU UNTIL THEN WITH THE LATEST REPORTING. I'M JOINED LIVE IN OUR STUDIOS BY COLUMNIST JAMES HOHMANN AND SENIOR VIDEO JOURNALIST JM RIEGER. SENIOR CORRESPONDENT RHONDA COLVIN IS LIVE AT THE SITE OF THE DEBATE IN ATLANTA WHERE WE BEGIN OUR COVERAGE. RHONDA, SET THE SCENE FOR US WHERE YOU ARE. >> Reporter: THAT'S RIGHT, LIBBY, WE ARE HERE IN ATLANTA AT THE COMPLEX NEAR THE HALL WHERE THESE TWO CANDIDATES WILL BE DEBATING SHORTLY. I'M IN THE AREA WHERE JOURNALISTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD HAVE GATHERED TO WATCH THIS, TO COVER IT, TO BE HERE AFTER IT TO GIVE ANALYSIS. IT'S A PRETTY EXCITING ENERGY THAT'S HAPPENING HERE RIGHT NOW IN ATLANTA. BEHIND ME, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN SEE THIS IS THE FLOOR TO THE SPIN ROOM. TYPICALLY THAT IS WHERE CANDIDATES WILL SEND SURROGATES AT THE END OF THE NIGHT, CAMPAIGN AIDS TO MEET WITH MEDIA, TELL MEDIA WHAT WON, WHAT THEY THOUGHT THE KNOCKOUT MOMENTS WERE. BUT WHAT'S INTERESTING ABOUT TONIGHT, I'VE BEEN WALKING THE FLOOR AND THERE ARE OTHER SURROGATES HERE. WE HAVE SEEN CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR NEWSOM HERE PROBABLY OVER AN HOUR DISCUSSING HIS EXPECTATIONS. WE'VE SEEN CONGRESSMAN BYRON DONALD, VIVEK RAMASWAMY. ONE REPORTER'S OBSERVATION THAT I HAVE HAD IN LISTENING TO CONVERSATIONS PARTICULARLY WITH REPUBLICANS, THEY ARE VERY MEASURED TONIGHT. I'M HEARING THEM DISCUSS POLICY, SPECIFICS. THEY'RE NOT REALLY BEING COMBATIVE. I'M WONDERING IS THAT GIVING AS YOU WINDOW INTO HOW THE FORMER PRESIDENT MIGHT BE CONDUCTING HIMSELF TONIGHT. I WANT TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF THE ENERGY IN ATLANTA. WE'VE BEEN HERE SINCE YESTERDAY TALKING TO HAVING A PEOPLE ON THE STREET, OUR LYFT AND UBER DRIVES, PEOPLE AT THE HOTEL. A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE TUNING IN. A LOT OF PEOPLE SAID THIS IS THE PARTICULAR OF THE WEEK THAT THEY WISH THEY COULD BE HERE AND THEY'RE ALL GOING TO WATCH. YOU ARE SEEING THAT PEOPLE ARE REALLY ANTICIPATING WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN EVEN THOUGH NO ONE HAS ANSWERS. THAT'S THE OTHER THING THAT WE ARE SENSING. EVERYONE IS REALLY ANTICIPATING BUT NO ONE KNOWS WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. OF COURSE, WE'LL BE HERE THROUGH THE NIGHT TO PROVIDE ANALYSIS AND WATCH THE SPIN ROOM FLOOR. BUT SO FAR IT'S A PRETTY INTERESTING NIGHT. >> FANTASTIC. THANKS SO MUCH, RHONDA. JAMES, LET'S PICK UP RIGHT WHERE RHONDA LEFT OFF. WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT TONIGHT HOLDS. WE'RE POLITICS JUNKIES. THIS IS THE WASHINGTON POST. WE LIVE FOR NIGHTS LIKE THIS. BUT THERE SA LOT ON THE LINE FOR BOTH CANDIDATES TONIGHT IN A PALPABLE WAY. THAT I THINK WE'RE REALLY FEELING. >> YEAH, AND IT REALLY DOES FEEL LIKE PRESIDENT BIDEN NEEDS TO CHANGE THE TRAJECTORY OF THE RACE WITH TONIGHT'S DEBATE. THERE AREN'T GOING TO BE MANY OPPORTUNITIES THIS YEAR. IT'S AN INCREDIBLY TIGHT CONTEST. THE WASHINGTON POST POLLING AVERAGE RIGHT NOW SHOWS THAT DONALD TRUMP IS LEADING IN SIX OF THE SEVEN BATTLEGROUND STATES. YOU CAN SEE THAT ON THE SCREEN. THAT ARE MOST LIKELY TO DETERMINE THE OUTCOME OF THE ELECTION. BIDEN PUSHED FOR AN EARLY DEBATE. WE HAVEN'T EVEN HAD THE PARTY NOMINATING CONVENTIONS YET. BUT HE SEES THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW AMERICANS THAT THIS IS THEIR CHOICE. A MAJORITY OF PEOPLE STILL AREN'T FULLY KIND OF SETTLED WITH THE IDEA THAT DONALD TRUMP AND JOE BIDEN ARE GOING TO HAVE THIS REMATCH. BUT THEY ARE. AND A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS AREN'T SATISFIED WITH THEIR CHOICES, BUT DONALD TRUMP AND JOE BIDEN ARE THE CANDIDATES, AND JOE BIDEN WANTS THIS TO BE A REFERENDUM ON TRUMP, AND TRUMPISM, AND HE HOPES TO USE THIS DEBATE TO SORT OF CHANGE THE WHOLE STRUCTURE OF THE RACE GOING INTO THE FINAL FEW MONTHS. >> THAT IS A HIGH-STAKES PROPOSITION, BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE BIG POTENTIAL TO GAIN AND CHANGE THE NARE RAY ACTIVE, J M, YOU ALSO HAVE BIG POTENTIAL TO FAIL. DOES DONALD TRUMP ALSO HAVE THAT KIND OF PRESSURE ON HIM? >> YES. THIS IS HIGH STAKES FOR BOTH CANDIDATESB AS JAMES MENTION SEED, THE POTENTIAL TO ALTER THE TRAJECTORY OF THE RACE TO CHANGE VOTER SENTIMENT RIGHT NOW. WE KNOW THAT THESE ARE TWO OF THE MOST UNPOPULAR CANDIDATES IN A GENERAL ELECTION CONTEST IN U.S. HISTORY. THAT IS A HIGH BAR FOR BOTH OF THESE CANDIDATES GOING INTO TONIGHT, TO TRY TO CHANGE THAT A LITTLE BIT, TO TRY TO WIN THE SLIVER OF UNDECIDED OR, QUOTE, UNQUOTE, PERSUADABLE VOTERS OVER TO THEIR SIDE. AS YOU MENTIONED OFF THE TOP, LIBBY, WE'RE REALLY IN UNCHARTED WATERS IN SO MANY WAYS. ONE CAVEAT I WILL MAKE, BECAUSE THIS DEBATE IS SO EARLY, BECAUSE IT'S BEFORE THE CONVENTIONS, BECAUSE THERE'S ANOTHER PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE STILL TO HAPPEN IN SEPTEMBER, AND EVEN THOUGH WE MIGHT HAVE ONE OF THE MOST WATCHED PRESIDENTIAL DID HE BOTS IN U.S. HISTORY TONIGHT, THERE IS A CHANCE THAT IF EITHER OF THESE CANDIDATES STUMBLE, THERE'S PLENTY OF TIME HERE, OVER FOUR MONTHS UNTIL THE GENERAL ELECTION, FOR THEM TO RECOVER. SO WHILE IT IS I MULL TAKEN YOWSLY BE ONE OF THE MOST CONSEQUENTIAL DEBATES IN U.S. HISTORY THERE'S POTENTIAL IT MIGHT BE LESS CONSEQUENTIAL DEPENDING ON WHAT HAPPENS. >> IT'S JUST GOING TO BE SO INTERESTING TO SEE WHAWN FOLDS. WE'LL TALK ABOUT JUST HOW THIS DEBATE WILL GO AND WHAT THE GROUNDWORK AND WHAT THE GROUND RULES ARE. BUT FIRST LET'S HEAD BACK TO ATLANTA AND RHONDA WHO IS IN THE SPIN ROOM WITH ONE OF OUR COLLEAGUES, MARY ANN LEVINE, A NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, FOCUSED ON TENSIONSL CLOSELY CUFFING DONALD TRUMP. RHONDA. >> Reporter: THAT'S RIGHT, I'M WITH OUR COLLEAGUE MARY ANN. YOU HAVE A SENSE OF HOW DONALD TRUMP HAS BEEN PREPARING FOR THIS. CAN YOU GIVE US AN IDEA OF WHAT TYPE OF DONALD TRUMP MAY APPEAR ON THAT STAGE TONIGHT? >> WELL, I THINK TRUMP'S ALLIES ARE HOPING HE'S REALLY GOING TO FOCUS ON ISSUES LIKE INFLATION, IMMIGRATION, AND TRY TO MAKE THE CASE THAT THE UNITED STATES IS BETTER UNDER HIS PRESIDENCY VERSUS BIDEN'S. NOW, TRUMP IS UNPREDICTABLE SO WE'LL SEE WHETHER OR NOT HE DELIVER THAT MESSAGE AND WHETHER OR NOT HE CAN MAKE IT MORE ABOUT THE POLICY VERSUS HIS OWN PERSONAL GRIEVANCES. >> Reporter: WE'VE DONE A LOT OF REPORTING AT THE POST AND ELSEWHERE SAYING THAT THE FORMER PRESIDENT, HIS STYLE IS OFF THE CUFF. IS HIS CAMPAIGN WORRIED ABOUT THAT, THAT EVEN IF HE IS TRYING TO GO INTO THIS MEASURED, THAT HE MIGHT FLIP OUT AND, YOU KNOW, MAKE THIS THE ANGRY TRIP THAT WE QUITE OFTEN SEE? >> I THINK THE CAMPAIGN RIGHT NOW IS REALLY TRYING TO PROJECT CONFIDENCE AND THEY'RE TRYING TO SAY THAT BIDEN IS GOING TO BE THE ONE ON DEFENSE. SO RIGHT NOW IT SEEMS LIKE THEY'RE PREPARING TRUMP BUT NOT NECESSARILY IN THE FORMAL WAYS THAT BIDEN IS PREPARING. LIKE TRUMP HAS BEEN HAVING THESE INFORMAL POLICY SESSIONS. SO KIND OF GOING WITH THAT OFF- THE-CUFF-TYPE STYLE. HE'S NOT GOING THROUGH FORMAL PREPARATION LIKE BIDEN, BUT I THINK RIGHT NOW THE CAMPAIGN IS TRYING TO PROJECT CONFIDENCE GOING INTO TONIGHT. THOSE WHO ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE FORMER PRESIDENT SAY THAT HE'S UNPREDICTABLE BUT I THINK THAT AT LEAST THE SIGNAL WE'RE GETTING FROM THE CAMPAIGN ITSELF IS THEY'RE TRYING TO SIGNAL CONFIDENCE AHEAD OF THE DEBATE. >> Reporter: OF COURSE THIS DEBATE IS HAPPENING AMIDST HIS RECENT CONVICT SHUN NEW YORK, THE OTHER CASES, WE'RE WAITING FOR A SUPREME COURT DECISION AS WELL THAT WOULD APPLY TO HIM. HAS THE CAMPAIGN GIVEN A ACCEPTS FOR HOW THEY MIGHT APPROACH QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CONVICTION, QUESTIONS ABOUT CRIMINAL CHARGES? >> I THINK WE'RE GOING TO SEE A VERY SIMILAR MESSAGE THAT WE SEE ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL WHERE TRUMP CONTINUES TO MAKE THIS ASSERTION THAT THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM IS WEAPON UNITED STATES AGAINST HIM. BUT I THINK THE QUESTION IS HOW MUCH IS TRUMP ACTUALLY FOCUSED ON THAT AND HOW MUCH DOES HE MAKE THIS ABOUT HIMSELF VERSUS THE POLICIES THAT VOTERS WANT TO HEAR ABOUT. SO I THINK THAT'S THE BIG QUESTION GOING INTO TONIGHT. >> Reporter: ALL RIGHT, MARY ANN, THANK YOU SO MUCH. BACK TO YOU GAZE IN D.C. >> J M, LET'S PICK UP THERE. CAN DONALD TRUMP FOCUS ON ISSUES LARGER THAN HIMSELF OR WILL HE FOCUS ON HIMSELF? WE'RE HEARING FROM A LOT OF HIS ADVISERS, LOT OF REPUBLICAN OPERATIVES ON ALL THE NETWORKS, IT'S LIKE THEY'RE TRYING TO TALK TO HIM, LIKE, JUST BE PRESIDENTIAL, JUST BE A GROWN- UP, JUST STAY ON THE ISSUES. BUT WE WILL SEE IF DONALD TRUMP HAS THE CONTROL AND DISCIPLINE TO DO. >> THAT'S ONE OF THE KEY QUESTIONS TONIGHT IS CAN TRUMP STAY ON MESSAGE. WE KNOW THAT TRUMP TOLD HIS CAMPAIGN AIDS AFTER THAT FIRST DEBATE IN 2020 AGAINST PRESIDENT BIDEN THAT HE FELT LIKE HE WENT TOO HARD, TOO MUCH FOR THE JUGULAR, IF YOU WILL, IN THAT DEBATE. WE REMEMBER SOME OF OUR VIEWERS MIGHT REMEMBER THE CONSTANT INTERRUPTIONS AT ONE POINT PRESIDENT BIDEN TURNED TO HIM AND SAID, WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP, MAN. A KEY MOMENT OUT OF THAT DEBATE AND THERE WAS A LOT OF PERCEPTION AFTERWARDS THAT THAT WAS KIND OF THE MOMENT IN WHICH THAT BIDEN, QUOTE, UNQUOTE, KIND OF WON OR SWUNG THAT HIS WAY BECAUSE OF HOW TRUMP CAME OUT. , SO YES, IF YOU'RE THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN TONIGHT, IF YOU'RE TRUMP, YOU WANT TO COME IN, AND YOU DON'T WANT TO TAKE -- IF BIDEN BAITS YOU, YOU WANT TO STAY ABOVE THE FRAY, YOU WANT TO MAKE THIS A REFERENDUM ON THE PAST THREE-AND-A-HALF YEARS OF THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION. AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO HEAR THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT I'M SURE, AND IT'S GOING TO BE KIND OF A KEY FRAMEWORK OF WHICH TO WATCH THIS DEBATE TONIGHT, BIDEN WANTS TO MAKE THIS A CHOICE, BINARY COMOIS BETWEEN HIM AND TRUMP AND WANTS TO RELY ON THAT SORT OF ANTI- TRUMP VOTE, IF YOU WILL, TO PROPEL HIM TO A SECOND TEMPLET TRUMP WANTS TO MAKE THIS A REFERENDUM ON BIDEN. >> JAIRNLINGS HOW DOES JOE BIDEN TRY TO USE TRUMP AGAINST HIMSELF? I'M SURE THE BIDEN CAMPAIGN WOULD LOVE NOTHING MORE, FRANKLY, THAN TO HIT PLAY OF ONE OF TRUMP'S OWN RALLIES, BECAUSE HIS RALLIES ARE A STREAM OF CONSCIOUS. HE OFTEN GIVES SHOUT-OUTS AT THE BEGINNING, LIKE HOMAGE TO THE JANUARY 6th ACCUSED AND CONVICTED WHO HE THINKS OF AS LIKE POLITICAL PRISONERS, AND HE SAYS THINGS THAT ARE VERY EXTREME WHEN IT COMES TO IMMIGRANTS. HE'S TAKEN CREDIT FOR ROE V. WADE. BUT BIDEN DOESN'T HAVE CONTROL OVER WHAT TRUMP HE GETS TONIGHT. HOW IS THE CAMPAIGN THINK ABOUT TRYING TO DRAW OUT THAT CONTRAST? >> DONALD TRUMP HAS A RECORD. BECAUSE THIS IS THAT UNIQUE FIRST TIME WHERE YOU HAVE A CURRENT AND A FORMER PRESIDENT RUNNING AGAINST EACH OTHER, IT'S NOT JUST RHETORIC, IT'S NOT JUST WHAT TRUMP SAID HE WOULD DO. HE SAID HE WOULD BUILD THE WALL. HE ACTUALLY HAS FOUR YEARS. SO THE BIDEN GAME PLAN IS TO SAY YOU RAISED THE NATIONAL DEBT BY $8 TRILLION. YOU SAID YOU WOULD BUILD THE WALL. YOU DIDN'T. JANUARY 6th HAPPENED ON YOUR WATCH. TO KEEP PIVOTING BACK TO TRY TO MAKE IT ABOUT TRUMP AND HIGHLIGHT HIS ACTUAL RECORD. BOTH OF THESE GUYS ARE BASICALLY INTERVIEWING FOR A SECOND TERM, AND I THINK BIDEN HAS TO OUTLINE A VISION FOR WHAT HE WOULD DO IN A SECOND TERM, BUT HIS PRIMARY FOCUS IS GOING TO BE WARNING IN A NON ABSTRACT WAY WHAT A SECOND TRUMP TERM WOULD LOOK LIKE FOR PEOPLE WHO MAYBE ARE LOOKING BACK FOUR YEARS WITH ROSE- COLORED GLASSES. >> RHONDA, FROM THERE ON THE GROUND, WHAT ARE THE SURROGATES AND THE CAMPAIGNS TELLING YOU ABOUT THEIR GOAL FOR TONIGHT? >> Reporter: WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS THAT BOTH CAMPAIGNS ARE USING THIS MOMENT THIS DEBATE TO SHINE A LIGHT ON WHERE THEY WANT TO TAKE THEIR CAMPAIGNS NEXT. FOR BIDEN WE HAVE SEEN THAT HE HAS BEEN SENDING SURROGATES IN A VERY STRATEGIC MANNER ACROSS THE NATION BUT ALSO HERE. YESTERDAY THERE WAS AN INTERESTING PRESS CONFERENCE WHERE JEFF DUNCAN, THE FORMER LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, REPUBLICAN LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF GEORGIA, ENDORSED BIDEN. HE WAS WITH ADAM KINZINGER, A FORMER MEMBER OF THE HOUSE, REPUBLICAN AND WAS ON THE JANUARY 6th SELECT COMMITTEE. BOTH OF THEM TALKED ABOUT DONALD TRUMP BEING A DANGER, TYING HIM BACK TO JANUARY 6th. THEY WERE THERE WITH THE CAPITAL POLICE OFFICER WHO WAS THERE THAT DAY ON JANUARY 6th. SO THE BIDEN CAMPAIGN SEEMS TO WANT TO USE ALL OF THE TOOLS AT THEIR DISPOSAL TO SHOW THAT TRUMP IS WHO HE WAS ON JANUARY 6th. THEY ALSO WANT TO SHOW THAT HE IS NOT THE CANNED DATE FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS. THE BIDEN CAMPAIGN IS SENDING OUT SURROGATES THIS WEEK TO DISCUSS THE FACT THAT WE ARE A FEW DAYS OUT FROM THE SECOND YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE DOBBS DECISION WHICH REPEALED ROE V. WADE. THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE HITTING TRUMP ON VERY SPECIFIC ISSUES THAT ARE REALLY HARD FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY TO EXPLAIN AWAY. JANUARY 6th AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS. ON THE TRUMP SIDE WHAT WE'VE BEEN SEEING HERE IS THAT THEY ARE FOCUSING ON BLACK VOTERS HE SPECIFICALLY IN THE ATLANTA METRO AREA. YESTERDAY THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN HAD A ROUND TABLE WITH BLACK BUSINESS LEADERS. THEY ALSO HAD WHAT'S BEING CALLED THE CONGRESS, COGNAC, AND CIGARS EVENT WITH BYRON DONALDS AND ANOTHER BLACK MEMBER IN CONGRESS, AND THEY'RE TRYING TO BRING TOGETHER MEMBERS OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY IN THE AREA TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. SOME OF OUR COLLEAGUES HAVE BEEN REPORTING ON THAT EVENT AS WELL. BOTH CAMPAIGNS SEEM TO WANT TO USE THIS NATURE AS NOT JUST THE DEBATE BUT BASICALLY A LARGER SPRINGBOARD TO START MAKING THIS CAMPAIGN SOMETHING THAT EITHER CAN WIN ON. >> WHO DO YOU THINK THE CAMPAIGNS ARE REACHING OUT TO, JAMES IS? WHAT DOES THAT TELL ABOUT THEIR LARGER STRATEGIES AND HOPES? >> WHAT RHONDA IS TALKING ABOUT IS HUGELY IMPORTANT. GEORGIA WAS DECIDED BY 10,000 VOTES. SO IF TRUMP CAN FIGURE OUT A WAY TO APPEAL OFF 10% OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN WITH EVENTS LIKE THAT, IT COULD MAKE THE DIFFERENCE IN THIS RACE. BIDEN'S CHALLENGE IS TRYING TO RECREATE THE COALITION THAT GOT HIM 81 MILLION VOTES IN 20 20. AND RIGHT NOW THAT COALITION IS NOT PARTICULARLY EXCITED. POLLS SHOW NOT JUST THAT HE'S TRAILING BUT THAT A LOT OF HIS SUPPORTERS HAVEN'T COME HOME YET. YOUNGER VOTERS, GENERAL Z, HISPANICS, AFRICAN AMERICANS, COLLEGE EDUCATED WOMEN, AND THERE'S A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT FACTORS AT PLAY, BUT BIDEN IS NOT JUST TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO VOTE AGAINST TRUMP. HE'S TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO VOTE AT ALL, TO EXPLAIN THAT THERE ACTUALLY IS A CONTRAST THAT IT IS WORTH SHOWING UP. WE'RE IN THIS WEIRD SCENARIO WHERE AFTER A HUGE INCREASE FROM 2016 TO 2020 WE MIGHT ACTUALLY SEE TURNOUT DROP OFF IF THE POLLS ARE ANY INDICATION. THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WHAT SAY THEY'RE CLOSELY FOLLOWING THE ELECTION MUCH LOWER THAN IT WAS AT THIS POINT FOUR YEARS AGO. AND SO PART OF ONE OF THE REASONS BIDEN WANTED THE EARLY DEBATE WAS TO GET PEOPLE FOCUSED ON THIS LOW, GET PEOPLE TUNED IN, GET THEM TO UNDERSTAND THE CHOICES. BIDEN ALWAYS SAYS, AND I'M SURE HE'LL SAY IT TONIGHT, DON'T COMPARE ME TO THE ALMIGHTY, COMPARE ME TO THE ALTERNATIVE. AND IF BIDEN IS DOING HIS JOB, WILL BE SORT OF WHAT COMES OUT OF TONIGHT. >> YOU TALKED ABOUT WHY PRESIDENT BIDEN WANTED THIS DEBATE TONIGHT. WHY DID FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP WANT THIS DEBATE? >> I THINK THERE'S A COUPLE REASONS. ONE IS TRUMP WAS OUT THERE SAYING HE WANTED TO BYE DEPOSIT, AND BIDEN ESSENTIAL CALLED HIS BLUFF AND SAID -- TRUMP SID EEL DEBATE ANYWHERE, ANYTIME. IF TRUMP HAD BEEN LEFT TO HIS OWN DEVICES, HE WOULDN'T HAVE WANTED TO DEBATE ON CN, HE WOULD HAVE WANTED A STUDIO AUDIENCE, HE WOULDN'T WANT THE MICS MUTED. I THINK THE COMMISSION WAS -- MIGHT BE WRONG IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS. THEY DON'T PLAY TO TRUMP'S STRENGTHS. I ACTUALLY THINK THEY MIGHT MAKE HIM SEEM MORE DISCIPLINED, BUT ESSENTIAL TRUMP GOT ROLLED INTO. THIS THERE ARE PEOPLE IN HIS INNER CIRCLE WOULD FEEL FRUSTRATED THAT TRUMP BASICALLY, BY SAYING HE WOULD DEBATE ANYWHERE, ANYTIME, GOT PUSHED INTO DOING IT THIS PARTICULAR WAY. ONE OF THE OTHER REASONS THAT I THINK TRUMP IS FINE IS THAT BOTH CANDIDATES ARE GOING TO BE RUSTY. THIS NORMALLY -- WHAT ALWAYS HAPPENS IN PRESIDENTIAL DID HE BOTS GOING BACK IN THE MODERN ERA IS THE SITTING INCUMBENT STRUGGLES IN THE FIRST DEBATE. REMEMBER BARACK OBAMA IN 2012, GEORGE W. BUSH IN 2004. IT'S BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT USED TO BEING CHALLENGED. >> BUT THEY'RE BATTLE TESTED. >> IN THIS CASE TRUMP DOES A LOT OF RALLIES, BUT HE DIDN'T EVER DEBATE RON DeSANTIS AND NIKKI HALEY. >> HE GOT OUT OF THE WHOLE GOP PRIMARY PROCESS THIS YEAR. >> SO NEITHER OF THEM HAS THE SORT OF FRESH DEBATE EXPERIENCE. THE LAST TIME EITHER OF THEM DEBATED WAS WITH EACH OR IN OCTOBER OF 2020. >> LET'S GO BACK TO THE SPIN RIENL ATLANTA AND RHONDA COLVIN WHO IS WITH OUR WASHINGTON POST WHITE HOUSE BUREAU CHIEF. GOOD TO SEE YOU BOTH. >> Reporter: YES, THAT'S RIGHT, I'M WITH OUR COLLEAGUE. YOU HAVE YOUR EAR ON THE GROUND WHEN IT COMES TO THE BIDEN CAMPAIGN AND THE WHITE HOUSE, OBVIOUSLY. TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW THE BIDEN CAMPAIGN WANTS THIS NIGHT TO END. WHAT DO THEY WANT TO HIT AND WHAT DO THEY WANT EVERYBODY TALKING ABOUT AFTER THIS IS OVER TONIGHT? >> I'D SAY THE KEY WORD IS ENERGY. THEY WANT PEOPLE TO SAY THAT BIDEN HAD ENERGY THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT THAT HE WAS STRONG, THAT HE LOOKED LIKE KEY BE PRESIDENT FOR ANOTHER FOUR YEARS. HE'S 81 YEARS OLD. AT THE END OF A SECOND TERM HE WOULD BE 86. THEY WANT HIM TO SHOW HE HAS THE STAMINA TO NOT ONLY RUN A KM PAWN AND PUT TO REST SOME OF THE JITTERS YOU ARE SEEING IS AMONG DEMOCRATS BUT ALSO FOR MODERATE VOTERS, FOR SOME REPUBLICANS THINKING ABOUT VOTING FOR HIM, GIVE THEM A SENSE OF ASSURANCE THAT HE WOULD BE ABLE TO NOT ONLY RUN A CAMPAIGN AGAINST DONALD TRUMP BUT ALSO RUN THE PRESIDENCY FOR ANOTHER FOUR YEARS. THEY WANT TO HIT THEIR SPOTS AGAINST DONALD TRUMP, MAKE THE CASE THAT DONALD TRUMP SUN FIT FOR PRESIDENCY, BUT THEY ALSO WANT TO MAKE A CASE FOR JOE BIDEN THAT HE IS STRONG, ENERGETIC, THAT HE IS NOT THE BUMBLING, OLD, TIRED PERSON THAT THE REPUBLICANS HAVE CALLED HIM THAT HE WOULD BE ABLE TO CLEAR THAT BAR AND MAKE IT VERY CLEAR TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THAT THAT IS AN IMAGE THAT DOES NOT LINE ONE THE REALITY AND THEN MOVE FORWARD IN THE REST OF THE CAMPAIGN AS A STRONG CANDIDATE FOR 2024. >> I REMEMBER WHEN THIS DEBATE WAS FIRST ANNOUNCED THAT BOTH CANDIDATES AGREED, THERE WERE CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS, THERE WERE NATIONAL DEMOCRATS THAT WERE SAYING, BIDEN DOESN'T NEED TO DO THIS HE SHOULD NOT DO THIS BECAUSE TRUMP IS SO UNPREDICTABLE, AND IT JUST MAY NOT WORK OUT WELL FOR BIDEN, AND IT'S HARD TO PREPARE FOR THAT. ARE THERE SPECIFIC WAYS HIS CAMPAIGN IN HIS PREP AT CAMP DAVID AND IN THE WEEKS AHEAD, THAT THEY ARE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT HE CAN MEAT ANY TRUMP THAT HE MIGHT GET TONIGHT? >> THEY HAVE BEEN DOING A LOT OF PREPARATION. THEY HAVE BEEN GOING OVER TRUMP'S PAST STATEMENTS, GOING OVER HIS PAST DEBATES, SEEING HOW HE PERFORMS IN INTERVIEWS AND HOW HE TALKS ABOUT DIFFERENT ISSUES. SO THEY HAVE PREPARED FOR A LOT OF DIFFERENT SCENARIOS. THEY PREPARED FOR THE ANGRY, DYNAMIC TRUMP THAT COMES OUT AND TRIES TO INTERRUPT AND TRIES TO BE BOISTEROUS. THEY HAVE ALSO PREPARED FOR THE TRUMP THAT SADDLE MORE MEASURED, A LITTLE MORE PRESIDENTIAL IN WAYS, AND THEY HAVE TRIED TO SHOWCASE THAT NOT ONLY IS TRUMP UNPREDICTABLE BUT THEY WANT TO MAKE THE CASE THAT TRUMP IS WORSE THAN HE WAS FOUR YEARS AGO, HE WOULD BE A WORSE PRESIDENT IF HE'S ALLOWED TO GET BACK INTO THE OVAL OFFICE. SO THEY ARE GOING TO MAKE THE CASE. THEY ARE GOING TO LISTEN TO WHAT TRUMP SAYS BUT I IMAGINE THAT JOE BIDEN WOULD DO A LOT OF TALKING DIRECTLY TO THE CAMERA, SOMETIMES EVEN IGNORING DONALD TRUMP ON THE STAGE AND MAKING THE CASE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THAT DONALD TRUMP SHOULD NOT BE ELECTED FOR ANOTHER TERM IN OFFICE. >> THERE ARE TWO VERY VULNERABLE AREAS FOR THE PRESIDENT TO GO INTO TONIGHT. THAT'S IMMIGRATION, ALSO THE WAR IN ISRAEL. ARE THERE AREAS IN THOSE ISSUES THAT THE CAMPAIGN REALLY WANTS TO SPECIFICALLY BRING HOME? I KNOW YOU'VE DONE REPORTING ON HOW THEY MIGHT HANDLE THE IMMIGRATION ISSUE. >> ON IMMIGRATION THEY WANT TO POINT TO THE MOST RECENT NUMBERS. EARLIER THIS WEEK THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SAID PEOPLE COMING ACROSS THE BORDER THAT NUMBER HAS GONE DOWN BY 40% JUST SINCE JOE BIDEN SIGNED AN EXECUTIVE ACTION ESSENTIAL RESTRICTING THE ASYLUM PROCESS. SO THEY WANT TO SAY THAT JOE BIDEN TOOK ACTION WHERE REPUBLICANS AND DONALD TRUMP FAILED TO TAKE ACTION. THEY ALSO WANT TO SAY THAT JOE BIDEN ACTUALLY WANTS TO CAUSE A SOLUTION ON THE BORDER WHILE TRUMP JUST WANTS TO USE IT AS A POLITICAL ATTACK LINE. THEY ARE GOING TO BE TRYING TO GO ON OFF ON IMMIGRATION. NOW MAY BE DIFFICULT BECAUSE POLLS SHOW THAT VOTE TRUST TRUMP MORE ON THE BORDER THAN JOE BIDEN. BUT THEY DO HAVE STATISTICS TO SHOW THAT THERE'S LESS CHAOS, LESS OF AN OVERWHELMING SITUATION THERE. SO THEY'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO POINT TO THAT STRONG ACTION THAT JOE BIDEN HAS TAKEN. I IMAGINE THAT'S HOW THEY'RE GOING TO TRY NEUTRALIZE THAT ISSUE, OR AT LEAST TRY TO BATTLE DONALD TRUMP ON THE ISSUE OF IMMIGRATION. WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE BUT TRUMP HAS BEEN TELEGRAPHING HE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT IMMIGRATION VERY FORCEFULLY, ATTACKING JOE BIDEN. AND WHETHER OR NOT JOE BIDEN IS ABLE TO RESPOND TO THOSE ATTACKS WILL DETERMINE IN MANY WAYS HOW THIS DEBATE ENDS UP GOING. >> OUR LAST QUESTION FOR YOU, IN PAST ELECTIONS, WHEN WE HAVE COVERED JOE BIDEN, WE HAVE HEARD FROM HIS CAMPAIGN THAT HE IS GAFFE PROAND, THEY'RE A LITTLE NERVOUS ABOUT WHAT MIGHT COME OUT OF HIS MOUTH. WHAT ARE THEY NERVOUS ABOUT TONIGHT? WHAT MIGHT HAVE ONE OF HIS CAMPAIGN AIDS NAIL BAITING? IS THERE AN AREA OF WEAKNESS THEY'RE WORRIED ABOUT? >> THEY ARE WORRIED ABOUT HOW HE COMES ACROSS PHYSICALLY, WORRIED ABOUT WHETHER HE STUMBLES OVER HIS WORD. DOES HE HAVE A HISTORY OF FIRSTING. WE HAVE SEEN HIS AN WILING TEE TO DIMINISH OVER HIS PRESIDENCY. THEY ARE WORRIED ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT HE PRESENTS HIMSELF AS A CLEAR SPEAKING PRESIDENT, SOMEONE WHAT CAN HOLD THAT OFFICE AND MAKE SURE HE CAN DELIVER A MESSAGE DIRECTLY TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. THEY ARE WORRIED ABOUT TRUMP INTERRUPTING JOE BIDEN. EVEN THOUGH HIS MIC WILL BE MATTED, BIDEN WILL BE ABLE TO HEAR HIM WHEN HE'S TALKING, WHEN HE'S BREATHING HEAVILY, SO THAT COULD THROW BIDEN OFF HIS GAME IF TRUMP STARTS TAKING STEPS TO INTERRUPT HIM. COULD MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR JOE BIDEN TO GET HIS POINT ACROSS. SOMETIMES BIDEN CUTS HIMSELF. HOW MUCH MORE WILL THAT BE A CHALLENGE WHEN YOU HAVE DONALD TRUMP EIGHT FEET AWAY FROM YOU SPEAK AND TRYING TO INTERRUPT. BIDEN'S CAMPAIGN AIDS ARE ALTHOUGH WORRIED THAT THE DELIVERY, EVEN IF HE HAS DONE THE RESEARCH, THAT HIS DELIVERY MIGHT NOT BE AS STRONG AS YOU PRACTICE ONCE YOU GET UNDER THOSE LIGHT. THEY ARE GOING TO BE WATCHING VERY CLOSELY TO SEE IF BIDEN CAN STICK THE LANDING AND GET OUT OF THIS DEBATE FEELING STRONG AND FEELING LIKE DID HE WHAT HE NEEDED TO DO. >> ALWAYS GOOD TO TALK TO YOU. I'M GOING TO SEND THINGS BACK TO YOU IN D.C. >> THANKS SO MUCH, RHONDA. WITH US NOW, DAN BALT, COVERING POLL TUCKS AND CONGRESS. DAN, GOOD EVENING. IS TONIGHT ABOUT PROVING ONESELF AS A CANDIDATE OR PROVING THAT THE OTHER GUY SHOULD NOT BE PRESIDENT? >> WELL, I THINK IT'S OBVIOUSLY A COMBINATION OF BOTH. EACH PERSON WOULD LIKE TO DISQUALIFY THE OTHER, THAT'S DIFFICULT, UNLESS THE OTHER PERSON COOPERATES. I THINK THIS IS A DEBATE IN WHICH BOTH CANDIDATES HAVE SOMETHING TO LOSE, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT TO GAIN. BUT OBVIOUSLY I THINK THE STAKES ARE BIGGER FOR PRESIDENT BIDEN. HE WANTED THIS EARLY DEBATE, AS EVERYBODY HAS SAID. WE KNOW THE REASON WHY, BECAUSE THIS RACE HAS BEEN PRETTY STATIC AND NOT PARTICULARLY IN A GOOD WAY FOR PRESIDENT BIDEN. THE NATIONAL POLLS ARE REASONABLY TIGHT BUT THE BATTLEGROUND STATES, THE FORMER PRESIDENT HAS THE ADVANTAGE. AND SO THIS CURRENT PRESIDENT HAS TO DO SOMETHING TONIGHT TO BEGIN TO CHANGE THE NATURE OF THE RACE. AND THAT'S NOT ALWAYS EASY. HE'S VERY WELL PREPARED. HE HAD SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN CAMP DAVID OVER EVERYTHING, AS INDICATED A MINUTE AGO, BUT I THINK PEOPLE ARE GOING TO JUDGE HIM BY HOW HE LOOKS, HOW HE SOUNDS, THE VIGOR, HIS ABILITY TO REALLY ARCTIC LATE WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT THE WORLD, AND HIS ABILITY TO TALK ABOUT A SECOND TERM IN A WAY THAT PAINTS A POSITIVE PICTURE ABOUT THE STATE OF THE COUNTRY, BECAUSE THIS COUNTRY, AS WE ALL KNOW, IS IN A PRETTY SOUR MOOD. >> HOW MUCH IS RIDING ON TONIGHT, DAN? THE ELECTION IS FOUR MONTHS AWAY. AND YET BOTH CANDIDATES WERE WILLING, ONE OF THEM VERY EAGER, WE KNOW, IN THE CASE OF JOE BIDEN, AND DONALD TRUMP SAID HE WANTED TO DEBATE, EAGER TO GET TO THIS MOMENT TONIGHT. DO THEY HAVE TIME TO TURN IT AROUND IF THEY DON'T DO WELL TONIGHT? >> WELL, I THINK IF SOMEBODY HAS A DISASTROUS NIGHT IT'S GOING TO BE DIFFICULT TO TURN IT AROUND. BUT BECAUSE THIS IS THE EARLIEST DEBATE THAT WE'VE EVER HAD IN A PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, THERE IS MORE TIME THAN YOU WOULD NORMALLY HAVE TO RECOVER FROM SOMETHING. BUT MOST VOTERS, AS WE KNOW, HAVE MADE UP THEIR MIND. A NUMBER OF THE VOTERS WHO HAVEN'T MAY NOT EVEN WATCH THIS DEBATE, AND WHAT THEY WILL SEE, YOU KNOW, ARE THE MOMENTS THAT GO VIRAL, THE SOCIAL MEDIA SLICE AND DICE THAT BOTH CAMPAIGNS WILL DO AND THAT OTHERS WILL DO. SO IS IT A SIGNIFICANT DEBATE? I THINK IT'S BEEN DIFFICULT TO KIND OF OVERHYPE THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS DEBATE. AND YET WE WILL TO HAVE LET IT PLAY OUT AND THEN JUDGE IT ONCE WE'VE SEEN IT. >> YOU'VE DONE REPORTING, DAN, ON THE VARIOUS POLLS WHICH SHOW THE RACE, OF COURSE, AS INCREDIBLY CLOSE. BUT EACH NEWS OUTLET OR POLLSTER POINTS TO IMPORTANT GROUPS, AND THEY'RE ALL IMPORTANT. OLDER VOTERS, BLACK VOTERS, MEN VERSUS WOMEN. CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE SLICING AND DICING OF THE ELECTORATE FOR CLUES THAT EVERYONE IS DOING RIGHT NOW? >> WELL, I THINK THE BIGGEST GROUPS, THE MOST IMPORTANT GROUPS THAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW ARE ONES THAT HAVE TRADITIONALLY BEEN IN THE DEMOCRATIC CAMP, AND SUPPORTED PRESIDENT BIDEN IN 20 20, BUT HAVE SLID AWAY, AND THAT'S YOUNGER BLACK VOTERS AND HISPANICS, AND PARTICULARLY HISPANIC MEN. THOSE ARE THE TWO GROUPS WHERE THE INCUMBENT PRESIDENT IS UNDERPERFORMING WHAT HE DONE 2020. THEY ARE CRUCIAL TO HIS SUCCESS. AND HE IS GOING TO NEED TO DO SOMETHING TO BRING THEM BACK. I'M NOT CONVINCED THAT TONIGHT'S DEBATE WILL SOLVE THAT PROBLEM FOR HIM. THAT'S A LONGER TERM PROBLEM THAT THE CAMPAIGN KNOWS ABOUT AND IS WORKING ON. OBVIOUSLY SUBURBAN WOMEN ARE ALWAYS IMPORTANT. SUBURBAN VOTERS IN GENERAL AND SUBURBAN VOTERS, WOMEN IN PARTICULAR, THAT'S WHY YOU'LL HEAR THE PRESIDENT TALKING ABOUT ABORTION AND WHAT TRUMP DONE CHANGING THE SUPREME COURT, WHICH OVERTURNED ROE V. WADE, AND WHAT SOME OF THE STATES ARE DOING AND THE THREAT TO ABORTION RIGHTS IN THE COUNTRY. SO THOSE ARE AMONG THE GROUPS. ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE SEEN, YOU MENTIONED OLDER VOTERS, OLDER VOTERS SEEM TO BE MORE FAVORABLE TO BIDEN THIS TIME AROUND THAN THEY WERE THE LAST TIME. WE KNOW FROM ALL THE POLLING THAT MEN ARE VERY FAVORABLE TO DONALD TRUMP, AND WOMEN ARE SOMEWHAT MORE FAVORABLE TO BIDEN. WE KNOW THAT THE BIG DIVIDE IN THIS COUNTRY IS BETWEEN COLLEGE EDUCATED VOTERS AND VOTERS WHO DO NOT HAVE A COLLEGE EDUCATION. SO WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO PARSE THESE POLLS TO TRY TO LOOK FOR CLUES. BUT THE POLLS, BECAUSE OF THE SAMPLE SIZES ARE OFTEN LIMITED IN OUR ABILITY TO REALLY MAKE JUDGMENTS ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON. >> DAN BALT, CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, THANK YOU SO MUCH. >> THANK. >> J M, LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT THE CANDIDATES ARE EACH SPEAKING TO. DAN POINTED OUT THAT WHILE THIS IS A VERY HIGH-STAKES NIGHT, PEOPLE ARE WATCHING WITH US TONIGHT. A LOT OF VOTERS, OR POTENTIAL VOTERSL GET THEIR INFORMATION TOMORROW OR IN THE COMING DAYS AND WEEKS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA CLIPS, VIRAL MOMENTS. SO WHO DOES A CANDIDATE SPEAK TO TONIGHT? >> I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE CRUCIAL POINTS OF TONIGHT, LIBBY, WHICH IS PART OF THE REASON THAT THESE DEBATES MATTER IS BECAUSE OF HOW THEY ARE FRAMED IN PRESS COVERAGE, ON SOCIAL MEDIA, IN THE HOURS AND DAYS AFTER THE DEBATE. SOMETIMES THOSE ARE WHERE THE BIGGEST MOMENTS COME, FROM AND THINGS THAT MAYBE CHANGE THE MOMENTUM, IF YOU WILL, OF THE RACE. AND I THINK THAT THAT IS ALSO IMPORTANT, BECAUSE WHAT RHONDA WAS TALKING ABOUT JUST A MOMENT AGO IN TERMS OF WHAT SOME OF THE TRUMP SURROGATES, COMING IN WITH TALKING HEAVY ON POLICY, A LITTLE MORE SUBDUED, THEY'RE NOT AS COMBATIVE, THAT'S A CHANGE FROM EVEN 48, 72 HOURS AGO WHEN THEY WERE TALKING, THEY WERE TOSSING OUT CONSPIRACY THEORIES ABOUT PRESIDENT BIDEN, HOW HE IS GOING TO COME INTO THIS DEBATE, WHERE THEY WERE BEING EXTREMELY COMBATIVE, CHALLENGING THE OBJECTIVITY AND FAIRNESS OF JAKE TAPPER AND DANA BASH WHO WILL BE CO-MODERATING THIS DEBATE TONIGHT. SO THEY ARE IN SOME WAYS ALREADY STARTING TO PAY THAT MEDIA FRAMING GAME, AND THAT IS AS MUCH A PART OF THE EQUATION TONIGHT AS MAYBE THE MOMENTS THAT HAPPEN ON THAT STAGE. >> IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS THAT STICK WITH PEOPLE. AND IT REALLY IS A REMARKABLE HOW EVEN THINGS THAT AREN'T SAID CAN END UP DEFINING THESE DEBATES. LITTLE STUFF LIKE MELANIA TRUMP ISN'T THERE TONIGHT, JILL BIDEN. WILL THAT BREAK THROUGH WITH SOME OF THESE SUBURBAN WOMEN THAT DAN WAS TALKING ABOUT? >> AND ONE WAY WE MAY SEE EVIDENCE, AT THE END OF THE DEBATE, THE CANDIDATES ARE ALLOWED TO BRING ONE PERSON ON THE STAGE WITH THEM. WHO WILL THAT BE? >> RIGHT. BUT YOU THINK ABOUT LIKE 2004, AND 2000, IN BOTH OF THOSE DEBATES, GEORGE W. BUSH'S OPPONENTS WERE SIGHING AND BREATHING, AL GORE IN 2000 WAS LIKE -- AND THERE WAS ONE POINT WHERE AL GORE GOT IN BUSH'S PERSONAL SPACE AND BUSH SORT OF TURNED TO HIM AND NODDED. THIS ISN'T HIGH SCHOOL DEBATE. I DID HIGH SCHOOL DEBATE. YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO JUJT ON POINTS AND YOU WANT TO HAVE THE FLOW AND LOOK AT WOULD IS WING ON THE ARGUMENTS. THERE IS NO MYSTERY ABOUT WHERE EITHER OF THESE CANDIDATES STAND ON THE ISSUE BECAUSE THEY HAVE A RECORD. , BECAUSE VOTERS KIND OF FEEL LIKE THEY KNOW BOTH OF THEM PRETTY WELL. SO IT'S ABOUT TEMPERAMENT AND IT IS ABOUT LOOKING PRESIDENTIAL AND THESE DEBATES HAVE BECOME SO MUCH LESS EDIFYING WHEN YOU GO BACK. THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE THE LINCOLN DOUGLAS DEBATES. THIS ISN'T GOING TO BE THE KENNEDY-NICKS ON DEBATES. 2004, 2008, 20 12, THERE WERE SO MANY FEWER INTERRUPTIONS, THERE WASN'T THE CROSS-TALK, THERE WEREN'T THE PERSONAL ATTACKS, AND THE -- IN SOME WAYS, TRUMP IS A SYMPTOM, IN OTHER WAYS HE'S A CAUSE OF OUR POLITICS BECOMING A LOT NASTIER OVER THE LAST DECADE. >> LET'S GO BACK TO RHONDA COLVIN WHAT IS IN ATLANTA IN THAT SPIN ROOM, DEBATE A HALF- HOUR AWAY. A REMINDER THAT WE WILL HAVE THIS SIMULCAST LIVE RIGHT HERE ON THIS STREET. RHONDA, YOU HAVE BEEN CHECKING IN WITH VOTERS WHO ARE PART OF A LARGE-SCALE WASHINGTON POST SURVEY. TELL US MORE ABOUT WHO ARE THESE VOTERS, AND WHAT DO THEY WANT OUT OF THE DEBATE? >> Reporter: THAT'S RIGHT THIS IS A PART OF OUR POLL WITH GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY WHERE WE ARE TRACKING PEOPLE WE'RE CALLING DECIDERS. THESE ARE VOTERS WHO EITHER ARE UNCOMMITTED, THEY DON'T SHOW A STRONG LEANING TOWARD BIDEN OR TRUMP, AND THEY ALSO MAY NOT AFTER VERY REGULAR VOTING PATTERN, SO THEY'RE SORT OF THE SLICE OF AMERICA THAT HASN'T CHON A CANDIDATE YET AND MAY BE UNDECIDED. ADDING TO THAT THEY LIVE IN SWING STATES, TOO. THESE ARE THE STATES THAT ALWAYS KEEP US UP AT NIGHT AND WE'RE CONTINUING REPORTING THE ELECTION ABOUT PENNSYLVANIA, NEVADA, ARIZONA RESULTS COME IN. THEY'RE FROM THOSE STATES. I TALKED TO A COUPLE THIS WEEK TO FIND OUT WHEN DO THEY WANT TO HEAR FROM THE CANDIDATES. TWO THINGS STRUCK ME. ONE IS THAT THE LACK OF ENTHUSIASM AMONG VOTERS ABOUT THIS ELECTION IS VERY REAL. PEOPLE ARE VERY STRESSED ABOUT IT. THEY ARE VERY AMBIVALENT ABOUT IT. YES, THEY KNOW IT'S COMING, BUT IT'S ALMOST AS IF THEY DON'T WANT NOVEMBER TO COME. THEY'RE NOT AS ENTHUSIASTIC AS PEOPLE HAVE BEEN IN PAST CYCLES. WE'VE DONE A LOT OF REPORTING ON DOUBLE UNHAPPIES AND PEOPLE IN THAT PORTION OF AMERICA. ALSO I LEARNED FROM THEM THEY REALLY WANT TO HEAR ABOUT POLICY. THEY SORT OF ARE STARVED FOR IT, BECAUSE THE PRIMARY CYCLE AS WELL AS THE GENERAL ELECTION CYCLE, IT JUST HASN'T HAD A LOT OF POLICY DISCUSSION. IT'S BEEN OVERSHADOWED BY ALL SORTS OF OTHER DRAMAS, AND PEOPLE AT HOME WANT TO HEAR THESE CANDIDATES TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY WILL DO FOR THEM. TAKE A LISTEN TO WHAT THESE VOTERS TOLD ME. >> I HEARD A LOT ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS SPECIFICALLY. SO IF THEY DISCUSS ANYTHING ABOUT ROE V. WADE OR ANYTHING INVOLVING LGBT RIGHTS AND HELPING REVERSE SOME OF THE ANTI-TRANS LEGISLATION THAT'S BEEN PASSED OVER THE PAST YEARS I'M DEFINITELY -- THAT'S DEFINITELY GOT MY VOTE, BUT IT'S KIND OF LIKE THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE THEY'RE BOTH NOT GREAT. >> FOR BIDEN, HE WOULD HAVE TO SHOW THAT, YOU KNOW, TANGIBLE STEPS TO LOWER COSTS AND GET SOME THINGS SORTED OUT IN THAT KIND OF WAY, JUST FOR EVERYDAY LIFE. AND THEN FOR TRUMP, I THINK THAT WE NEED TO HEAR SOME TANGIBLE AND SPECIFIC ACTIONABLE POINTS THAT AREN'T ALL HIS PERSONAL VENDETTA. >> Reporter: SO THOSE TWO SORT OF REPRESENT WHAT A LOT OF THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN SURVEYED ARE SAYING. THEY WANT TO HEAR MORE POLICY DISCUSSION. WITH YOU EVEN THOUGH THEY WILL BE WATCHING TONIGHT, THOSE TWO VOTESSERS TOLD ME THEY WOULD BE WATCHING, THEY ALSO FEEL LIKE THEY KNOW THESE TWO CANDIDATES VERY WELL. IT JUST HELPS WITH THE ANGST OF DECIDING TO VOTE, WHETHER OR NOT TO VOTE IN NOVEMBER. AND THAT ALSO UNDERSCORES HOW IMPORTANT A NIGHT LIKE THIS, BECAUSE WE KNOW FROM COVERING PAST DEBATES, PAST ELECTION CYCLES THAT DEBATES REALLY CAN HELP BRING MOMENTUM, KIND OF MAKE A BIT OF A TURN FOR THE CANDIDATE. AGAIN, WE ARE A FEW MONTHS OUT FROM NOVEMBER, AND REALLY ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. BUT THIS NIGHT IS IMPORTANT TO A LOT OF VOTERS WHO JUST DON'T SEEM TO KNOW TO DO WITH THIS RACE. >> LET'S TALK ABOUT THOSE VOTERS THAT RHONDA SPOKE TO. ISABELLE, THE FIRST PERSON, WAS SAYING THINGS THAT WOULD MAKE HER A JOE BIDEN VOTER, PRETTY CLEAR-CUT, BUT YET WE'RE HEARING RELUCTANCE AND DISINTEREST IN SUPPORTING HIM. WHAT ARE YOUR CONVERSATIONS TELLING YOU ABOUT THE CORE OF THAT ISSUE? >> IF JOE BIDEN WAS TEN YEARS YOUNGER HE WOULD BE WINNING THIS ELECTION. IT WOULD STILL BE CLOSE, BUT A LOT OF IT IS THAT PEOPLE DON'T FEEL THAT HE HAS THE ENERGY TO GOVERN AND THE STAMINA TO FINISH THIS JOB FOR FOUR MORE YEARS. HE PRESENTS OLD. HE'S ONLY THREE YEARS OLDER. TRUMP JUST TURNED 78 LAST WEEK. HE'S ONLY 81. BUT IT COMES UP WHEN I TALK TO VOTERS, WHEN I TALK TO STRATEGISTS, IT OBVIOUSLY IS A TOP CONCERN OF PEOPLE AT THE WHITE HOUSE. IT IS THIS HUGE LIABILITY THAT PEOPLE JUST AREN'T SURE HE'S UP FOR THE JOB. AND THAT IS JOB ONE FOR BYE KEN TONIGHT, CONVINCING PEOPLE THAT HE HAS THE ENERGY TO GET THIS DONE. THAT'S WHY HE WAS DOWN FOR A FULL WEEK GOING IN. >> PREPARING. >> PREPARING AT CAMP DAVID. AND THEY DID THE SAME THING BEFORE THE STATE OF THE UNION, WHERE DID HE WELL. >> BUT I DO HAVE TO SAY THAT'S MORE TYPICAL, TYPICAL APPROACH. TRUMP HAS HIS OWN PREPARATION. EVEN THOUGH HE WAS SORT OF BLOWING OFF PREPARATION, HE HAS BEEN DOING PREPARATION AS WELL. SO BIDEN HAS TAKEN THAT TRADITIONAL APPROACH, BUT THE FACT THAT HE WAS HAVING NO OTHER ENTS, COMPLETELY DARK, TOTALLY HOLED UP -- >> THAT'S UNUSUAL. HE DIDN'T GO AND -- THERE WAS A PRIDE EVENT AT THE WHITE HOUSE THIS WEEK THAT JILL BIDEN APPEARED AT. HE HAS BEEN REALLY FOCUSED ON PREPARING, BECAUSE HE KNOWS THAT HE HAS TO PROJECT ENERGY TONIGHT. >> LET'S BRING IN ASHLEY PARKER, SENIOR NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT. ASHLEY, I WANT TO PICK UP WITH YOU RIGHT THERE. RHONDA HAS BEEN TALKING TO VOTERS, YOU HAVE TALKED TO VOTERS. ONE OF THEM BROUGHT UP COST OF GOODS AND INFLATION. HOW ARE VOTERS TALKING TO YOU ABOUT ECONOMY AND THEIR PERSONAL FEELINGS ABOUT THE ECONOMY AND WHAT THE CANDIDATES NEED TO DO TO WIN THEM OVER? >> IT'S A QUESTION I AM ACTUALLY VERY WELL EQUIPPED TO ANSWER BECAUSE JUST LAST MONTH I WAS IN HUDSON, WISCONSIN, WHICH IS A SMALL IN TO WESTERN WISCONSIN, THAT'S FULL OF SORT OF DOUBLE HATERS OR DOUBLE DISLIKERS, THESE VOTERS WHO DON'T REALLY LIKE EITHER OPTION AND ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO. A NUMBER OF VOTERS, WHEN IT CAME TO POLICY ISSUES, THEY HAD POLICY CONCERNS ABOUT PRESIDENT BIDEN AND SORT OF PERSONALITY AND BEHAVIOR CONCERNS ABOUT FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP. BUT THE TWO THINGS THEY MENTIONED WERE THE ISRAEL-GAZA WAR AND THE ECONOMY. AND A NUMBER OF THEM WOULD SAY, I DON'T REALLY LIKE FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP BEHAVES, WHAT HE TWEETS, BUT I LIKED THE ECONOMY BETTER UNDER HIT. AGAIN, WHEN THEY'RE SAYING THIS, THERE'S ACTUALLY A LOT OF INDICATORS, ECONOMIC INDICATORS UNDER PRESIDENT BIDEN WHERE THE ECONOMY GOING QUITE WELL. BUT TO YOUR QUESTION, IN THEIR DAILY LIVES, THAT'S WHAT THEY WERE REFERRING TO. THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW THEY FEEL WHEN THEY GO TO BUY GAS AND GO TO BUY GROCERIES, AND ONE MAN IMMEDIATELY POPS TO MIND, HIS NAME WAS JIM, AND I SORT OF ACCOSTED HIM IN A COUNTRY MARKET THERE WHILE HE WAS SHOPPING. HE WAS LOOKING FOR A PICKLING SPICE BECAUSE HE WAS GOING TO PICKLE SOME NORTHERN TROUT, AND HE SAID, LOOK, I DON'T LIKE EITHER CANDIDATE BUT I THINK AIM PROBABLY GOING TO VOTE FOR TRUMP BECAUSE WHEN I PAY FOR THIS I'M GOING TO GET OFF ALL OVER AGAIN ABOUT HOW EXPENSIVE GROCERIES ARE. >> ASHLEY, WE'RE GOING TO JUMP BACK TO ATLANTA AND RHONDA COUL VICINITY. RHONDA. >> Reporter: THAT'S RIGHT, I'M HERE IN THE MEDIA AREA AND SPIN ROOM WITH VIVEK RAMASWAMY WHO RAN IN THE PROCEDURE RACE. YOU ARE HERE ON BEHALF OF PRESIDENT TRUMP -- FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP. WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT WHAT VOTERS WANT OUT OF THIS. SOME OF THE VOTERS I TALKED TO SAID THEY WANT THIS TO BE ABOUT POLICY AND THAT'S SOMETHING THEY HAVE NOT HEARD FROM THE FORMER PRESIDENT. WHAT TYPE OF POLICY DUE THINK THE FORMER PRESIDENT WILL BE BRING UP TONIGHT? IS THERE ONE SPECIFIC THING THAT HE CAN TALK ABOUT? >> I THINK TWO AREAS ARE IMMIGRATION AND ECONOMY. WE HAVE HAD THE LARGEST ILLEGAL MASS MIGRATION INTO THIS COUNTRY IN OUR LIFETIME BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR CRIME IN CITIES ACROSS THIS COUNTRY? I THINK IT'S A GOOD TOPIC FOR BOTH CANDIDATES TO OPINE ON AND FOR THE MODERATORS. SECOND IS ECONOMIC GROWTH. PRICES HAVE GONE UP, WAGES NT. NOT AT THE PSALM PAVEMENTS AMERICANS FEEL IN THAT THEIR POCKETBOOK NO MATTER WHAT THEY'RE TOLD BY THE POLITICAL CLASS OR MEDIA. I THINK THOSE WILL BE TWO GREAT AREAS. I DO AGREE WITH THAT VOTER YOU TALKED TO. IF THIS IS A DEBATE ABOUT HISTORICAL POLICY AND VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF THE COUNTRY THIS IS GOING TO BE A SERVICE TO AMERICA THIS DEBATE WILL TONIGHT. IF THIS IS ABOUT PAST ACCUSATIONS, LABELS TO CONFER ON ONE CANDIDATE OR THE OTHER, CONVICTED FELON THIS OR WHATEVER, I THSKT'S GOING TO BE A DISSERVICE TO THE COUNTRY. THE QUESTION, IN SOME WHRAIS PEOPLE ASK WHICH BIDEN IS SHOWING UP OR WHICH TRUMP SHOWS UP, I'M INTERESTED ON WHICH CNN SHOWS UP. IF THEY FOCUS THIS ON POLICY, IT'S GOING TO BE GOOD FOR AMERICA. >> WE HAVE TO SAY THAT A WEEK FROM TODAY HE IS GOING BACK TO NEW YORK TO FACE A INSPECTION HEARING. SHOULD HE ADDRESS THE CONVICTION AND OTHER CHARGES? >> I HAVE MY VIEWS, I HAVE BEEN CLEAR ABOUT THEM, IT'S NO SECRET. I THINK THIS CONVICTION IS IN MANHATTAN IS A BETRAYAL OF THE RULE OF LAW. I'M NOT ALONE IN SAYING THAT. LEGAL SCHOLAR, INCLUDING SOME ON THE CENTER LEFT, HAVE SAID THE SAME THING. BACK TO 2020. THE HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP STORY WAS SUPPRESSED ON THE EVE OF THE ELECTION. MANY VOTERS SAID THEY MIGHT HAVE CHANGED THEIR VOTE HAD THEY HAD ACCESS TO THAT INFORMATION. THAT DESTROYED THE LEGITIMACY OF THE ELECTION IN THE EYES OF SO MANY AMERICANS. I WORRIED ABOUT THAT RISK ON STEROIDS. IN 2024, I WANT TO IMAGINE A SCENARIO, LET'S SAY BIDEN NARROWLY WINS AN ELECTION AFTER LABELING HIM A CONVICTED FELON, THEN THE SUPREME COURT LATER OVERTURNS THAT CONVICTION AS MANY LEGAL SCHOLARS EXPECT. I WORRY ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS FOR THIS COUNTRY BECAUSE WE ARE SKATING ON THIN ICE, AND WE CAN'T TAKE THAT TYPE OF BLOW OF PUBLIC TRUST TO OUR CONFIDENCE. >> AND ONE QUICK QUESTION FOR YOU LASTLY. CAN THE FORMER PRESIDENT BE MEASURED? WE DON'T OFTEN SEE HIM MEASURED. WE SEE HIM COMBATIVE. CAN HE COME IN AND BE MEASURED? >> I THINK DONALD TRUMP HAS ALL THE OCTAVES ON THE KEYBOARD. BUT MY ADVICE, AND I SHARED THIS WITH HIM, YOU BE YOU. NOT ANY SPES 12350EUD TALKING POINT. BUT ONE THINGS THAT DOESN'T COME ACROSS,'S PRESIDENT WOULD ACTUALLY IN HIS HEART CARES ABOUT YOU KNOW NEWTING THE COUNTRY. I DON'T THINK THAT ALWAYS COMES ACROSS. BUT IF WE SEE A GLIMMER OF THAT COME ACROSS TONIGHT, THAT'S TRUE DONALD TRUMP, THE STORY THAT DOESN'T GET TOLD, I'M HOPEFUL THAT IT DOES REALLY GOOD FOR THE COUNTRY AND GOOD FOR HE SHOWING A LOT OF INDEPENDENTS WHO ARE UNCERTAIN HOW TO VOTE WHO THEY ARE GOING TO VOTE FOR. FOR PEOPLE WATCHING AT HOME, YES THERE'S IMMIGRATION, ECONOMY, EVERYTHING ELSE, BUT ASK YOURSELF WHICH OF THOSE TWO LEADERS IS PROUD OF BEING AN AMERICAN, PROUD OF BEING A CREDIT ACCEPT, IS PROUD AND STANDS FOR AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM WITHOUT APOLOGIZING FOR IN THE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE ARE HUNGRY FOR. HUNGRY TO BE PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER THAN OURSELVES, HUNGRY TO BE PART OF A COUNTRY GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS. I THINK DONALD TRUMP'S EMBRACE OF AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM IS SOMETHING THAT'S AN INTANGIBLE THAT COMES ACROSS IN A WAY THAT BRINGS THE NEXT GENERATION THAT'S HUNGRY FOR THAT ALONG WITH THEM. >> Reporter: VIVEK RAMASWAMY, THANK YOU FOR STANDING BY. >> IT'S GOOD TO SEE U. >> Reporter: IT GEESE TO SIGH. WE'LL SEND THINGS BACK TO THE STUDIO. >> I'M GOING TO WRING ASHLEY PARKER BACK. THANKS FOR STICKING WITH US. THAT'S ONE OF THE FOLKS WHO COULD BE VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE. TRUMP HAS SORT OF TEASED THIS. HE'S ONE TO DO. HE OF COURSE USED TO BE THE HOST OF THE APPRENTICE BUT HE HAS TALKED ABOUT ALL OF THESE POTENTIAL VICE PRESIDENT CANDIDATES. RAM SWAM MAE IS ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO COULD BE CONSIDERED. HOW MUCH ARE THESE FORMER RIVALS OF HIS OR LONGTIME SUPPORTERS OF HIS AUDITIONING FOR THAT JOB STILL. >> OH, THEY WILL BE AUDITIONING FOR THAT JOB UP UNTIL THE MOMENT WHEN FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP ANNOUNCES HIS PICK, AND THAT'S BECAUSE HE WANTS THAT IT WAY. HE LOVES TO SEE PEOPLE PERFORM FOR HIM. HE SORT OF UNDERSTANDS THE SHOW MANSHIP OF IT, AND, YOU KNOW, KEEPING THE AUDIENCE ON THE EDGE OF THEIR SEAT, WAITING WITH BAITED BREATH, BUT HE'S ALSO SOMEONE, WHEN HE TOOK THE PRESIDENCY, HE ORIGINALLY THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A BIT MORE LIKE A MONARCHY AND WAS FRUSTRATED TO FIND OUT THAT YOU HAVE TO GET CONGRESS ONBOARD, YOU JUST CAN'T DECREE THINGS LIKE A KING. SO ANY CHANCE HE HAS TO MAKE PEOPLE DANCE AND JUMP IN FRONT OF HIM AND KISS HIS RING IS SOMETHING, NOT JUST FROM THAT SHOW MANSHIP AND HE LIKES, BUT ALSO HE FINDS QUITE GRATIFYING PERSONALLY. >> I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU, ASHLEY, WHY YOU THINK BOTH CANDIDATES AGREED TO THIS DEBATE, BECAUSE IT'S STILL FOUR MONTHS OUT. WE TOTALLY SCUTTLED THE PLAN TO GO WITH THE BIPARTISAN DEBATE COMMISSION THAT USUALLY STRUCTURES THE DEBATE. WHY TONIGHT? >> WELL, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT PRESIDENT BIDEN AND HIS TEAM PROPOSED, AND SORT OF LAID OUT SOME TERMS THAT TRUMP AND HIS TEAM AGREED TO. FOR BYE DEPOSIT, THEIR CHALLENGE AS HE HAS SAID REPEATEDLY, FOR HIM TO WIN, DON'T COMPARE ME TO THE ALMIGHTY, COMPARE ME TO THE ALTERNATIVE. THE CHALLENGE WITH THAT, THERE'S A HEAVY DOSE OF TRUMP AMNESIA WHERE A HUGE SWATH OF THE COUNTRY HAS FORGOTTEN WHAT THEY DISLIKED ABOUT HIM AND WHY THEY VOTED HIM OUT FOUR YEARS AGO. SO THE BIDEN TEAM CALCULATED THAT THEY NEED THE COUNTRY TO START PAYING ATTENTION TO THE ALTERNATIVE. AND TO -- AND THEY THOUGHT A DEBATE WOULD BE THE BEST WAY TO SORT OF FOCUS THE ATTENTION ON ALL THE THINGS THAT VOTERS TELL ME AND THEIR FRIENDS AND EVERYONE ELSE WHAT THEY DON'T LIKE ABOUT PRESIDENT TRUMP, SORT THE BORISHNESS, THE CRASSNESS, THE TWEETS, THE PERSONALITY, THE CHAOS THAT ALWAYS SEEMS TO SURROUND HIM. AND TRUMP SAID, YES, IN PART, HE CAN'T REALLY TURN DOWN A CHALLENGE, BUT ALSO HE HAS SOMETHING TO GAIN, TOO. HE WANTS TO REMIND VOTERS IN PART OF HIS MESSAGE, WHICH IS THAT HE THINKS HE CAN SHOW THAT BIDEN IS TOO OLD, TOO IMFEEBLED. AND WHEN I TALK TO VOTERS, THEY TOLD ME THEY LIKE SOME OF HIS POLICIES BUT THEY DON'T LIKE HIM PERSONALLY. SO IT KIND OF DEPENDS WHICH TRUMP SHOWS UP BUT THEY ARE HOPING THEY CAN CLOSE THAT GAP AND FOCUS MORE ON THE POLICIES THAT THE COUNTRY DID SEEM TO LIKE AND LESS ON BEING SORT OF HIMSELF. >> FINALLY, ASHLEY, WE'RE GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE SHORT ABOUT EXACTLY WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TONIGHT IN TERMS OF THE PARAMETERS AND RULES BUT ONE THING WE DO KNOW IS THAT THE MICS WILL BE TURNED OFF WHEN PEOPLE ARE NOT SPEAK. WE'VE BEEN TALK IN THE STUDIO ABOUT WHO THAT BENEFITS BECAUSE IN ONE WAY IT COULD BENEFIT, I THINK THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM, BIDEN, BECAUSE IT TRUMPS INTERRUPTING, THAT AGGRESSION, WON'T YOU JUST SHUT UP, MAN, THAT BIDEN HAD TO DO A FEW YEARS AGO. BUT JAMES IS BRING UP THE POINT THAT IT COULD ALSO HELP TRUMP BECAUSE IT DOES COOL THE TEMPERATURE. IT FORCES HIM TO CALM DOWN AND KEEP IT TOGETHER. WHAT DO YOU THINK? >> THAT IS KIND OF ONE OF THE QUESTIONS, NOT ONLY THAT, BUT IT POTENTIALLY FORCES TRUMP TO NOT BEHAVE IN A WAY THAT VOTERS FRANKLY DON'T LIKE. BUT THEN THERE'S IS SOME UNKNOWNS. WHAT HAPPENS IF A CANDIDATE'S MIC IS CUT, SO THE AUDIENCE CAN'T HEAR WHAT THEY'RE SAYING, BUT ESSENTIAL THE OTHER CANDIDATE STANDING UP ON STAGE NEXT TO THEM CAN HEAR. SO I CAN ENVISION A SCENARIO WHERE TRUMP IS CONTINUING TO BARREL AHEAD, HIS MICROPHONE IS OFF, AND BIDEN IS PAUSED BECAUSE HE HEARS TRUMP RIGHT NEXT TO HIM, BUT TO THE AUDIENCE AT HOME, DOES IT LOOK LIKE HE IS FROZEN? DOES IT UNFAIRLY PLAY INTO THAT NARRATIVE THAT HE IS TOO OLD? I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS WE DON'T QUITE KNOW HOW IT WILL PLAY OUT. >> ASHLEY PARKER, THANK YOU SO MUCH. I KNOW WILL YOU BE WATCHING RIGHT ALONGSIDE US TONIGHT. APPRECIATE YOU TALKING WITH US. JM, HOW MUCH HAS CHANGED IN FOUR YEARS? BECAUSE JAMES BROUGHT UP THE POINT THAT THE LAST TIME THESE TWO MEN DEBATED WAS FOUR YEARS AGO AGAINST EACH OTHER, AND USUALLY BY NOW THE CHALLENGER IS MORE SEASONED IN DEBATES BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH THE PRIMARY PROCESS. NOT THIS TIME BECAUSE TRUMP SAT OUT. SO HOW MUCH HAS CHANGED IN FOUR YEARS? >> A LOT HAS CHANGED, AS JAMES WAS REFERENCING EARLIER, JUST IN TERMS OF THE RUST FACTOR. I THINK THAT'S CORRECT, WHICH IS THEY'RE BOTH ACTUALLY COMING WYNN RUST. BUT ALSO THE POLLING IS DIFFERENT. TRUMP IS LEADING BYE DONE SOME NATIONAL POLLS. HE NEVER LED BIDEN IN A WASHINGTON POST NATIONAL POLL IN 2020. SO THIS IS A VERY DIFFERENT RACE THAN IN 2020. >> AND WHEN WE REFLECT ON THE 2020 DEBATE THAT THESE CANDIDATES DID WHAT STANDS OUT TO YOU IN TERMS OF LESSONS LEARNED? >> YEAH, YOU KNOW, I THINK TRUMP LEARNED HIS LESSON, AND HE SAID HE LEARNED HIS LESSON FROM THAT FIRST DEBATE AGAINST BIDEN, BUT BY THE TIME THEY GOT TO THE THIRD DEBATE, THEY HAD TO SKIP THE SECOND, BY THE TIME THEY GOT TO THE THIRD IT WAS ALMOST TOO LATE IN SKETCHES. WE KNOW FROM POLLING THAT AT MOST THIS IS GOING TO SHIFT A POINT OR A COUPLE OF POINTS ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, KIND OF POST- DEBATE, AND EVEN THAT'S A LITTLE DUBIOUS IN TERMS OF HOW MUCH WE CAN ATTRIBUTE SPECIFICALLY TO THE DEBATES, BECAUSE THE DEBATES DON'T HAPPEN IN A VAC CUTE. BOTH OF THESE HAVE CAMPAIGN EVENTS SCHEDULED TOMORROW RIGHT AFTER THIS DEBATE. BUT HAVING SAID THAT, YES, YOU KNOW, I THINK THEY BOTH -- THEY ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE OTHER ONE. THEY HAVE BOTH KIND OF BEEN THERE, DONE. THEY HAVE DONE THIS RODEO BEFORE. AND THEY KIND OF WANT A PIECE OF EACH OTHER. >> NOT ONLY THE BIDEN PRESIDENCY HAS BEEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THESE FOUR YEARS BUT JANUARY 6th HAS BEEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT TRANSITION, FROM AFTER THE TIME THEY DEBATED, TRUMP LOST, THEN BIDEN WAS SWORN IN. JANUARY 6th WAS IN MANY WAYS REALLY A CATACLYSMIC MOMENT ON THE VERGE OF THE BIDEN PRESIDENCY. AND JOE BIDEN REFERENCES THAT OFTEN WHEN HE TALKS ABOUT DEMOCRACY AND HE TALKS ABOUT THE STABILITY OF OUR NATION. AND IT LEFT AN IMPRESSION ON HIM, NOT JUST IN TERMS OF SORT OF THE POLITICS AND TRUMP'S -- WHAT A TRUMP PRESIDENCY WOULD BE LIKE, BUT IT REALLY IMPACTED HOW HE SEES THAT MAN. >> YEAH. HE SAID PUBLICLY IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS THAT HE FELT LIKE HE HAD TO RUN FOR A SECOND TERM. WHAT'S INTERESTING, I WENT BACK AND WE WATCHED THE 2020 DEBATES. WHAT WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT IS TRUMP ACTUALLY HAD COVID DURING THAT FIRST DEBATE, AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS HE DIDN'T DO WELL. BUT THE MODERATOR, CHRIS WALLACE, ASKED, WILL YOU ACCEPT THE RESULTS OF THE ELECTION, TRUMP WAS IN COMMITTAL. BIDEN ACTUALLY SAID IF TRUMP LOSES, HE'S GOING TO ACCEPT THE VOTES. IT IS SORT OF STRIKING TO WATCH, JUST BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS ON JANUARY 6th, AND YOU KNOW THAT EVEN NOW TRUMP WON'T ACKNOWLEDGE THAT HE LEGITIMATELY LOST. >> PROBABLY A QUESTION THAT'S GOING TO COME UP FROM THE MODERATORS. >> I ASSUME IT WILL COME UP EARLY. I ASSUME TRUMPS AIDS PRESSED HIM SO HARD, PIVOT TO MAKE THIS ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND THE ECONOMY. AND BIDEN IS GOING TO TRY TO PUSH TRUMP, AND TRUMP'S EGO IS ON THE LINE BECK DOESN'T WANT TO ADMIT HE LOST THE ELECTION. IT SAYS SO MUCH ABOUT HIS PERSONALITY THAT HE CAN'T DO. I DO THINK THAT GIVES A LOT OF VOTERS PAUSE WHO MAYBE DON'T PARTICULARLY THINK JOE BIDEN IS DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT WHEN YOU SEE DONALD TRUMP SAY HE'S GOING TO PARDON THE POLITICAL PRISONERS FROM JANUARY 6th, YOU'RE SORT OF LIKE, JEEZ, IS THIS THE GUY WE WANT TO GIVE THE KEYS TO THE GOVERNMENT TO AGAIN? >> RHONDA, LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT TO EXPECT TONIGHT. 90 MINUTES OF DEBATE, TWO MODERATORS, DANA BASH AND JAKE TAPPER. TWO CANDIDATES EIGHT FEET APART. WHAT ELSE DO WE NEED TO KNOW? >> ONE OF THE INTERESTING THINGS THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE AT HOME MAY NOT HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING IS HOW REINSTRUCTIVE THIS IS GOING TO BE FOR THESE TWO DAND DATES. THESE ARE TWO MEN WHO TRAVEL WITH ENTOURAGES. THEY HAVE AIDS AROUND THEM. THEY WILL ONLY BE WITH EACH OTHER AND THE MOD DEER RATERS. THEY WILL ONLY HAVE A BOTTLE OF WATER, PEN, AND A NOTEPAD AT THEIR PODIUMS. THEIR STAFF CANNOT COME UP TO THEM DURING THE TWO EXPECTED BREAKS TO SAY ANYTHING OR INTERACT WITH THEM, SO THEY'RE KIND OF ALONE. THEY CAN'T BRING ANYTHING IN, ANY PREMADE SPEECHES OR ANY NOTES TO FOLLOW. THIS IS JUST GOING TO BE THEM AND THE MODERATOR. SO AGAIN THAT SORT OF HEIGHTENS THE ANTICIPATION FOR WHAT THIS NIGHT IS GOING TO BE. I THINK ANOTHER THING THAT PEOPLE ARE REALLY LISTENING OUT FOR IS HOW MUCH THIS IS LIKE PAST DEBATES FOR BOTH OF THESE MEN. YOU MENTIONED THE ONE THAT HAPPENED IN CLEVELAND THE LAST TIME THAT THEY WERE TOGETHER. ONE OF THE THINGS I'M WATCHING FOR IS DOES THIS GET PERSONAL AT ALL. THERE WAS A MOMENT IN THAT CLEVELAND DEBATE, IF YOU REMEMBER, WHERE PRESIDENT BIDEN TALKED ABOUT HIS SON BO BIDEN'S DEATH AND HOW HE HAD SERVED IN THE MILITARY, AND FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP BEGAN TALKING ABOUT HUNTER BYE DEPOSIT, AND YOU COULD TELL IT GOT UNDER THE PRESIDENT'S SKIN R. THERE GOING TO BE MOMENTS LIKE THAT? BUT OVERALL THIS IS GOING TO BE TRULY INTERESTING. THE OTHER THING, TOO, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO TRUMP, WE MOSTLY SEE HIM WITH HIS BASE, WITH SUPPORTERS, HE LUSTS THOSE LARGE RALLIES WITH THOUSANDS AND HUNDREDS OF GIVING HIM ENERGY. HE'S NOT GOING TO HAVE ANY OF. WE KNOW THIS IS A NETWORK HE HASN'T OFTEN BEEN VERY FRIENDLY W. SO IT'S IS GOING TO BE VERY INTERESTING TO SEE HOW ALL OF THESE DYNAMICS PLAY FOR BOTH OF THESE CANDIDATES. OF COURSE, JOE BIDEN IS VERY SKILLED AT DEBATING. HE'S BEEN DID HE BAWGHT SINCE HE STARTED IN POLITICS WHEN HE WAS IN HIS LATE 20s. SO THAT'S BEEN DECADES. IS HE GOING TO BE ABLE TO BRING THAT EXPERIENCE THROUGH AS WELL? SO MANY QUESTIONS REMAIN. WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE A LOT TO TALK ABOUT ONCE THIS IS OVER. >> AND INDEED WE WILL BE TALKING TO YOU WHEN IT IS OVER. RHONDA, REMINDER TO OUR VIEWERS AND READ THERES OUR TEAM WILL BE BACK AS THE DEBATE CONCLUDES. WE'LL HAVE ANALYSIS, AND WE'LL DIG INTO THE HIGHLIGHTS, THE LOWLIGHTS, AND ALSO DO SOME FACT CHECKING AS WELL. OTHER DETAILS ABOUT TONIGHT, NO OPENING STATEMENT, THEE JUMP RIGHT IN BUT THEY WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO TWO A CLOSING STATEMENT. TRUMP WILL GO LAST. THEY ADD COIN TOSS. BUT BIDEN CLOSE THE SIDE OF THE SCREEN, THE SIDE OF STAGE. INTERESTING AS TO Y. >> HIS BERT SIDE. >> OR TRUMP'S WORSE SIDEO YOU KNOW. SO HE CHOSE THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SCREEN, SO YOU'LL SEE THEM LAID OUT THAT WAY. THINGS ARE GETTING QUIET AS EVERYONE GETS READY FOR THE DEBATE. JM, HOW MUCH DO DEBATES TYPICALLY IMPACT VOTERS AND ELECTIONS, AND HOW COULD TONIGHT BE UNIQUE? >> WELL, WE'VE TALKED THROUGHOUT THE BROADCAST THIS EVENING ABOUT HOW THERE'S KIND OF MOMENTS THAT HAPPEN, HOW THESE ARE VERY IMPORTANT FOR MOMENTUM. SOMETIMES IF THERE'S A REALLY BAD MOMENT, IT CAN REALLY DRAMATICALLY RESHAPE THE RACE, BUT IN TERMS OF KIND OF POLLING AND SUPPORT, IT'S USUALLY ONLY MOVING THE NEEDLE ONE WAY OR THE OTHER EVER SO SLIGHTLY AND THAT MAY BE EVEN LESS SO THIS YEAR BECAUSE VOTERS VIEWS ARE ALREADY SO BAKED IN. WE KNOW THERE'S ONLY A SMALL SLIVER OF VOTERS WHO ARE THOSE QUOTE, UNQUOTE UNDECIDED OR PERSUADABLE VOTERS, AND THAT'S WHO PRESIDENT BIDEN AND FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP ARE TRYING TO ADDRESS TONIGHT. I DO THINK THAT COULD BE A WILD CARD TONIGHT, LIBBY, WE'VE HEARD TRUMP SURROGATES TALK ABOUT HOW THEY WANT POLICY, ONE THICK THAT COULD BE CONDUCIVE IS THE IT REMINDS ME OF THE PRIMARY DEBATE DURING THE EARLY DAYS OF COVID IN A CNN STUDIO, NO AUDIENCE, AND THAT WAS VERY FOCUSED ON POLICY. OBVIOUSLY THOSE ARE TWO DIFFERENT -- BERNIE SANDERS NOT DONALD TRUMP, BUT COULD IT GIVE US A LITTLE BIT OF A WINDOW. >> VIVEK RAMASWAMY WAS VERY MEASURED, VERY THOUGHTFUL. BUT AS YOU POINTED OUT THERE'S BEEN A REAL TONE SHIFT BECAUSE THEY HAD BEEN BLASTING ON FOX NEWS, THE ON RIGHT WING MEDIA AND TO PEOPLE LIKE US ABOUT HOW JUST HOW TERRIBLE BIDEN, HOW HE IS ON PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING DRUGS, OF WHICH THERE IS ZERO EVIDENCE, THIS IS A TOGETHERLY CONCOCTED THING FROM TRUMP'S BRAIN, BUT NOW THEY'RE CHANGING THEIR TUNE. >> IT IS FASCINATING. DURING THE CAMPAIGN IT WAS ALWAYS TELEPROMPTER VERSUS NON TELETRANCHER. HE EVEN JOKED ABOUT, WHICH TRUMP SHOULD SHOW UP, SHOULD IT BE THE SMASH MOUTH ONE OR -- AND SOMEONE IN THE CROWD YELLS 50/50, AND TRUMP LAUGHED AT. I THINK TRUMP LIKES THAT SUSPENSE. TO JM'S POINT, WHAT I'LL SAY, IN AN ELECTION THIS CLOSE, IF THE DEBATES MAKE A SMALL DIFFERENCE, THEY COULD MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE. SO IT -- THINK IF BIDEN HAS A REALLY BAD NIGHT, YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE DEMOCRATS SAYING DOES HE HAVE TO BE THE NOMINEE. I THINK IF TRUMP HAS A REALLY BAD NIGHT, GOING INTO THEIR CONVENTION IN MILWAUKEE YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE SORT OF THE NIKKI HALEY WING OF THE PARTY BE BED WETTING. SO I THINK IT CAN HAVE A REALLY FOUNDATIONAL IMPACT ON THIS RACE. WHAT'S INTERESTING IS BIDEN ACTUALLY IS TRYING TO PLAY ON SOME OF THESE CONCERNS. HE JUST TWEETED A FEW MINUTES AGO A PICTURE OF HIMSELF DRINK AGO BOTTLE OF WATER. I THINK WE HAVE THE PICTURE. BUT HE -- IT -- BASICALLY HE'S SAYING THAT IS MY PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUG, AND IT'S JUST WATER. HE DID SOMETHING VERY SLAIRN 2020 RIGHT BEFORE THE DEBATE. HE POSTED HIMSELF A PICTURE WITH JENNY'S ICE CREAM AND SAID THIS IS MAY PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUG. >> THE POINT OF THIS IS TRUMP HAD ACCUSED HIM OF BEING JACKED UP DURING THE STATE OF THE UNION BECAUSE HE WAS FUNCTIONING, BECAUSE TRUMP HAD LOWERED THE BAR SO EXTRAORDINARILY. >> IF TRUMP LOWERS THE EXPECTATION SO MUCH AND BIDEN JUST KIND OF THERE, THEN HE CAN JUST WALK OVER A VERY LOW BAR. >> WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO JAMES HOHMANN, JM RIEGER, RHONDA COUL OF UNAND OUR WHOLE WASHINGTON POST TEAM. WE'RE HANDING IT OVER IN A MOMENT TO CNN WHERE THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE WILL GET UNDERWAY AT 9:00. THEY ARE LIVE IN ATLANTA. WE WILL HEAR FROM PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN AND, OF COURSE, FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP AS THEY FACE OFF IN THIS REALLY REMARKABLE DEBATE. IT'S EARLY IN THE ELECTION SEASON. FOUR MONTHS AWAY. BUT THEY AGREED TO DO THIS DEBATE AS WELL AS WYNN SEPTEMBER, HOSTED BY ABC NEWS. WHAT'S SO UNIQUE ABOUT THIS, IT IS THE FIRST TIME EVER A PRESIDENT AND A FORMER PRESIDENT ARE MATCHING UP. WE GO TO CNN LIVE. >>> LIVE FROM GEORGIA, A KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE IN THE RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE. IN JUST MOMENTS THE CURRENT U.S. PRESIDENT WILL DEBATE THE FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AS THEIR PARTY'S PRESUMPTIVE NOMINEES, A FIRST IN AMERICAN HISTORY. WE WANT TO WELCOME OUR VIEWERS IN THE UNITED STATES AND AROUND THE WORLD TO OUR STUDIOS IN ATLANTA. THIS IS THE CNN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE. >> THIS DEBATE IS BEING PRODUCED BY CNN AND IS COMING TO YOU LIVE ON CNN, CNN INTERNATIONAL, CNN.COM, CNN MAX AND THIS IS A PIVOTAL MOMENT BETWEEN PRESIDENT BIDEN AND THE FORMER PRESIDENT. EACH WILL MAKE THEIR CASE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WITH JUST OVER FOUR MONTHS TO ELECTION DAY. GOOD EVENING, AND THE ANCHOR OF CNN'S INSIDE POLITICS AND CO- ANCHOR OF STATE OF THE UNION. >> AND THE ANCHOR OF THE LEAD AND CO-ANCHOR OF STATE OF THE UNION. WE WILL CO-MODERATE AND OUR JOB IS TO PHYLLIS FACILITATE A DEBATE IN THE TWO CANDIDATES. WE WANT TO SHARE THE RULES OF THE DEBATE. FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP WILL BE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SCREEN. PRESIDENT BIDEN ON THE RIGHT SIDE. A COIN TOSS DETERMINE THEIR POSITIONS. EACH CANDIDATE WILL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO ANSWER A QUESTION IN ONE MINUTE EACH FOR RESPONSES AND REBUTTALS. AN ADDITIONAL MINUTE FOR FOLLOW- UP CLARIFICATION IS AT THE MODERATOR'S DISCRETION. >> WHEN IT IS TIME FOR A CANDIDATE TO SPEAK HIS MICROPHONE WILL BE TURNED ON AND HIS OPPONENTS TURN A PHONE -- TURNED OFF. SHOULD A CANDIDATE INTERRUPT WHEN HIS MICROPHONE IS MUTED IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND FOR VIEWERS AT HOME. AT THE END OF THE DEBATE EACH CANDIDATE WILL GET TWO MINUTES FOR CLOSING STATEMENTS. THERE IS NO STUDIO AUDIENCE. PREWRITTEN NOTES, PROPS OR CONTACT WITH CAMPAIGN STAFF ARE NOT PERMITTED DURING THE DEBATE. WHILE ACCEPTING OUR INVITATION, BOTH CANDIDATES AND THEIR CAMPAIGNS AGREED TO ACCEPT THE RULES. >> PLEASE WELCOME THE 46th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, JOE BIDEN. >> FOLKS, HOW ARE YOU? GREAT TO BE HERE. THANK YOU. >> PLEASE WELCOME THE 45th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DONALD TRUMP. GENTLEMEN, LET'S START WITH THE ISSUE THAT VOTERS CONSISTENTLY SAY IS THEIR TOP CONCERN, THE ECONOMY. PRESIDENT BIDEN, INFLATION HAS SLOWED BUT PRICES REMAIN HIGH. SINCE YOU TOOK OFFICE, THE PRICE OF ESSENTIALS HAS INCREASED. FOR EXAMPLE, A BASKET OF GROCERIES THAT COST $100 THEN, NOW COSTS MORE THAN $120. TYPICAL HOME PRICES HAVE JUMPED MORE THAN 30%. WHAT YOU SAY TO VOTERS WHO SAY THEY FEEL THE ARE WORSE OFF UNDER YOUR PRESIDENCY THAN UNDER PRESIDENT TRUMP? >> YOU HAVE TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT I WAS LEFT WITH WHEN I BECAME PRESIDENT. WE HAD AN ECONOMY THAT WAS IN FREEFALL. THE PANDEMIC WAS SO BADLY HANDLED, MANY PEOPLE WERE DYING. ALL THEY SAID WAS IT IS NOT THAT SERIOUS. THE ECONOMY COLLAPSED. THERE WERE NO JOBS, RATE ROSE IT WAS TERRIBLE. SO WHAT WE HAD TO DO WAS TRY TO PUT THINGS BACK TOGETHER AGAIN. THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT WE BEGAN TO DO. WE CREATED 15,000 NEW JOBS AND BROUGHT ON THE POSITION WHERE WE HAVE 800,000 MANUFACTURING JOBS, BUT THERE IS MORE TO BE DONE. WORKING CLASS PEOPLE ARE STILL IN TROUBLE. I COME FROM SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA, A HOUSEHOLD WHEN THINGS WERE NOT ABLE TO BE MET DURING THE MONTH, IT WAS A PROBLEM. THE PRICE OF GAS, HOUSING, A WHOLE RANGE OF THINGS. THAT IS WHY I AM WORKING HARD TO MAKE SURE I DEAL WITH THOSE PROBLEMS AND WE MAKE SURE WE REDUCE THE PRICE OF HOUSING AND BILLED 2 MILLION NEW UNITS AND CAP RENT SO CORPORATE GREED CANNOT TAKE OVER. THE COMBINATION OF WHAT IS LEFT OVER FROM THE CORPORATE GREED IS WHY WE ARE IN THIS PROBLEM. IN ADDITION TO THAT WE ARE IN A SITUATION WHERE IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A LOOK AT ALL THAT WAS DONE IN THE ADMINISTRATION, HE DIDN'T DO MUCH AT ALL. BY THE TIME HE LEFT THINGS WERE IN CHAOS. SO WE PUT THINGS BACK TOGETHER AND CREATED, LIKE I SAID, THOSE JOBS AND MADE SURE TO HAVE A SITUATION WHERE WE BROUGHT DOWN THE PRICE OF PRESCRIPTION JOBS, WHICH IS A MAJOR ISSUE FOR MANY PEOPLE. $15 FOR AN INSULIN SHOT AS OPPOSED TO $400. NO SENIOR HAS TO PAY MORE THAN $200 FOR ALL THE DRUGS THEY WILL BE GETTING NEXT YEAR. AND WE WILL MAKE THAT AVAILABLE TO EVERYBODY, ALL AMERICANS. WE ARE WORKING TO BRING DOWN THE PRICE AROUND THE KITCHEN TABLE, THAT IS WHAT WE WILL GET DONE. >> PRESIDENT TRUMP? >> WE HAD THE GREATEST ECONOMY IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY AND HAVE NEVER DONE SO WELL. EVERYBODY WAS AMAZED BY IT. OTHER COUNTRIES WERE COPYING US, WE GOT HIT WITH COVID AND WHEN WE DID WE SPENT THAT MONEY NECESSARY SO WE WOULD NOT END UP IN A GREAT DEPRESSION THE LIKES OF WHAT WE HAD IN 1929. BY THE TIME WE FINISHED WEEK DID A GREAT JOB AND GOT A LOT OF CREDIT FOR THE ECONOMY AND MILITARY AND NO WARS AND SO MANY OTHER THINGS. EVERYTHING WAS ROCKING GOOD. THE THING WE NEVER GOT THE CREDIT FOR WAS GETTING US OUT OF THAT COVID MESS. HE CREATED MANDATES THAT WERE A DISASTER FOR THE COUNTRY. OTHER THAN THAT, WE HAD GIVEN THEM BACK A COUNTRY WHERE THE STOCK MARKET WAS HIGHER THAN PRE-COVID AND NO ONE THOUGHT THAT WAS EVEN POSSIBLE. THE ONLY JOBS HE CREATED WERE FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AND BOUNCE BACK FROM COVID. HE HAS NOT DONE A GOOD JOB, HE HAS DONE A POOR JOB AND INFLATION IS KILLING OUR COUNTRY. >> PRESIDENT BIDEN. >> THE GREATEST ECONOMY IN THE WORLD, HE IS THE ONLY ONE THAT THINKS THAT, I THINK. I DON'T KNOW ANYONE ELSE THAT THINKS IT WAS THE GREATEST ECONOMY IN THE WORLD. THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS WE PRIDE OURSELVES -- HE HAD THE LARGEST TAX CUT OF $2 TRILLION, HE RAISED THE DEFICIT LARGER THAN ANY OTHER PRESIDENTIAL TERM. HE IS THE ONLY ONE SINCE HERBERT HOOVER WHO LOST MORE JOBS. THE IDEA THAT HE DID SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT, WHEN HE WAS PRESIDENT THEY WERE STILL KILLING PEOPLE IN AFGHANISTAN AND HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT THAT. WE WERE STILL FINDING OURSELVES IN A POSITION WHERE YOU HAD A NOTION THAT WE WERE A SAFE COUNTRY. THE TRUTH IS, I'M THE ONLY PRESIDENT IN THIS CENTURY THAT DOESN'T HAVE, THIS DECADE, THAT DOESN'T HAVE TROOPS DYING ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD LIKE HE DID. >> PRESIDENT TRUMP, I WANT TO FOLLOW-UP, IF I CAN. >> AND I RESPOND TO HIM? >> I WANT TO FOLLOW-UP. YOU WANT TO IMPOSE A 10% TARIFF ON ALL GOODS COMING INTO THE U.S. HOW WILL YOU ENSURE THAT DOESN'T DRIVE PRICES HIGHER? >> IT WILL NOT DRIVE IT HIGHER IT WILL JUST CAUSE COUNTRIES THAT HAVE BEEN RIPPING US OFF FOR YEARS LIKE CHINA AND ALL OTHERS WILL REDUCE OUR DEFICIT TREMENDOUSLY AND GIVE US POWER FOR OTHER THINGS. HE MADE A STATEMENT, THE ONLY THING HE WAS RIGHT ABOUT WAS I GAVE YOU THE LARGEST TAX CUT IN HISTORY AND ALSO THE LARGEST REGULATION CUT IN HISTORY. AND THE JOBS WENT DOWN AND THEN THEY BOUNCED BACK. HE CANNOT TAKE CREDIT FOR BOUNCED BACK JOBS. HE ALSO SAID HE INHERITED PERCENT INFLATION. HE INHERITED ALMOST NO INFLATION AND IT STAYED THAT WAY FOR ALMOST 14 MONTHS AND THEN IT BLEW UP UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP BECAUSE THEY SPENT MONEY LIKE A BUNCH OF PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING. IT WAS PROBABLY THE WORST ADMINISTRATION IN HISTORY. AS FAR AS AFGHANISTAN IS CONCERNED, I WAS GETTING OUT OF AFGHANISTAN WITH DIGNITY AND THE STRENGTH, POWER. HE GOT OUT, IT WAS THE MOST EMBARRASSING DAY IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY'S LIFE. >> OVER THE LAST EIGHT YEARS, THE NATIONAL DEBT SOARED TO RECORD HIGHS AND ACCORDING TO A NEW NONPARTISAN ANALYSIS, YOUR ADMINISTRATION APPROVED A $.4 TRILLION WELL SO FAR PRESIDENT BIDEN YOU HAVE APPROVED $4.3 TRILLION IN NEW DEBT. MANY OF THE TAX CUTS YOU SIGNED INTO LAW ARE SET TO EXPIRE NEXT YEAR. YOU WANT TO EXTEND THEM AND GO EVEN FURTHER, YOU SAY, WITH THE U.S. FACING TRILLION DOLLAR DEFICITS AND RECORD DEBT, WHY SHOULD TOP EARNERS AND CORPORATIONS PAY LESS IN TAXES THAN THEY DO NOW? >> BECAUSE THE TAX CUTS SPUR THE GREATEST ECONOMY WE'VE EVER SEEN. EVEN AFTER COVID IT WAS SO STRONG THAT WE WERE ABLE TO GET THROUGH COVID MUCH BETTER THAN JUST ABOUT ANY OTHER COUNTRY. WHEN WE CUT TAXES, THE CORPORATE TAX WAS CUT DOWN TO 21% FROM 39%, PLUS, BEYOND THAT. WE TOOK IN MORE REVENUE WITH MUCH LESS TAX AND COMPANIES WERE BRINGING TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS BACK INTO OUR COUNTRY. IT WAS GOING LIKE NEVER BEFORE. WE WERE READY TO START PAYING DOWN DEBT AND USING THE LIQUID GOLD RIGHT UNDER OUR FEET, OIL AND GAS RIGHT UNDER OUR FEET. WE WOULD HAVE SOMETHING THAT NOBODY ELSE HAS HAD. WE GOT HIT WITH COVID, I GAVE HIM AN UNBELIEVABLE SITUATION WITH ALL THE THERAPEUTICS AND ALL THE THINGS WE CAME UP WITH. WE GAVE HIM SOMETHING GREAT. REMEMBER, MORE PEOPLE DIED UNDER HIS ADMINISTRATION, EVEN THOUGH WE HAD LARGELY FIXED IT. MORE PEOPLE DIED UNDER HIS ADMINISTRATION THAN OUR ADMINISTRATION, AND WE WERE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT. SOMETHING THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T LIKE TO TALK ABOUT. FOR MORE PEOPLE DYING IN HIS ADMINISTRATION. HE DID THE MANDATE, WHICH WAS A DISASTER. THE VACCINE WENT OUT, HE DID A MANDATE ON THE VACCINE WHICH IS THE THING PEOPLE MOST OBJECTED TO AND HE DID A VERY POOR JOB. I WILL TELL YOU, NOT ONLY POOR THERE, BUT THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE WORLD, WE ARE NO LONGER RESPECTED AS A COUNTRY. THEY DON'T RESPECT OUR LEADERSHIP, WE ARE LIKE A THIRD WORLD NATION BETWEEN WEAPONIZATION OF HIS ELECTION TRYING TO GO AFTER HIS POLITICAL OPPONENT. WE'VE BECOME LIKE A THIRD WORLD NATION AND IT IS A SHAME. THE DAMAGE HE HAS DONE TO OUR COUNTRY, AND I'D LOVE TO ASK HIM WHY HE ALLOWED MILLIONS OF PEOPLE TO COME HERE FROM PRISONS, JAILS AND MENTAL INSTITUTIONS, TO COME INTO OUR COUNTRY AND DESTROY OUR COUNTRY. >> WE WILL GET TO IMMIGRATION LATER IN THE BLOCK. PRESIDENT BIDEN, I WANT TO GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO RESPOND TO THIS QUESTION. >> HE HAD THE LARGEST NATIONAL DEBT OF ANY PRESIDENT IN A FOUR- YEAR PERIOD. HE HAD TWO TRILLION DOLLAR TAX CUTS THAT BENEFITED THE WEALTHY. FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE THOUSAND BILLIONAIRES IN AMERICA. AND WHAT IS HAPPENING? THEY ARE IN A SITUATION WHERE THEY PAY A .2% IN TAXES. IF THEY PAY 24% OR 25%, THEY WOULD RAISE $500 MILLION, BILLION DOLLARS, I SHOULD SAY, IN A TEN-YEAR PERIOD AND WE WOULD BE ABLE TO WIPE OUT HIS DAD AND HELP MAKE SURE ALL THOSE THINGS WE NEED TO DO, CHILD CARE, ELDER CARE, MAKING SURE WE CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM AND WE ARE ABLE TO MAKE EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY PERSON ELIGIBLE FOR WHAT I'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO WITH COVID, EXCUSE ME, WITH DEALING WITH EVERYTHING WE HAVE TO DO. LOOK, WE FINALLY BEAT, MEDICARE. >> HE IS RIGHT, HE DID BEAT MEDICAID, HE BEAT IT TO DEATH AND IS DESTROYING MEDICARE. ALL OF THESE PEOPLE ARE COMING IN, THEY ARE PUTTING THEM ON MEDICARE AND SOCIAL SECURITY, THEY WILL DESTROY SOCIAL SECURITY. THIS MEMO SINGLE-HANDEDLY DESTROY SOCIAL SECURITY. MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF PEOPLE COMING IN, THEY ARE TRYING TO PUT THEM ON SOCIAL SECURITY. HE WILL WIPE OUT SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE. HE WAS RIGHT IN THE WAY HE FINISH THAT SENTENCE. IT IS A SHAME, WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO OUR COUNTRY IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS IS NOT TO BE BELIEVED. FOREIGN COUNTRIES, I AM FRIENDS WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE AND THEY CANNOT BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. WE ARE NO LONGER RESPECTED, THEY DON'T LIKE US AND THEY THINK WE ARE VERY STUPID PEOPLE. WHAT WE DO FOR OTHER COUNTRIES AND THEY DO NOTHING FOR US, WHAT THIS MAN HAS DONE IS ABSOLUTELY CRIMINAL. >> THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP. >> THIS IS THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION SINCE THE SUPREME COURT OVERTURNED ROE V WADE. THIS MORNING THE COURT RULED ON YET ANOTHER ABORTION CASE, TEMPORARILY ALLOWING EMERGENCY ABORTIONS TO CONTINUE IN IDAHO DESPITE THE STATES RESTRICTIVE BAN. FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP, YOU TAKE CREDIT IN THE DECISION TO OVERTURN ROE V WADE, HOWEVER THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT STILL PLAYS A ROLE IN WHETHER OR NOT WOMEN HAVE ACCESS TO ABORTION PILLS. THEY ARE USED IN ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF ALL ABORTIONS. AS PRESIDENT, WOULD YOU BLOCK ABORTION MEDICATION? >> FIRST OF ALL THE SUPREME COURT JUST APPROVED THE ABORTION PILL AND I AGREE WITH THEIR DECISION TO DO THAT AND I WILL NOT BLOCK IT. IF YOU LOOK AT THIS WHOLE QUESTION YOU ARE ASKING, COMPLEX BUT NOT REALLY COMPLEX. 51 YEARS AGO YOU HAD ROE V WADE AND EVERYONE WANTED TO GET IT BACK TO THE STATES, EVERYBODY, WITHOUT EXCEPTION. DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS, LIBERALS, CONSERVATIVES. EVERYONE WANTED IT BACK HERE IT I PUT THREE GREAT SUPREME COURT JUSTICES ON THE COURT AND THEY HAPPEN TO VOTE IN FAVOR OF KILLING ROE V WADE AND MILL -- MOVING IT BACK TO THE STATES. THIS IS SOMETHING EVERYBODY WANTED. 10 YEARS OR SO THEY STARTED TALKING ABOUT HOW MANY WEEKS AND GETTING INTO OTHER THINGS BUT EVERY LEGAL SCHOLAR THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, THE MOST RESPECTED WANTED IT BROUGHT BACK TO THE STATES. NOW THE STATES ARE WORKING IT OUT. IF YOU LOOK AT OHIO, IT WAS A DECISION, AND END RESULT THAT WAS A LITTLE MORE LIBERAL THAN YOU WOULD HAVE THOUGHT. KANSAS, I WOULD SAY THE SAME THING. THEY ARE ALL MAKING THEIR OWN DECISIONS RIGHT NOW AND RIGHT NOW THE STATES CONTROL IT. THAT IS THE VOTE OF THE PEOPLE. LIKE RONALD REAGAN, I BELIEVE IN THE EXCEPTIONS. I'M A PERSON THAT BELIEVES AND FRANKLY I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO BELIEVE IN THE EXCEPTION. YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW YOUR HEART. SOME PEOPLE DON'T BELIEVE IN THAT. BUT I BELIEVE IN THE EXCEPTION OF RAPE, INCEST AND THAT HAS TO DO WITH OTHER THINGS, YOU NEED TO GET ELECTED. THE PROBLEM THEY HAVE IS THAT THEY ARE RADICAL. THEY WILL TAKE THE LIFE OF A CHILD IN THE EIGHTH MONTH, NINTH MONTH AND EVEN AFTER BIRTH IF YOU LOOK AT THE FORMER GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA, HE WAS WILLING TO DO THIS, HE SAID WE WILL PUT THE BABY ASIDE AND DETERMINE WHAT WE DO WITH THE BABY. MEANING, WE WILL KILL THE BABY. WHAT HAPPENS IS WE BROUGHT IT BACK TO THE STATES AND THE COUNTRY IS COMING TOGETHER ON THIS ISSUE. IT'S BEEN A GREAT THING. >> PRESIDENT BIDEN. >> IT HAS BEEN A TERRIBLE THING. THE FACT IS THAT THE VAST MAJORITY SUPPORTED ROE WHEN IT WAS DECIDED. IT WAS THIS IDEA THAT WE WERE ALL AGAINST IT WAS JUST RIDICULOUS. WE ARE IN A STATE WHERE IN SIX WEEKS YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW IF YOU ARE PREGNANT OR NOT BUT YOU CANNOT SEE A DOCTOR AND HAVE HIM DECIDE ON WHAT YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES ARE WHEN YOU NEED HELP. THE IDEA THAT STATES ARE ABLE TO DO THIS IS LIKE SINGING WE WILL TURN CIVIL RIGHTS BACK TO THE STATES AND LET EACH STATE HAVE A DIFFERENT RULE. FOR SO MANY YOUNG WOMEN, INCLUDING THE YOUNG WOMAN THAT WAS JUST MURDERED, AND THE IDEA THAT SHE WAS MURDERED BY AN IMMIGRANT, THEY TALK ABOUT THAT. BUT HERE IS THE DEAL, THERE ARE A LOT OF YOUNG WOMEN TO BE RAPED BY IN-LAWS, SPOUSES, BROTHERS OR SISTERS, IT IS RIDICULOUS. THEY CAN DO NOTHING ABOUT IT. >> THANK YOU. >> THERE HAVE BEEN MANY YOUNG WOMEN MURDERED BY THE SAME PEOPLE HE ALLOWS TO COME ACROSS THE BORDER. WE HAVE A BORDER THAT IS THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, CONSIDERED THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. HE OPENED IT UP AND KILLERS ARE COMING INTO OUR COUNTRY AND THEY ARE RAPING AND KILLING WOMEN. IT IS A TERRIBLE THING. AS FAR AS ABORTION IS CONCERNED, THE STATES ARE VOTING AND IN MANY CASES IT IS A LIBERAL DECISION AND IN MANY CASES IT IS OPPOSITE. BUT THEY ARE BRINGING IT BACK TO THE VOTE OF THE PEOPLE. WHICH IS WHAT EVERYBODY WANTED, INCLUDING THE FOUNDERS, IF THEY KNEW ABOUT THIS ISSUE. FRANKLY, THEY DIDN'T. EVERYBODY WANTED IT BROUGHT BACK, RONALD RAIN DID -- BREAK AND WANTED IT BROUGHT BACK, MANY PRESIDENTS TRY TO GET IT BACK AND I WAS THE ONE TO DO IT. THIS GIVES THE VOTE OF THE PEOPLE AND THAT IS THE WAY EVERY LEGAL SCHOLAR WANTED IT. >> STAYING ON THE TOPIC OF ABORTION. PRESIDENT BIDEN, SEVEN STATES HAVE NO LEGAL RESTRICTIONS ON HOW FAR INTO HER PREGNANCY A WOMAN CAN OBTAIN AN ABORTION. DO YOU SUPPORT ANY LEGAL LIMITS ON AND -- HOW LAID A WOMAN SHOULD BE ABLE TO TERMINATE A PREGNANCY? >> I SUPPORT ROE V WADE. THERE ARE THREE TRIMESTERS. THE FIRST IS BETWEEN THE WOMAN AND THE DOCTOR, THE SECOND IS BETWEEN A DOCTOR AND AN EXTREME SITUATION. THE THIRD IS BETWEEN THE WOMAN AND THE STATE. THE IDEA THAT FOUNDERS WANTED POLITICIANS TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT A WOMAN'S HEALTH, THAT'S RIDICULOUS. NO POLITICIANS SHOULD BE MAKING THAT DECISION. A DOCTOR SHOULD BE MAKING THAT DECISION. IF I AM ELECTED I WILL RESTORE ROE V WADE. >> THAT MEANS HE CAN TAKE THE LIFE OF THE BABY IN THE NINTH MONTH AND EVEN AFTER BIRTH BECAUSE SOME STATES DEMOCRAT RUN TICKET AFTER BIRTH. AGAIN, THE FORMER GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA, PUT THE BABY DOWN AND THEN WE DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH IT. HE IS WILLING TO RIP THE BABY OUT OF THE WOMB IN THE NINTH MONTH AND KILL THE BABY. NOBODY WANTS THAT TO HAPPEN, DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN. NOBODY WANTS THAT TO HAPPEN. >> THAT IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE. ROE V WADE DOES NOT PROVIDE FOR THAT, THAT IS NOT THE CIRCUMSTANCE. ONLY IF THE WOMAN'S LIFE IS IN DANGER, THAT IS THE ONLY CIRCUMSTANCE. WE ARE NOT FOR LATE TERM ABORTION, PERIOD. PERIOD. >> IN ROE V WADE YOU CAN HAVE LATE TERM ABORTION. YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT. WE DON'T THINK IT IS A GOOD THING, WE THINK IT IS A RADICAL THING, WE THINK DEMOCRATS ARE RADICALS. NOT REPUBLICANS. >> FOR 51 YEARS THAT WAS THE LAW. FOR 51 YEARS THEY SAID IT WAS THE RIGHT WAY TO GO. 51 YEARS BUT THIS GUY TOOK IT AWAY BECAUSE HE PUT CONSERVATIVE MEMBERS ON THE SUPREME COURT. WHAT IS HE GOING TO IF THE MAGA REPUBLICANS, HE GETS ELECTED AND MAGA REPUBLICANS RUN CONGRESS AND THEY PASSOUT BAN ACROSS THE BOARD. WILL HE SIGNED THE BILL? I WILL VETO IT, HE WILL SIGN IT. >> LET'S TURN TO THE ISSUE OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER SECURITY. RESIDENT BIDEN, A RECORD NUMBER OF VAGRANTS ILLEGALLY CROSS THE SOUTHERN BORDER ON YOUR WATCH. OVERWHELMING BURDEN STATES AND OVERBURDENING CITIES LIKE NEW YORK CITY AND CHICAGO. GIVEN THAT, WHY SHOULD VOTERS TRUST YOU TO SOLVE THIS CRISIS? >> WE WORKED VERY HARD TO GET A BIPARTISAN AGREEMENT THAT NOT ONLY CHANGED ALL THAT BUT MADE SURE WE ARE IN A SITUATION WHERE YOU HAD NO CIRCUMSTANCE WHERE YOU CAN COME ACROSS THE BORDER WITH THE NUMBER OF POLICE THERE ARE NOW. WE HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED ASYLUM OFFICERS. THE BORDER PATROL ENDORSED ME AND MY POSITION AND WE FOUND OURSELVES IN A SITUATION WHERE WHEN HE WAS IN PRESIDENT HE WAS SEPARATING BABIES FROM THEIR MOTHERS, PUTTING THEM IN CAGES, TAKING SURE FAMILIES WERE SEPARATED. THAT IS NOT THE RIGHT WAY TO GO. WHEN I'VE DONE SINCE I CHANGED THE LAW, I HAVE CHANGED IT TO NOW, YOU ARE IN A SITUATION WHERE 40% FEWER PEOPLE ARE COMING ACROSS THE BORDER LEGALLY, AND THAT IS BETTER THAN WHEN HE WAS IN OFFICE. I WILL CONTINUE UNTIL WE GET THE TOTAL INITIATIVE RELATIVE TO WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO WITH MORE BORDER PATROL AND MORE ASYLUM OFFICERS. >> I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT HE SAID, I DON'T THINK HE KNOWS WHAT HE SAID EITHER. WE HAD THE SAFEST BORDER IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. ALL HE HAD TO DO WAS LEAVE IT. HE DECIDED TO OPEN UP OUR BORDER AND OPEN UP OUR COUNTRY TO PEOPLE THAT ARE FROM PRISONS. PEOPLE THAT ARE FROM MENTAL INSTITUTIONS, TERRORISTS. WE HAVE THE LARGEST NUMBER OF TERRORISTS COMING INTO OUR COUNTRY RIGHT NOW, ALL TERRORISTS, ALL OVER THE WORLD, NOT JUST SOUTH AMERICA. THEY COME FROM THE MIDDLE EAST, EVERYWHERE. THEY ARE POURING IN AND THIS GUY JUST LEFT IT OPEN. HE DIDN'T NEED LEGISLATION, I DIDN'T HAVE LEGISLATION. WE HAD THE SAFEST BORDER IN HISTORY IN THE FINAL COUPLE OF MONTHS OF MY PRESIDENCY, WE HAD, ACCORDING TO BORDER PATROL WHO, BY THE WAY, ENDORSED ME FOR PRESIDENT, BUT I WON'T SAY THAT. BRANDON, JUST TO SPEAK TO HIM. WE HAD THE SAFEST BORDER IN HISTORY AND NOW WE HAVE THE WORST ORDER IN HISTORY. THERE'S NEVER BEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT AND PEOPLE ARE DYING ALL OVER THE PLACE. >> THANK YOU. PRESIDENT BIDEN. >> THE ONLY TERRORIST THAT HAS DONE ANYTHING ACROSS THE BORDER IS ONE THAT CAME ACROSS AND KILLED THREE AL QAEDA -- KILLED THREE AMERICAN SOLDIERS, THAT IS THE ONLY TERRORIST. I'M NOT SAYING NO TERRORIST EVER GOT THROUGH BUT THE IDEA THAT THEY ARE EMPTYING THEIR PRISONS AND WE ARE WELCOMING THESE PEOPLE, THAT IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE. ONCE AGAIN, EXAGGERATING AND LYING. >> STAYING ON THE TOPIC OF IMMIGRATION, YOU SAY YOU WILL CARRY OUT QUOTE, THE LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY, UNQUOTE. DOES THAT MEAN YOU WILL SUPPORT EVERY UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT IN AMERICA INCLUDING THOSE WHO HAVE JOBS, WHOSE SPOUSES HAVE CITIZENS AND THOSE WHO HAVE LIVED HERE FOR DECADES, AND IF SO, HOW WILL YOU DO IT? >> JUST ONE SECOND, HE SAID WE KILLED THREE BAD PEOPLE. THEY ARE THE GREATEST TERRORS IN THE WORLD AND IT HAD A HUGE IMPACT ON EVERYTHING, NOT JUST THE BORDER. HE IS THE ONE WHO KILLED PEOPLE WITH A BAD BORDER INCLUDING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE DYING AND ALSO KILLING OUR CITIZENS WHEN THEY COME IN. WE ARE LIVING IN A RATS NEST. THEY ARE KILLING OUR PEOPLE IN NEW YORK, CALIFORNIA, EVERY STATE OF THE UNION BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE BORDERS ANYMORE. EVERY STATE IS NOW A BORDER. AND BECAUSE OF HIS RIDICULOUS, INSANE AND VERY STUPID POLICIES, PEOPLE ARE COMING IN AND KILLING OUR CITIZENS AT A LEVEL WE'VE NEVER SEEN. WE CALL IT MIGRANT CRIME. I CALL IT BIDEN MIGRANT CRIME. THEY ARE KILLING OUR CITIZENS AT A LEVEL WE'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE. AND YOU ARE READING IT LIKE THESE THREE INCREDIBLE YOUNG GIRLS OVER THE LAST THREE DAYS, ONE OF THEM, I JUST SPOKE TO THE MOTHER AND THEY JUST HAD A FUNERAL FOR THIS GIRL, 12 YEARS OLD. THIS IS HORRIBLE, WHAT HAS TAKEN PLACE. WHAT HAS TAKEN PLACE IN OUR COUNTRY, WE ARE LITERALLY AN UNCIVILIZED COUNTRY. HE DOESN'T WANT IT TO BE, HE JUST DOESN'T KNOW. WE'VE OPENED THE BORDERS AND NOBODY HAS SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT. WE NEED TO GET A LOT OF THESE PEOPLE OUT, AND GET THEM OUT FAST. THEY WILL DESTROY OUR COUNTRY. TAKE A LOOK AT WHERE THEY ARE LIVING. THEY ARE LIVING IN LUXURY HOTELS IN NEW YORK CITY AND OTHER PLACES. VETERANS ARE ON THE STREET DYING BECAUSE HE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT OUR VETERANS. HE DOESN'T LIKE THE MILITARY AT ALL. I HAD THE HIGHEST APPROVAL RATING FOR VETERANS, TAKING CARE OF THE VA. HE HAS THE WORST, HE HAS GOTTEN RID OF ALL THE THINGS I APPROVED. ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS I APPROVED, THEY ABANDONED. WE BY FAR WERE THE HIGHEST AND NOW IT IS DOWN TO LESS THAN HALF BECAUSE HE HAS DONE ALL THESE GREAT THINGS WE DID, AND I THINK HE DID IT JUST BECAUSE I APPROVED IT. HE HAS KILLED SO MANY PEOPLE AT OUR BORDER BY ALLOWING ALL THESE PEOPLE TO COME IN. IT IS A VERY SAD DAY. >> EVERY SINGLE THING HE SAID IS A LIE. EVERY SINGLE ONE. FOR EXAMPLE, VETERANS ARE A OF A LOT BETTER BACK. 1 MILLION OF THEM NOW HAVE INSURANCE AND THEIR FAMILIES HAVE IT BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENED, WHETHER IT WAS AGENT ORANGE OR BURN PITS, THEY ARE ALL BEING COVERED NOW AND HIS GROUP OPPOSED THAT. WE ARE ALSO IN A SITUATION WHERE WE HAVE GREAT RESPECT FOR VETERANS. MY SON SPENT A YEAR IN IRAQ. I WAS RECENTLY IN FRANCE FOR D- DAY AND I SPOKE ABOUT THOSE HEROES WHO DIED. I WENT TO THE WORLD WAR II CEMETERY, WORLD WAR I CEMETERY, WHERE HE REFUSED TO GO TO. HE SAID I DON'T WANT TO GO IN THERE BECAUSE THEY ARE A BUNCH OF LOSERS AND SUCKERS. MY SON IS NOT A LOSER OR SUCKER, YOU ARE THE SUCKER, YOU ARE THE LOSER. >> THAT WAS A MADE UP QUOTE. IT WAS IN A THIRD-RATE MAGAZINE THAT IS A FAILING LIKE MANY OF THESE MAGAZINES. HE MADE IT UP AND PUT IT IN COMMERCIALS. WE NOTIFIED HIM AND WE HAD 19 PEOPLE THAT SAID I DIDN'T SAY. WHO WOULD SAY, I MET A CEMETERY, TAKING CARE OF VETERANS, I AM SO GLAD HE BROUGHT IT UP. NOBODY HAS TAKEN BETTER CARE OF OUR SOLDIERS THAN I HAVE. TO THINK THAT I WOULD IN FRONT OF GENERALS SAY SUCKERS AND LOSERS, WE HAVE 19 PEOPLE THAT SAID IT WAS NEVER SAID BY ME. IT WAS MADE UP BY HIM JUST LIKE RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA WAS MADE UP IN THE 51 INTELLIGENCE AGENTS WERE MADE UP, JUST LIKE THE NEW THING WITH THE 16 ECONOMISTS TALKING. 51 INTELLIGENCE AGENTS SAID THAT THE LAPTOP WAS RUSSIA DISINFORMATION. THAT WASN'T, HE CAME FROM HIS SON, HUNTER. IT WASN'T RUSSIA DISINFORMATION. HE MADE UP THE SUCKERS AND LOSERS AND HE SHOULD APOLOGIZE TO ME RIGHT NOW. >> A FOUR-STAR GENERAL SAID THAT YOU SAID IT, PERIOD. THAT IS NUMBER ONE. AND NUMBER TWO, THE IDEA THAT I HAVE TO APOLOGIZE TO YOU FOR ANYTHING, WE HAVE DONE MORE FOR VETERANS THAN ANY PRESIDENT HAS IN AMERICAN HISTORY AND THE ONLY SACRED OBLIGATION WE HAVE IS TO CARE FOR OUR VETERANS WHEN THEY COME HOME, AND THEIR FAMILIES AND EQUIP THEM WHEN THEY GO TO WAR. THAT IS WHAT WE ARE DOING AND WHAT THE VA IS DOING NOW. THEY ARE DOING MORE FOR VETERANS THAN EVER BEFORE IN OUR HISTORY. >> LET'S GO TO THE TOP OF FOREIGN-POLICY, I WANT TO BEGIN WITH RUSSIA'S WAR AGAINST UKRAINE WHICH IS NOW IN ITS THIRD YEAR. FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP, THE RUSSIAN PRESIDENT SAID HE WILL ONLY END THIS WAR IF RUSSIA KEEPS UKRAINIAN TERRITORY IT HAS ALREADY CLAIMED AND UKRAINE ABANDONS ITS BID TO JOIN NATO. ARE THOSE TERMS ACCEPTABLE TO YOU? >> FIRST OF ALL, OUR VETERANS AND SOLDIERS CAN'T STAND THIS GUY. THEY CAN'T STAND HIM. THEY THINK HE IS THE WORST COMMANDER IN CHIEF, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU CALL HIM, THEN WE'VE EVER HAD. AND THEY LIKE ME MORE THAN JUST ABOUT ANY OF THEM, AND THAT IS BASED ON EVERY SINGLE BIT OF INFORMATION. AS FAR AS RUSSIA AND UKRAINE, IF WE HAD A REAL PRESIDENT THAT WAS RESPECTED BY VLADIMIR PUTIN, HE NEVER WOULD HAVE INVADED UKRAINE. A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE DEAD RIGHT NOW, MUCH MORE THAN PEOPLE KNOW. THEY TALK ABOUT THOSE NUMBERS, YOU CAN DOUBLE OR MAYBE TRIPLE THOSE NUMBERS. HE DID NOTHING TO STOP IT. I THINK HE AND COURAGE TO RUSSIA GOING IN. IT WAS SUCH A HORRIBLE EMBARRASSMENT, THE MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. WHEN PUTIN WATCH THAT AND SAW THE INCOMPETENCE, HE SHOULD HAVE FIRED THOSE GENERALS LIKE I FIRED THE ONE THAT I MENTIONED. NO GENERAL GOT FIRED FOR THE MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY, AFGHANISTAN, WHERE WE LIVE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF EQUIPMENT BEHIND, WE LOST 13 BEAUTIFUL SOLDIERS AND 38 SOLDIERS WERE OBLITERATED AND WE LEFT PEOPLE BEHIND, TOO. AMERICAN CITIZENS. WHEN PUTIN SO THAT, HE SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT, MAYBE WE WILL GO IN, I TALKED TO HIM ABOUT IT, IT WAS HIS DREAM. THE DIFFERENCE IS HE NEVER WOULD HAVE INVADED UKRAINE JUST LIKE ISRAEL NEVER WOULD HAVE BEEN INVADED IN 1 MILLION YEARS BY HAMAS, YOU KNOW WHY, BECAUSE THEY RAN OUT OF MONEY, THEY WERE BROKE, THEY HAD NO MONEY FOR HAMAS OR ANYTHING. THAT'S WHY YOU HAD NO TERROR AT ALL DURING MY ADMINISTRATION. THIS PLACE, THE WHOLE WORLD IS BLOWING UP UNDER HIM. >> PRESIDENT BIDEN. >> I'VE NEVER HEARD SO MUCH MALARKEY IN MY WHOLE LIFE. THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, LET'S TAKE THE LAST POINT FIRST, IRAN ATTACKED AMERICAN TROOPS, CAUSED BRAIN DAMAGE FOR A NUMBER OF THESE TROOPS AND HE DID NOTHING ABOUT IT WHEN HE WAS PRESIDENT. HE SAID, THEY JUST HAVE HEADACHES, THAT IS ALL IT IS. HE DIDN'T DO A THING WHEN THE ATTACK TOOK PLACE. WE'VE GOT OVER 100,000 AMERICANS AND OTHERS OUT OF AFGHANISTAN DURING THAT AIRLIFT. NUMBER THREE, WE FOUND OURSELVES IN A SITUATION WHERE, IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT TRUMP DID IN UKRAINE, THIS GUY TOLD TRUMP, DO WHATEVER YOU WANT, DO WHATEVER YOU WANT. THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT TRUMP DID TO PUTIN, TO ENCOURAGE HIM. LISTEN TO WHAT HE SAID WHEN HE WENT IN, HE WAS GOING TO TAKE KIAS IN FIVE DAYS, BECAUSE IT WAS PART OF THE OLD SOVIET UNION. THAT'S WHAT HE WANT -- WANTED RE-ESTABLISHED. IN FACT, HE DIDN'T DO IT AT ALL AND WAS NOT ABLE TO GET IT DONE AND THEY'VE LOST THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF TROOPS. I'VE HUNDRED THOUSAND TROOPS. >> I NEVER SAID THAT. >> I WANT TO GO BACK TO MY ORIGINAL QUESTION WHICH IS, ARE PUTIN'S TERMS ACCEPTABLE TO YOU? >> NO, THEY ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE. BUT THIS IS A WAR THAT NEVER SHOULD HAVE STARTED TO READ IF WE HAD A LEADER IN THIS WAR, HE LED EVERYBODY ALONG, HE'S GIVEN $200 MILLION NOW OR MORE TO UKRAINE. THAT IS A LOT OF MONEY. I DON'T THINK THERE HAS EVER BEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT. EVERY TIME A ZELENSKY COMES TO THIS COUNTRY HE WALKS AWAY WITH $60 MILLION. I'M NOT KNOCKING HIM OR ANYTHING. I'M ONLY SAYING, THE MONEY THAT WE ARE SPENDING ON THIS WAR, AND WE SHOULD NOT BE SPENDING. IT NEVER SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED. I WILL HAVE THAT WERE SHUTTLE -- SETTLED BETWEEN PUTIN AND ZELENSKY , PEOPLE BEING KILLED SO NEEDLESSLY AND STUPIDLY AND I WILL GET IT SETTLED AND GET IT SETTLED FAST BEFORE I TAKE OFFICE. >> THE FACT IS THAT PUTIN IS A WAR CRIMINAL. HE'S KILLED THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE. HE HAS MADE ONE THING CLEAR, HE WANTS TO RE-ESTABLISH WHAT WAS ONCE THE SOVIET EMPIRE. AND DO YOU THINK HE WILL STOP THERE? DO YOU THINK YOU WILL STOP IF HE TAKES UKRAINE? WHAT YOU THINK HAPPENS TO THOSE NATO COUNTRIES? IF YOU WANT A WAR, YOU WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT HE IS GOING TO DO. BECAUSE IF HE DOES WHAT HE SAYS AND WALKS AWAY, AND BY THE WAY, ALL THAT MONEY WE GIVE UKRAINE ARE THE WEAPONS WE MAKE HERE IN THE UNITED STATES. WE ARE GIVING WEAPONS, NOT THE MONEY AT THIS POINT. OUR NATO ALLIES PRODUCED AS MUCH FUNDING FOR UKRAINE AS WE HAVE. THAT IS WHY WE ARE STRONG. >> MOVING ON TO THE MIDDLE EAST. IN OCTOBER, HAMAS ATTACKED ISRAEL KILLING MORE THAN 1000 PEOPLE AND TAKING HUNDREDS OF HOSTAGES. AMONG THOSE HELD AND THOUGHT TO STILL BE ALIVE ARE FIVE AMERICANS. ISRAEL'S RESPONSE HAS KILLED THOUSANDS OF PALESTINIANS AND CREATED A HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN GAZA. PRESIDENT BIDEN, YOU PUT FORWARD A PROPOSAL TO RESOLVE THIS CONFLICT BUT SO FAR HAMAS HAS NOT RELEASED THE REMAINING HOSTAGES AND ISRAEL IS CONTINUING ITS MILITARY OFFENSIVE IN GAZA. WHAT ADDITIONAL LEVERAGE WILL YOU USE TO GET HAMAS AND ISRAEL TO END THE WAR, YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES. >> NUMBER ONE, EVERYONE FROM THE UNITED NATION SECURITY COUNCIL STRAIGHT THROUGH TO THE G7 AND ISRAELIS AND BENJAMIN NETANYAHU HIMSELF HAVE ENDORSED THE PLAN I PUT FORWARD, IT HAS THREE STAGES. THE FIRST STAGE IS THAT WE TRADE THE HOSTAGES FOR A CEASE- FIRE. THE SECOND PHASE IS A CEASE- FIRE WITH ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS AND THE THIRD PHASE IS THE END OF THE WAR. THE ONLY ONE THAT WANTS THE WAR TO CONTINUE HIS HAMAS, NUMBER ONE. WE ARE STILL PUSHING HARD TO GET THEM TO ACCEPT IT. IN THE MEANTIME, WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN ISRAEL, THE ONLY THING I DENIED ISRAEL WAS 2000 POUND BOMBS. THEY DON'T WORK VERY WELL IN POPULATED AREAS, THEY KILL A LOT OF INNOCENT PEOPLE. AND I AM THE GUY THAT ORGANIZED THE WAR AGAINST IRAN WHEN THE HAD A FULL-BLOWN BALLISTIC ATTACK ON ISRAEL. ONE ISRAELI WAS ACCIDENTALLY KILLED AND THEN IT STOPPED. WE SAVED ISRAEL AND WE ARE THE BIGGEST PRODUCER OF SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL OR THAN ANYONE IN THE WORLD. THEY ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. HAMAS CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE. WE CONTINUE TO TELL PEOPLE HOW THEY CAN GET HAMAS LIKE THEY DID BIN LADEN. THEY ARE GREATLY WEAKENED, AND THEY SHOULD BE ELIMINATED. BUT YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT USING CERTAIN WEAPONS IN POPULATED AREAS. >> LET'S GO BACK TO UKRAINE FOR ONE SECOND. WE HAVE AN OCEAN SEPARATING US. THE EUROPEAN NATIONS HAVE SPENT 100 BILLION, OR MAYBE MORE THAN THAT, LESS THAN US, WHY DOESN'T HE CALLED THEM AND SAY YOU'VE GOT TO PUT UP YOUR MONEY LIKE I DID WITH NATO. I GOT THEM TO PUT UP HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS AND THE SECRETARY OF NATO SAID, TRUMP DID THE MOST INCREDIBLE JOB I'VE EVER SEEN. WE WERE SPENDING ALMOST 100% OF THE MONEY, IT WAS PAID BY US. HE DIDN'T DO THAT. YOU'VE GOT TO ASK THESE PEOPLE TO PUT UP THE MONEY. WE ARE OVER $100 BILLION MORE SPEND AND IT HAS A BIGGER IMPACT ON THEM BECAUSE WE HAVE AN OCEAN IN BETWEEN. YOU'VE GOT TO ASK HIM, AS FAR AS ISRAEL AND HAMAS, HE SAID THE ONLY ONE THAT WANTS TO KEEP GOING IS HAMAS. ACTUALLY, ISRAEL IS THE ONE. YOU SHOULD LET THEM GO AND LET THEM FINISH THE JOB. HE HAS BECOME LIKE A PALESTINIAN, BUT THEY DON'T LIKE HIM, HE'S A VERY BAD PALESTINIAN, HE IS THE WEAK ONE. >> I'VE NEVER HEARD SO MUCH FOOLISHNESS. THIS IS A GUY THAT WANTS TO GET OUT OF NATO. YOU ARE GOING TO STAY IN NATO? YOU'RE GOING TO PULL OUT OF NATO. THE IDEA THAT WE HAVE OUR STRENGTH AND OUR ALLIANCES AS WELL. IT MAY BE A BIG OCEAN, BUT HAVE WE BEEN ABLE TO AVOID A MAJOR MORE WITH EUROPE. WE HAVE AN AGREEMENT, ATTACK ON ONE, TECHNO. HE KEEPS TALKING ABOUT, LET PUTIN GO IN AND CONTROL UKRAINE AND THEN MOVE ON TO POLAND AND OTHER PLACES. HE HAS NO IDEA WHAT THE HELL HE IS TALKING ABOUT. I HAVE 50 OTHER NATIONS AROUND THE WORLD TO SUPPORT UKRAINE INCLUDING JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA BECAUSE THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THIS KIND OF DISLOCATION HAS A SERIOUS THREAT TO THE WHOLE WORLD PEACE. NO MAJOR WAR IN EUROPE HAS EVER BEEN ABLE TO BE CONTAINED JUST TO EUROPE. >> PRESIDENT TRUMP, JUST A FOLLOW-UP, WOULD YOU SUPPORT THE CREATION OF AN INDEPENDENT PALESTINIAN STATE TO ACHIEVE PEACE IN THE REGION? >> I'D HAVE TO SEE. BUT BEFORE WE DO THAT, THE PROBLEM WE HAVE, IT KILLS US ON ALL THE MONEY. I MADE GREAT TRADE DEALS, AND IF YOU ADD THEM UP THEY ARE ABOUT THE SAME SIZE ECONOMICALLY. THEY DON'T WANT OURS, I DON'T WANT ANYTHING WE HAVE BUT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO TAKE THEIR FOOD, THEIR CARS, THEIR EVERYTHING. THE BIG THING I CHANGED, THEY DON'T WANT TO PAY. THE ONLY REASON HE CAN PLAY GAMES WITH NATO IS BECAUSE I GOT THEM TO PUT UP HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS. AND HE IS RIGHT ABOUT THIS, I SAID, NO, I'M NOT GOING TO SUPPORT NATO IF YOU DON'T PAY. THEY ASKED ME THE QUESTION, WOULD YOU GUARD US AGAINST RUSSIA AT A VERY SECRET MEETING, 28 STATES, NATIONS AT THE TIME. I SAID, NO, IF YOU DON'T PAY, YOU WON'T DO THAT. AND YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, BILLIONS AND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS CAME FLOWING IN THE NEXT DAYS AND MONTHS. NOW WE ARE IN THE SAME POSITION PAYING EVERYONE'S BILLS. >> FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP, I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT JANUARY 6th, 2021, AFTER YOU RALLIED YOUR SUPPORTERS, SOME OF THEM STORMED THE CAPITAL TO STOP THE CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATING OF COUNTING ELECTORAL VOTES. YOU SWORE AN OATH TO PROTECT, AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION. WHAT DO YOU SAY TO VIEWERS THAT YOU VIOLATED THAT OATH ON JANUARY 6th AND ARE WORRIED ABOUT DOING IT AGAIN. >> ON JANUARY 6, WE HAD A GREAT BORDER, NOBODY COMING THROUGH, VERY FEW. ON JANUARY 6th WE WERE REGULATIONS EVER. ON JANUARY 6th WE WERE RESPECTED ALL OVER THE WORLD, ALL OVER THE WORLD WE WERE RESPECTED. AND HE COMES IN AND NOW WE ARE NOW LEFT OUT LIKE A BUNCH OF STUPID PEOPLE. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE UNITED STATES REPUTATION UNDER THIS MAN'S LEADERSHIP IS HORRIBLE. INCLUDING WEAPONIZATION, WHICH I'M SURE AT SOME POINT YOU WILL BE TALKING ABOUT WHEN HE GOES AFTER HIS POLITICAL OPPONENT BECAUSE HE CAN'T BEAT HIM FAIR AND SQUARE. >> 80 SECONDS LEFT. MY QUESTION WAS WHAT YOU SAY TO THOSE VOTERS WHO BELIEVE YOU VIOLATED YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL OATH THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS ON JANUARY 6th, 2021. >> I DID NOT SAY THAT TO ANYBODY. I SAID PEACEFULLY AND PATRIOTICALLY. NANCY PELOSI, ON TAPE, TO HURT DAUGHTER, WHO IS A DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER, THEY SAY, SHE IS SAYING, OH, NO, IT IS MY RESPONSIBILITY. I WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS. I OFFERED HER 10,000 SOLDIERS WERE NATIONAL GUARD AND SHE TURNED IT DOWN. THE MAYOR, IN WRITING, TURNED IT DOWN, THE MAYOR OF D.C. THEY TURNED IT DOWN. I OFFERED 10,000 BECAUSE I COULD SEE, I HAD VIRTUALLY NOTHING TO DO, THEY ASKED ME TO MAKE A SPEECH. EVERYBODY SAID THEY WILL BE THERE ON JANUARY 6th AND I SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT, THAT'S A LOT OF PEOPLE COMING. YOU COULD FEEL IT, YOU COULD FEEL IT AND YOU CAN FEEL IT. I SAID, THEY SHOULD HAVE SOME NATIONAL GUARD AND IT WAS THE SAME DAY THAT SHE WAS, I DON'T KNOW, SHE CAN'T BE VERY HAPPY WITH HER DAUGHTER, SHE SAID, I TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR JANUARY 6th. >> PRESIDENT BIDEN? >> LOOK, HE ENCOURAGED THOSE FOLKS ON CAPITOL HILL. I SAID IN THE DINING ROOM, HE SAT THERE FOR THREE HOURS WATCHING, BEING BEGGED BY THE VICE PRESIDENT AND A NUMBER OF COLLEAGUES TO DO SOMETHING, TO CALL FOR A STOP AND TO END IT. INSTEAD HE TALKED ABOUT THE PEOPLE BEING GREAT PATRIOTS OF AMERICA. IN FACT, HE SAYS HE WILL NOW FORGIVE THEM FOR WHAT THEY'VE DONE. IF THEY WERE CONVICTED HE SAYS HE WANTS TO COMMUTE THEIR SENTENCES. HE WENT TO EVERY SINGLE COURT IN THE NATION, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY CASES, SCORES OF CASES, INCLUDING THE SUPREME COURT AND THEY SAID, NO, NO, THIS GUY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT WAS DONE. HE DIDN'T DO A THING AND THESE PEOPLE SHOULD BE IN JAIL. HE WANTS TO LET THEM ALL OUT AND NOW HE SAYS IS IF YOU LOSES AGAIN THAT THERE WILL BE A BLOODBATH? >> WHAT THEY'VE DONE TO SOME PEOPLE THAT ARE SO INNOCENT, YOU OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF. WHAT YOU'VE DONE, HOW YOU HAVE DESTROYED THE LIVES OF SO MANY PEOPLE. WHEN THEY RIPPED DOWN PORTLAND AND MANY OTHER CITIES. MINNESOTA, MINNEAPOLIS, WHAT THEY'VE DONE THERE WITH THE FIRES ALL OVER THE CITY. IF I DIDN'T BRING IN THE NATIONAL GUARD THAT CITY WOULD HAVE BEEN DESTROYED. WHEN YOU LOOK AT ALL OF IT, THEY TOOK OVER BIG CHUNKS OF SEATTLE. I WAS SET TO BRING IN THE NATIONAL GUARD, THEY IMMEDIATEL WHAT HE SAID ABOUT THIS WHOLE SUBJECT IS SO OFF. PEACEFULLY, PATRIOTIC, AND ONE OTHER THING, THE UNSELECT COMMITTEE, WHICH IS BASICALLY TWO HORRIBLE REPUBLICANS THAT ARE GONE NOW, OUT OF OFFICE AND ALL DEMOCRATS, THEY DESTROYED AND DELETED ALL THE INFORMATION THEY FOUND BECAUSE THEY FOUND OUT WE WERE RIGHT. AND THEY DELETED AND DESTROYED ALL THAT INFORMATION. THEY SHOULD GO TO JAIL FOR THAT. IF A REPUBLICAN DID THAT, THEY WOULD GO TO JAIL. >> THE ONLY PERSON ON THIS STAGE THAT IS A CONVICTED FELON IS A MINUTE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW. THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT WHAT HE IS TELLING YOU IS SOMETHING UNTRUE. THE FACT IS THAT THERE WAS NO EFFORT ON HIS PART TO STOP WHAT WAS GOING ON ON CAPITOL HILL. AND EVERYONE OF THOSE WHO WERE CONVICTED DESERVES TO BE CONVICTED. THE IDEA THAT THEY DIDN'T KILL SOMEBODY EMMA JUST WENT IN AND BROKE DOWN DOORS AND WINDOWS AND OCCUPIED OFFICES, TURNED OVER DESKS AND STATUES. THE IDEA THAT THOSE PEOPLE ARE PATRIOTS, COME ON. WHEN I ASKED IN THE FIRST TWO DEBATES WE HAD THE FIRST TIME AROUND, I SAID DID YOU DENOUNCE THE PROUD BOYS? HE SAID, NO, I TOLD THEM TO STANDBY. DO YOU DENOUNCE THE PEOPLE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT NOW THAT ATTACKED THE CAPITAL EMMA WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? >> I WILL GIVE YOU A MINUTE FOR A FOLLOW-UP QUESTION I HAVE. AFTER A JURY CONVICTED YOU HAVE 34 FELONIES LAST MONTH YOU SAID IF RE-ELECTED YOU WOULD "HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO GO AFTER" YOUR OPPONENTS, YOU JUST TALKED ABOUT THOSE FROM JANUARY 6th GOING TO JAIL. HER MAIN OPPONENT IS STANDING ON STAGE, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT EXACTLY WHAT THAT MEANS? >> I SAID MY RETRIBUTION WILL BE A SUCCESS. WE WILL MAKE THIS COUNTRY A SUCCESS AGAIN. BUT WHEN HE TALKS ABOUT A CONVICTED FELON, HIS SON IS A CONVICTED FELON. HIS SON WILL BE CONVICTED PROBABLY NUMEROUS OTHER TIMES BUT THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT LET THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS LAPSE ON THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS. BUT HE COULD BE A CONVICTED FELON AS SOON AS HE GETS OUT OF OFFICE, JOE COULD BE A CONVICTED FELON WITH ALL THE HORRIBLE THINGS HE'S DONE. ALL THE DEATH CAUSED AT THE BORDER, TELLING THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE THAT IF YOU WANT $1 BILLION, CHANGE THE PROSECUTOR. IF I EVER SAID THAT, IT IS QUID PRO QUO. WE WILL NOT GIVE YOU $1 BILLION UNLESS YOU CHANGE THE PROSECUTOR HAVING TO DO WITH HIS SON. THIS MAN IS A CRIMINAL. YOU ARE LUCKY, I DID NOTHING WRONG. WE WOULD HAVE A SYSTEM THAT IS RIGGED AND DISGUSTING. >> PRESIDENT BIDEN, YOU HAVE SAID, I GIVE YOU A MINUTE TO RESPOND. >> THE IDEA THAT I DID ANYTHING WRONG RELATIVE TO WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT IS OUTRAGEOUS, IT IS SIMPLY A LIE. NUMBER TWO, THE IDEA THAT YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO SEEK RETRIBUTION AGAINST ANY AMERICAN JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE PRESIDENT IS WRONG, SIMPLY WRONG. NO PRESIDENT HAS EVER SPOKEN LIKE THAT BEFORE IN OUR HISTORY. NUMBER THREE, THE CRIMES YOU ARE STILL CHARGED WITH, HOW MANY ALIENS OF DOLLARS DO YOU ON CIVIL PENALTIES FOR MOLESTING A WOMAN IN PUBLIC AND DOING A WHOLE RANGE OF THINGS, HAVING SEX WITH A STAR WHILE YOUR WIFE WAS PREGNANT. I MEAN, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, YOU HAVE THE MORALS OF AN ALLEY CAT? >> I DIDN'T HAVE SEX WITH A STAR. NUMBER ONE. NUMBER TWO, IT WAS A CASE THAT WAS STARTED AND THEY MOVED THE HIGH RANKING OFFICIAL, DOJ INTO THE MANHATTAN D.A.S OFFICE AND THAT CASE WILL BE APPEALED AND WON. >> WE HAD A VERY TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE JUDGE, A DEMOCRAT. THE PROSECUTORS WERE ALL HIGH- RANKING DEMOCRATS, APPOINTED PEOPLE, BOTH CIVIL AND CRIMINAL. HE BASICALLY WENT AFTER HIS POLITICAL OPPONENT BECAUSE HE THOUGHT IT WOULD DAMAGE ME. BUT WHEN THE PUBLIC FOUND OUT ABOUT THESE CASES, BECAUSE THEY UNDERSTAND IT BETTER THAN HE DOES, WHEN THEY FOUND OUT ABOUT THE CASES, MY POLL NUMBERS WENT WAY UP. WE TOOK IN MORE MONEY IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS THAN WE'VE EVER TAKEN IN IN THE HISTORY OF ANY CAMPAIGN, I DON'T THINK ANY CAMPAIGN HAS EVER TAKEN IN HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. THE PUBLIC KNOWS IT IS A SCAM AND IT'S A GUY AFTER HIS POLITICAL OPPONENT BECAUSE HE CAN'T WIN FAIR AND SQUARE. >> YOU HAVE SAID THAT "DONALD TRUMP AND MAGA REPUBLICANS ARE DETERMINED TO DESTROY AMERICAN DEMOCRACY." DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THE AMERICANS LIKELY TO VOTE FOR TRUMP ARE VOTING AGAINST AMERICAN DEMOCRACY? >> THE MORE I KNOW ABOUT WHAT HE HAS DONE, YES. AND HE'S GOT A LOT OF CASES DOWN THE ROAD COMING UP. HE HAS A WHOLE RANGE OF ISSUES HE HAS TO FACE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE JURY'S DO BUT I DO KNOW HE HAS A REAL PROBLEM. THE FACT THAT, CAN YOU -- DO YOU EVER HEAR ANY PRESIDENTS' DAY, I'M GOING TO SEEK RETRIBUTION? WHAT GOT ME INVOLVED THE FIRST TIME AFTER MY SON DIED, I SAID I WOULD NOT RUN AGAIN UNTIL I SAW WHAT HAPPENED IN CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA. PEOPLE COMING OUT OF THE THE WOODS CARRYING SWASTIKAS AND HOLDING TORCHES, SAYING THE SAME ANTI-SEMITIC BILE. I SPOKE TO THE MOTHER AND ASKED HIM, WHAT YOU THINK OF THOSE PEOPLE, THE ONES WHO GOT KILLED, AND HE SAID, I THINK THEY ARE FINE PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES. WHAT AMERICAN PRESIDENT WOULD EVER SAY THAT THE NAZI COMING OUT WITH TORCHES WERE FINE PEOPLE. THIS IS A GUY WHO SAYS HITLER HAS DONE SOME GOOD THINGS. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THEY ARE. HE HAS NO SENSE OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. >> JAKE, BOTH OF YOU KNOW THAT STORY HAS BEEN TOTALLY WIPED OUT BECAUSE WHEN YOU SEE THE SENTENCE, IT SAID, 100% EXONERATION. HE JUST KEEPS IT GOING. HE SAID HE RAN BECAUSE OF CHARLOTTESVILLE, AND HE DIDN'T, HE RAN BECAUSE IT WAS HIS LAST CHANCE AND HE IS NOT EQUIPPED TO BE PRESENT. YOU KNOW IT AND I KNOW IT. WE ARE TRYING TO JUSTIFY HIS PRESIDENCY. HIS PRESIDENCY, WITHOUT QUESTION, THE WORST PRESIDENCY IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. WE SHOULD NOT BE HAVING A DEBATE ABOUT IT, HE MADE UP THE CHARLOTTESVILLE STORY AND IT HAS BEEN BUMPED ALL OVER THE PLACE, EVERY REASONABLE ANCHOR HAS DEBUNKED IT. IT IS JUST COME OUT THAT IT HAS FULLY BEEN DEBUNKED. IT IS A NONSENSE STORY AND HE KNOWS THAT. >> DEBUNKED, IT HAPPENED, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS LISTEN TO WHAT WAS SAID AT THE TIME. THE IDEA THAT THAT WAS THE ONLY REASON I RAN, I WAS WORRIED THAT A GUY LIKE THIS COULD GET ELECTED. IF HE THOUGHT THAT THERE WERE GOOD PEOPLE COMING OUT OF THE FOREST CARRYING THOSE TORCHES, THEN HE DIDN'T DESERVE TO BE PRESIDENT AT ALL. THE IDEA THAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT ALL OF THIS BEING FABRICATED, WE SAW IT WITH OUR OWN EYES. WE SAW WHAT HAPPENED ON JANUARY 6, PEOPLE BREAKING THROUGH THE WINDOWS, HIS OWN VICE PRESIDENT, THERE IS A REASON WHY 40 OF THE 44 TOP COVENANT OFFICERS REFUSED TO ENDORSING THIS TIME. THE VICE PRESIDENT REFUSES TO ENDORSING THIS TIME. SO, WHY, WHY ARE THEY NOT ENDORSING HIM? >> WE WILL BE RIGHT BACK WITH MORE ON THIS CNN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE. >>> WELCOME TO THE TRUMP TRIALS SIDEBAR. A NEW PODCAST FROM THE WASHINGTON COAST. EVERY WEEK ALONGSIDE RADICAL FINN AND JAMES HOME AND WE BREAK DOWN THE LATEST NEWS AND LEGAL BATTLES AS DONALD TRUMP RAMPS UP HIS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN. THE RAMIFICATIONS ARE SERIOUS. >> THE FIRST TIME A U.S. RESIDENT IS IN COURT AS A DEFENDANT. >> WE ALSO HAVE SOME FUN. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB IN THE COURT OTHER THAN JOURNALIST, WHAT WOULD IT BE? >> I'D ENJOY BEING A BAILIFF. YOU'VE NEVER READ A STORY ABOUT MESSING WITH THE BAILIFF. >> COLLEAGUES SHARE THE INSIDE SCOOPS. DO YOU HAVE AN IDEA THAT THE JURY HAS THAT WEIGHT BEARING ON THEM? >> THEY KNOW THEY ARE PART OF HISTORY. >> WHAT ARE SOME OF THE WEIRD NUGGETS YOU'VE LEARNED ABOUT JURORS THIS WEEK? >> THIS GUY TALKING ABOUT HIS PUBLIC ACCESS TV SHOW. >> WATCH THE TRUMP TRIALS SIDEBAR ON YOUTUBE OR LISTEN TO US ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST PLATFORM TODAY. >> I'M A REPORTER FOR THE WASHINGTON POST. I WANTED TO COME TO THE WASHINGTON POST BECAUSE IT IS SOME OF THE BEST JOURNALISM GOING ON IN AMERICA. A TYPICAL DAY AT THE POST CAN SOMETIMES BE ANYTHING BUT TYPICAL. IF THE PRESIDENT IS IN TOWN, I AM ALSO IN TOWN. IF THE PRESIDENT IS TRAVELING, I OR ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES ARE ALSO TRAVELING, WRITING ABOUT THE IMPACT OF WHAT HE IS DOING AND HOW AMERICANS FEEL ABOUT THAT. IF I HAD TO DESCRIBE THE POLITICAL TEAM HERE, ONE THING THAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT OUR COVERAGE, WE HAVE HYPOTHESES BUT WE DON'T HAVE ASSUMPTIONS. TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE PEOPLE ACTUALLY ARE AS OPPOSED TO ASSUMING WHERE THEY ARE IS WHAT MAKES US DISTINCT. CORRECTIVE JOURNALISM IS REALLY IMPORTANT AT THIS POINT BECAUSE EVERYONE IS TRYING TO SELL YOU SOMETHING. WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS JUST CALL IT LIKE IT IS. THIS IS WHAT'S GOING ON IN YOUR WORLD AND THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO MAKE YOUR OWN INFORMED DECISION. >> DEMOCRACY IS ON THE BALLOT, YOUR FREEDOM IS ON THE BALLOT. >> I AM YOUR WARRIOR, I AM YOUR JUSTICE, I AM YOUR RETRIBUTION. >> THE 2024 ELECTION IS IN FULL SWING. FOR EVERY KEY CAMPAIGN MOMENT THE WASHINGTON POST AS THEY ARE BRINGING YOU LIVE COVERAGE WITH INSIGHT AND ANALYSIS FROM LANDMARK SUPREME COURT DECISIONS TO THE SENTENCING OF DONALD TRUMP. WE WILL BE ON LOCATION REPORTING LIVE FROM THE REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND THE PRESIDENTIAL AND VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES. IT ALL LEADS UP TO OUR 2024 ELECTION NIGHT SPECIAL, PROVIDING REAL-TIME RACE CALLS, LIVE UPDATES FROM REPORTERS ON THE GROUND. MONITORING THE PIVOTAL RACES THAT WILL DETERMINE THE BALANCE OF POWER IN WASHINGTON AND THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY. NO ONE COVERS POLITICS AND ELECTIONS LIKE THE WASHINGTON POST BECAUSE DEMOCRACY DIES IN DARKNESS. >>> WELCOME BACK TO THE CNN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE LIVE FROM GEORGIA. LET'S TALK ABOUT PERSISTENT CHALLENGES YOU BOTH FACED IN YOUR FIRST TERMS AND YOU WOULD CERTAINLY PACE AGAIN IN YOUR SECOND TERM. PRESIDENT BIDEN, WHILE BLACK UNEMPLOYMENT DROPPED TO A RECORD LOW UNDER YOUR PRESIDENCY, BLACK FAMILIES STILL EARN FAR LESS THAN WHITE FAMILIES. BLACK MOTHERS ARE STILL THREE TIMES MORE LIKELY TO DIE FROM PREGNANCY -RELATED CAUSES AND BLACK AMERICANS ARE IMPRISONED AT FIVE TIMES THE RATE OF WHITE AMERICANS. WHAT DO YOU SAY TO BLACK VOTERS WHO ARE DISAPPOINTED THAT YOU HAVE NOT MADE MORE PROGRESS? >> THEY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I'VE MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS, NUMBER ONE. MORE SMALL BLACK BUSINESSES HAVE BEEN STARTED THAN ANY TIME IN HISTORY. NUMBER TWO, BLACK UNEMPLOYMENT IS THE LOWEST IT'S BEEN IN A LONG, LONG TIME. NUMBER THREE, WE HAVE PROVIDED HOUSING FOR BLACK AMERICANS AND DEALING WITH SEGREGATION THAT EXISTS AMONGST THESE CORPORATE THAT COLLUDE TO KEEP THEM OUT OF THEIR HOUSES. IN ADDITION, WE FIND THAT THE IMPACT ON THE CHOICE OF BLACK FAMILIES HAVE TO MAKE RELATIVE TO CHILDCARE IS INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT. WHEN WE DID THE FIRST MAJOR PIECE OF LEGISLATION THAT WAS PASSED, I WAS ABLE TO REDUCE BLACK CHILDCARE COSTS, CUT THEM IN HALF. WE'VE GOT TO MAKE SURE TO PROVIDE FOR CHILD CARE COSTS. WHEN YOU PROVIDE THOSE CHILDCARE PROTECTIONS, YOU INCREASE ECONOMIC GROWTH BECAUSE MORE PEOPLE WILL BE IN THE JOB MARKET. THERE IS MORE TO BE DONE, CONSIDERABLY MORE TO BE DONE. WE'VE DONE A GREAT DEAL SO FAR AND I AM NOT LETTING UP, AND THEY KNOW IT. >> YOU HAVE 49 SECONDS LEFT. WHAT DO YOU SAY TO BLACK VOTERS THAT ARE DISAPPOINTED WITH PROGRESS SO FAR? >> I SAY, I DON'T BLAME THEM FOR BEING DISAPPOINTED. INFLATION IS STILL HURTING THEM BADLY. I PROVIDED FOR THE IDEA THAT ANY BLACK FAMILY FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER SHOULD GET A $10,000 TAX CREDIT TO BUY THEIR FIRST HOME SO THEY CAN GET STARTED. I MADE SURE WE WERE IN A SITUATION WHERE ALL THOSE BLACK FAMILIES AND BLACK INDIVIDUALS THAT TOOK OUT STUDENT LOANS THAT WERE BALLOONING, ANYTHING HAVING TO DO WITH NURSES AND DOCTORS, OR VOLUNTEERS, IF THEY PAID THEIR STUDENT DEBT FOR 10 YEARS, ALL THE REST WAS FORGIVEN. MILLIONS BENEFITED FROM THAT. WE WILL DO A WHOLE LOT MORE FOR BLACK FAMILIES. >> AND HE CAUSED THE INFLATION. HE IS BLAMING INFLATION AND HE IS RIGHT, IT'S BEEN VERY BAD. IT IS KILLING BLACK FAMILIES, HISPANIC FAMILIES AND JUST ABOUT EVERYBODY. THEY CAN'T BUY GROCERIES ANYMORE, YOU LOOK AT THE COST OF FOOD, WHERE IT HAS DOUBLED, TRIPLED AND QUADRUPLED. THEY ARE NOT LIVING ANYMORE. I GAVE HIM A COUNTRY WITH ESSENTIALLY NO INFLATION. IT WAS PERFECT, SO GOOD. ALL HE HAD TO DO WAS LEAVE IT ALONE. HE DESTROYED IT WITH HIS NEW SCAM AND ALL THIS MONEY BEING THROWN OUT THE WINDOW. HE CAUSED INFLATION. AS SURE AS YOU ARE SITTING THERE, THE FACT IS, THEY ARE TAKING BLACK JOBS NOW, IT COULD BE 18, 19, EVEN 20 MILLION PEOPLE, THEY ARE TAKING BLACK JOBS AND HISPANIC JOBS. YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET, BUT YOU WILL SEE SOMETHING THAT IS THE WORST IN HISTORY. >> >> THERE WAS NO INFLATION WHEN I BECAME PRESIDENT, YOU KNOW WHY, THE ECONOMY WAS FLAT ON ITS BACK WITH 15% UNEMPLOYED WOMEN. HE DECIMATED THE ECONOMY. THAT'S WHY THERE WAS NO INFLATION AT THE TIME. THERE WERE NO JOBS, WE PROVIDED THOUSANDS OF MILLIONS OF JOBS FOR INDIVIDUALS INCLUDING MINORITY COMMUNITIES. THE ACA, I MADE SURE THAT THERE WAS $8000 PER PERSON, PER FAMILY TO GET WRITTEN OFF IN HEALTHCARE, BUT THIS GUY WANTS TO ELIMINATE THAT. HE WANTS TO GET RID OF THE ACA AGAIN. WE FIND OURSELVES IN A POSITION WHERE THE IDEA THAT WE ARE NOT DOING ANYTHING, WE PUT MORE POLICE ON THE STREET THAN ANY ADMINISTRATION. HE WANTS TO CUT THE COPS. WE'VE PROVIDED FOR EQUITY, MAKING SURE PEOPLE HAVE A SHOT TO MAKE IT. TREMENDOUS MALFEASANCE AND THE WAY HE HANDLED THE PANDEMIC. >> ANOTHER PERSISTENT CHALLENGE IS THE CLIMATE CRISIS, 2023 WAS THE HOTTEST IN HISTORY. INTENSIFYING WILDFIRES, STRONGER HURRICANES AND RISING SEA LEVELS. FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP, YOU HAVE VOWED TO END YOUR OPPONENTS CLIMATE INITIATIVES, BUT WILL YOU TAKE ANY ACTION AS PRESIDENT, TO SLOW THE CLIMATE CRISIS? >> LET ME GO BACK TO WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT HOW CLOSE THE POLICE ARE TO HIM, ALMOST EVERY POLICE GROUP IN THE NATION, FROM EVERY STATE IS SUPPORTING DONALD J TRUMP. ALMOST EVERY POLICE GROUP. AND WHAT HE'S DONE TO THE BLACK POPULATION, IT'S HORRIBLE INCLUDING THE FACT THAT FOR 10 YEARS HE CALLED THEM SUPER PREDATORS, THAT WAS HIS NAME AND HE CALLED IT TO THEM AND THEY'VE TAKEN GREAT OFFENSE AND NOW THEY SEE IT HAPPENING BUT WHEN THEY SEE WHAT I DID FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM AND FOR THE HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, WHERE I FUNDED THEM AND GOT THEM ALL FUNDED AND THE OPPORTUNITY ZONES WITH TIM AS YOU KNOW, TIM SCOTT, WHO IS INCREDIBLE, GREAT SENATOR FROM SOUTH CAROLINA, HE CAME TO ME WITH THE IDEA AND IT WAS A GREAT IDEA, ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACTS EVER IN THE COUNTRY. OPPORTUNITY ZONES AND ONE OF THE BIGGEST BENEFICIARIES ARE BLACKS AND THAT'S WHY WE HAVE THE BEST NUMBERS WITH THEM MAYBE EVER, THEY ARE SAYING EVER. THE BEST NUMBERS. HE'S LOST MUCH OF THE BLACK POPULATION, BECAUSE HE'S DONE A HORRIBLE JOB FOR BLACK PEOPLE AND ALSO DONE A HORRIBLE JOB FOR HISPANICS BUT WAIT TILL YOU SEE THESE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE POURING INTO OUR COUNTRY AND THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE THE JOBS AND IT'S ALREADY STARTED AND YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING YET. IT'S A DISASTER. >> 30 SECONDS LEFT, PRESIDENT TRUMP, WILL YOU TAKE ANY ACTION AS PRESIDENT TO SLOW THE CLIMATE CRISIS. >> I WANT IMMACULATE CLEAN WATER AND I WANT ABSOLUTELY CLEAN AIR AND WE HAD IT. WE HAD H2O, WE HAVE THE BEST NUMBERS, EVER, AND WE WERE USING ALL FORMS OF ENERGY, EVERYTHING, AND YET, DURING MY FOUR YEARS, I HAVE THE BEST ENVIRONMENTAL NUMBERS, EVER. AND MY TOP ENVIRONMENTAL PEOPLE GAVE ME THAT THIS IS TO JUST BEFORE I WALKED ON THE STAGE, ACTUALLY. >> I DON'T KNOW WHERE HE HAS BEEN, THE IDEA THAT ANYTHING HE SAID IS TRUE. I PASSED THE MOST EXTENSIVE CLIMATE CHANGE LEGISLATION IN HISTORY, IN HISTORY. WE FIND OURSELVES IN BY THE WAY, BLACK COLLEGES, I CAME UP WITH $50 BILLION FOR HBCUS, BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE THE CONTRIBUTORS TO BUILD THESE LABORATORIES, NOW THEY WILL BE ABLE TO GET THE JOBS IN HIGH TECH. WE ARE IN A SITUATION WHERE THE IDEA THAT HE IS CLAIMING TO HAVE DONE THE CLEANEST WATER, CLEANEST WATER? HE HASN'T DONE A THING. THE HARRIS CLIMATE ACCORD. I IMMEDIATELY JOINED IT THE ONLY EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO HUMANITY IS CLIMATE CHANGE AND HE DIDN'T DO A THING ABOUT IT AND HE WANTS TO UNDO ALL OF THEM. >> THE PARIS ACCORD WAS GOING TO COST US $1 TRILLION AND INDIA AND CHINA, NOTHING. IT WAS A RIP OFF, AND I ENDED IT BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO WASTE THAT MONEY BECAUSE THEY TREAT US HORRIBLY. IT WAS COSTING US MONEY, NOBODY ELSE WAS PAYING INTO IT. IT WAS A DISASTER. BUT EVERYTHING THAT HE SAID JUST NOW, I HEARD HIM SAY BEFORE INSULIN, I'M THE ONE THAT GOT THE INSULIN DOWN FOR THE SENIORS. I TOOK CARE OF THE SENIORS. WHAT HE'S DOING IS DESTROYING ALL OF OUR MEDICAL PROGRAMS BECAUSE THE MIGRANTS ARE COMING IN AND THEY WANT EVERYBODY AND LOOK, I HAVE THE BIGGEST HEART ON THE STAGE, I GUARANTEE YOU, AND I WANT TO TAKE CARE PEOPLE BUT WE ARE DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY, THEY ARE TAKING OVER OUR SCHOOLS, OUR HOSPITALS AND THEY WILL BE TAKING OVER SOCIAL SECURITY. HE IS DESTROYING SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE AND MEDICAID. >> THE IDEA THAT WE IN FACT, WE WERE THE ONLY ONES OF CONSEQUENCE WHO ARE NOT MEMBERS OF THE PARIS ACCORD. HOW CAN WE DO ANYTHING -- ONE OF THE LARGEST POLLUTERS IN THE WORLD, WE ARE MAKING SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS, BY 2035 WE WILL HAVE CUT POLLUTION IN HALF. WE'VE MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE PROGRESS, THEY SET UP A CLIMATE CORPS FOR THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE TO LEARN HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS, LIKE THE PEACE CORPS. BUT THE IDEA THAT HE CLAIMS HE HAS THE BIGGEST HEART UP HERE AND IS REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT POLLUTION AND CLIMATE, I'VE NOT SEEN ANY INDICATION OF THAT. AND BY THE WAY, WITH REGARD TO PRESCRIPTION DRUGS, ONE COMPANY AGREED THAT THEY WOULD REDUCE THE PRICE TO $35 WHICH I WAS CALLING FOR, ONE, VOLUNTARILY. I MADE SURE EVERY COMPANY IN THE WORLD, EVERY PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY DOES NOT HAVE TO PAY AND BY THE WAY -- >> EVERY DAY MILLIONS OF AMERICANS STRUGGLE JUST TO MAKE ENDS MEET, FOR MANY OLDER AMERICANS, SOCIAL SECURITY PROVIDES A CRITICAL LIFELINE. PRESIDENT BIDEN IF NOTHING IS DONE TO SOCIAL SECURITY, SENIORS WILL SEE THEIR BENEFITS CUT IN JUST OVER 10 YEARS. WILL YOU NAME TONIGHT, ONE SPECIFIC STUFF THAT YOU'RE WILLING TO TAKE TO KEEP SOCIAL SECURITY SOLVENT? >> MAKES A VERY WEALTHY PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE. RIGHT NOW, EVERYBODY MAKING UNDER $170,000 PAYS 6% OF THEIR INCOME OF THEIR PAYCHECK, EVERY SINGLE TIME THEY GET A PAYCHECK. THE IDEA THAT, I'M PROPOSING THAT, EVERYBODY, THEY PAY, MILLIONAIRES PAY 1%. 1%. SO I WILL NOT RAISE THE COST OF SOCIAL SECURITY FOR ANYBODY UNDER $400,000. THE WEALTHY WILL PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE TO GUARANTEE THE PROGRAM FOR LIFE . >> YOU AND 82 SECONDS, ANY OTHER MEASURES THAT YOU THINK THAT WOULD HOPE KEEP SOCIAL SECURITY SOLVENT? >> THAT ONE ENOUGH WILL KEEP IT SOLID. THE BIGGEST THING I WILL DO IF WE DO SEE THIS MAN BECAUSE HE WANTS TO GET RID OF SOCIAL SECURITY. HE THINKS THERE'S PLENTY TO CUT IN SOCIAL SECURITY. HE'S WANTED TO CUT SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE, BOTH TIMES. AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE PROGRAM PUT FORWARD BY THE HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAUCUS THAT HE SUPPORTS, THEY IN FACT WANT TO CUT IT AS WELL. THE IDEA, WE DON'T NEED TO PROTECT OUR SENIORS, THAT'S RIDICULOUS. AND BY THE WAY, THE AMERICAN PUBLIC HAS GREATER HEALTHCARE COVERAGE THAN EVER BEFORE. AND THE ACA, WE ARE IN A CIRCUMSTANCE WHERE 400,000 PEOPLE I'M SORRY, 40 MILLION PEOPLE WOULD NOT HAVE INSURANCE BECAUSE THEY HAVE PREVIOUS CONDITION. THE ONLY THING THAT ALLOWS THEM TO HAVE THAT INSURANCE IS BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT THEY ARE A PART OF THE ACA. IN TALKING ABOUT EDUCATION FOR BLACK COMMUNITIES. I'VE RAISED THE AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR PELL GRANTS ANYBODY MAKING UNDER $70,000 A YEAR WILL BE ABLE TO GET $15,000 TOWARDS THEIR TUITION. HE JUST DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT. >> PRESIDENT TRUMP? >> I'VE DEALT WITH POLITICIANS ALL MY LIFE, I'VE BEEN ON THIS SIDE OF THE EQUATION FOR THE LAST EIGHT YEARS. I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYBODY LIVE LIKE THIS GUY. HE LIES, I'VE NEVER SEEN IT, HE CAN LOOK YOU IN THE FACE, SO MANY OTHER THINGS, TOO, AND WE MENTIONED THE LAPTOP, WE MENTIONED RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, AND EVERYTHING HE DOES IS A LIE. IT'S MISINFORMATION AND DISINFORMATION. THE LOSERS AND SUCKERS STORY THAT HE MADE UP, IT'S A TOTAL LIE, AND THE MILITARY, IT'S A DISGRACE. BUT SOCIAL SECURITY, HE'S DESTROYING IT BECAUSE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ARE POURING INTO OUR COUNTRY AND THEY ARE PUTTING HIM -- PUTTING THEM ONTO SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE AND MEDICAID, THEY'RE PUTTING THEM IN OUR HOSPITALS, TAKING THE PLACE OF OUR CITIZENS AND WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO THE VA, THE VETERANS IS UNBELIEVABLE, OUR VETERANS ARE LIVING IN THE STREET AND THESE PEOPLE ARE LIVING IN LUXURY HOTELS. HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING AND IT'S REALLY COMING BACK. NEVER SEEN SUCH ANGER IN OUR COUNTRY BEFORE. >> PRESIDENT BIDEN? >> THE IDEA THAT VETERANS WILL NOT BE TAKEN CARE OF, I TOLD BEFORE AND WHEN I SAID SUCKERS AND LOSERS, HE ACKNOWLEDGED AFTER THAT HE FIRED THAT GENERAL. THE GENERAL GOT FIRED BECAUSE HE'S THE ONE THAT ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THAT IS WHAT HE SAID. HE WAS THE ONE STANDING WITH TRUMP WHEN HE SAID IT. NUMBER 1. NUMBER 2, THE IDEA THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE IN A SITUATION WHERE ALL THESE MILLIONS AND MILLIONS, THE WAY HE TALKS ABOUT, ILLEGAL ALIENS COMING TO THE COUNTRY, TAKING AWAY OUR JOBS, THERE'S A REASON WHY WE HAVE THE FASTEST GROWING ECONOMY IN THE WORLD. THERE'S A REASON WHY WE HAVE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ECONOMY IN THE WORLD, WE ARE DOING BETTER THAN ANY OTHER NATION IN THE WORLD AND BY THE WAY, THOSE 15 NOBEL LAUREATES THAT HE TALKED ABOUT BEING PHONY, THAT'S 15 NOBEL LAUREATES, ECONOMISTS AND THEY SAID IF TRUMP IS REELECTED INFLATION WILL GO UP AND THE WORST PRESIDENT IN HISTORY? 159 PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS VOTED, HIM THE WORST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND -- >> LET'S TURN TO CHILDCARE. PRESIDENT TRUMP, BOTH YOU AND PRESIDENT BIDEN HAVE TRIED TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE BUT THE AVERAGE COST OF CHILDCARE IN THE CENTER HAS RISEN TO MORE THAN $11,000 PER CHILD AND FOR MANY FAMILIES THE COST OF TWO CHILDREN IS MORE THAN THEIR RENT. A SECOND TERM, WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO MAKE CHILDCARE MORE AFFORDABLE? >> JUST TO GO BACK, THE GENERAL GOT FIRED BECAUSE HE WAS NO GOOD AND IF YOU SAID THAT, THAT'S WHY HE MADE IT UP BUT WE HAVE 19 PEOPLE THAT SAID I DIDN'T SAY IT AND THEY ARE HIGHLY RESPECTED, MUCH MORE SO THAN HIM. THE OTHER THING IS, HE DOESN'T FIRE PEOPLE. HE NEVER FIRED PEOPLE. I'VE NEVER SEEN HIM FIRE ANYONE, I FIRED COMEY BECAUSE HE WAS NO GOOD, I DRAINED THE SWAMP, THEY WERE NO GOOD. NOT EASY TO FIRE PEOPLE, THEY GET PRESS FOR IT BUT I INHERITED THESE PEOPLE, I DIDN'T PUT COMEY THERE, HE WAS NO GOOD. I FIRED HIM, THIS GUY HASN'T FIRED ANYBODY. HE NEVER FIRES -- HE SHOULD HAVE FIRED EVERY MILITARY MAN THAT WAS INVOLVED WITH THAT AFGHAN, THE AFGHANISTAN, THAT CAR SHOW, THE MOST INTERESTING MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. HE DIDN'T FIRE, DID YOU FIRE ANYBODY? DID YOU FIRE ANYBODY THAT'S ON THE BORDER? THAT'S ALLOWED US TO HAVE THE WORST BORDER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD? DID ANYBODY GET FIRED FOR ALLOWING 18 MILLION PEOPLE MANY FROM PRISONS, MANY FROM FROM, MENTAL INSTITUTION, DID YOU FIRE ANYBODY THAT ALLOWED OUR COUNTRY TO BE DESTROYED? JOE, OUR COUNTRY IS BEING DESTROYED AS YOU AND I SIT UP HERE AND WASTE A LOT OF TIME IN THIS DEBATE, THIS SHOULDN'T BE A DEBATE. HE'S THE WORST PRESIDENT, HE JUST SAID ABOUT ME BECAUSE I SAID IT. BUT LOOK, HE'S THE WORST PRESIDENT IN HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. HE IS DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY, NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN HE'S TRYING TO GET A LITTLE TOUGH ON THE BORDER, HE CAME OUT WITH A NOTHING DEAL AND IT REDUCED IT A LITTLE BIT. A LITTLE BIT, LIKE, THIS MUCH, IT'S INSIGNIFICANT. HE WANTS OPEN BORDERS. HE WANTS OUR COUNTRY TO EITHER BE DESTROYED OR HE WANTS TO PICK UP THOSE PEOPLE AS VOTERS AND I DON'T THINK, WE JUST CAN'T LET IT HAPPEN. IF HE WINS THIS ELECTION, OUR COUNTRY DOESN'T HAVE A CHANCE, NOT EVEN A CHANCE, OF COMING OUT OF THIS RUT. WE PROBABLY WON'T HAVE A COUNTRY LEFT ANYMORE, THAT'S HOW BAD IT IS. HE IS THE WORST IN HISTORY, BY FAR. >> PRESIDENT BIDEN? >> WE ARE THE MOST ADMIRED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, WE ARE THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THERE IS NOTHING BEYOND OUR CAPACITY. WE HAVE THE FINEST MILITARY IN HISTORY OF THE WORLD. THE FINEST IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. NO ONE THINKS WE ARE WEAK. NO ONE. NOBODY. THAT'S NUMBER 1. NUMBER 2, THE IDEA THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE WORST PRESIDENT, I WASN'T JOKING, LOOK IT UP, GO ONLINE. 159 OR 158, DON'T HOLD ME TO THE NUMBER, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIANS, THEY HAD MEETINGS AND DEVOTED, WHO IS THE WORST PRESIDENT IN AMERICAN HISTORY. THEY WENT FROM BEST TO WORST, HE WAS THE WORST IN ALL OF AMERICAN HISTORY. THAT'S A FACT. THAT'S NOT CONJECTURE. HE CAN ARGUE THEY ARE WRONG BUT THAT'S WHAT THEY VOTED. THE IDEA THAT HE IS DOING ANYTHING TO DEAL WITH CHILDCARE, HE DID VIRTUALLY NOTHING TO CHILDCARE. WE SHOULD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THE CHILD TAX CREDIT AND THE AVAILABILITY OF WOMEN AND MEN OR SINGLE-PARENT, TO BE ABLE TO GO BACK TO WORK AND WE SHOULD ENCOURAGE BUSINESSES TO HAVE -- >> THANK YOU PRESIDENT BIDEN. >> THE QUESTION WAS ABOUT WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO MAKE MORE AFFORDABLE CHILDCARE . >> JUSSIE YOU UNDERSTAND, WE HAVE OTHER THINGS, WHAT HE'S DONE IS SO BAD. AND THEY RATE ME, I'LL SHOW YOU, I WILL SAY. AND THE RATE ME ONE OF THE BEST, OKAY? AND IF I'M GIVEN ANOTHER FOUR YEARS, I WILL BE THE BEST, I THINK I WILL BE THE BEST, NOBODY HAS EVER CREATED AN ECONOMY LIKE US, NO ONE EVER CUT TAXES LIKE US, HE'S THE ONLY ONE I KNOW, HE WANTS TO RAISE HER TAXES BY FOUR TIMES, HE WANTS TO RAISE EVERYBODY'S TAXES BY FOUR TIMES, HE WANTS THE TRUMP TAX CUTS TO EXPIRE SO EVERYBODY INCLUDING THE TWO OF YOU ARE GOING TO PAY 4 TO 5 TIMES, NOBODY EVER SAID THIS BEFORE, ALL MY LIFE I GROW UP AND I SEE POLITICIANS TALKING ABOUT CUTTING TAXES. WE CUT TAXES AS I SAID, WE DID MORE BUSINESS, APPLE AND ALL THESE COMPANIES, THEY WERE BRINGING MONEY BACK INTO OUR COUNTRY. THE WORST PRESIDENT IN HISTORY, BY FAR AND EVERYBODY KNOWS IT. >> PRESIDENT BIDEN? >> THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT HE IS DEAD WRONG ABOUT THAT. HE'S, HE WILL INCREASE THE TAXES ON MIDDLE CLASS PEOPLE. I SAID I WOULD NEVER RAISE TAXES ON ANYBODY MAKING UNDER $400,000 BUT THESE TARIFFS, EVERYTHING COMING INTO THE COUNTRY, THE ECONOMISTS SAY THAT WILL COST THE AVERAGE AMERICAN $2000 MORE BECAUSE THEY WILL HAVE TO PAY THE DIFFERENCE IN FOOD AND ALL THE THINGS THAT I REPORTED. NUMBER 2, HE'S IN A SITUATION WHERE, HE TALKS ABOUT HOW HE SOMEHOW HELPS THE MIDDLE CLASS, THE MIDDLE CLASS HAS BEEN DEVASTATED BY YOU, NOW YOU WANT A NEW TAX CUT OF $5 TRILLION OVER THE NEXT AREAS WHICH IS GOING TO FUNDAMENTALLY BANKRUPT THE COUNTRY. NUMBER 2, YOU HAVE NOT, IN FACT, MADE ANY PROGRESS WITH CHINA. WE ARE AT THE LOWEST TRADE DEFICIT WITH CHINA SINCE 2010. >> THANK YOU PRESIDENT BIDEN. LET'S DISCUSS AN EPIDEMIC IMPACTING MILLIONS OF AMERICANS, THE BOTH OF YOU HAVE MADE IT A TOP PRIORITY IN YOUR FIRST TERM, THE OPIOID CRISIS AND FOR BOTH OF YOU, THE NUMBER OF OVERDOSE DEATHS IN THIS COUNTRY HAS GONE UP UNDER YOUR TERM AND UNDER YOUR TERM IT WENT UP. DESPITE THE EFFORTS THAT BOTH OF YOU HAVE MADE, MORE THAN 100,000 AMERICANS ARE DYING FROM OVERDOSES EVERY YEAR, PRIMARILY FROM FENTANYL AND OTHER OPIOIDS. WHAT WILL YOU DO TO HELP AMERICANS IN THE THROES OF ADDICTION, WHO ARE STRUGGLING TO GET THE TREATMENT THEY NEED? >> TO FINISH UP, WE NOW HAVE THE LARGEST DEFICIT IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY UNDER THIS GUY. WE HAVE THE LARGEST DEFICIT WITH CHINA, HE GETS PAID BY CHINA, HE'S A MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, HE GETS MONEY FROM CHINA, I THINK HE'S AFRAID TO DEAL WITH THEM OR SOMETHING. BUT DO YOU NOTICE, HE NEVER TOOK OUT MY TARIFFS BECAUSE WE BRING IN SO MUCH MONEY WITH THE TARIFF THAT I IMPOSED ON CHINA, HE NEVER TOOK THEM AWAY, HE CAN'T, BECAUSE IT'S TOO MUCH MONEY. IT'S TREMENDOUS, AND WE SAVED OUR INDUSTRIES AND THERE'S MORE TO COME BUT HE HASN'T DONE THAT. HE HASN'T CUT THE TEST BECAUSE HE CAN'T BECAUSE THERE'S TOO MUCH MONEY. BUT HE'S GOT THE LARGEST DEFICIT IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY AND HE'S GOT THE WORST, THE WORST SITUATION WITH CHINA, CHINA IS GOING TO OWN AS IF YOU KEEP ALLOWING THEM TO DO WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO US AS A COUNTRY, THEY ARE KILLING US AS A COUNTRY, JOE, AND YOU CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN, YOU'RE DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY. >> PRESIDENT TRUMP YOU HAVE 67 SECONDS LEFT, THE QUESTION WAS WHERE YOU GOING TO DO TO HELP AMERICANS IN THE THROES OF ADDICTION RIGHT NOW WHO ARE STRUGGLING TO GET THE TREATMENT THEY NEED. >> JAKE, WE ARE DOING VERY WELL IN ADDICTION UNTIL THE COVID CAME ALONG. WE HAD A MOST THREE YEARS OF LIKE NOBODY'S EVER HAD BEFORE, ANY COUNTRY, AND ENTRYWAY, THEN WE HAD TO GET TOUGH, AND IT WAS, THE DRUGS POURING ACROSS THE BORDER, IT STARTED TO INCREASE, WE GOT GREAT EQUIPMENT, WE BOUGHT THE CERTAIN DOG THAT'S THE MOST INCREDIBLE THING YOU'VE EVER SEEN, THE WAY THEY CAN SPOT IT, WE DID A LOT AND WE WERE GETTING VERY LOW NUMBERS, VERY, VERY LOW NUMBERS, THEN HE CAME ALONG, THE NUMBERS, HAVE YOU SEEN THE NUMBERS NOW? IT'S NOT ONLY THE 18 MILLION PEOPLE THAT I BELIEVE IS EVEN LOW, BECAUSE THEY DON'T EVEN TALK ABOUT GOT ALWAYS BUT THE AMOUNT OF DRUGS, AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING, IN WOMEN, COMING ACROSS OUR BORDER, THE WORST THING OF EVER SEEN. NUMBERS LIKE NOBODY'S EVER SEEN, UNDER HIM BECAUSE THE BORDER IS SO BAD. BUT THE NUMBER OF DRUGS COMING ACROSS OUR BORDER NOW, IT'S THE LARGEST WE'VE EVER HAD, BY FAR. >> PRESIDENT BIDEN? >> FENTANYL WENT DOWN FOR A WHILE. AND I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE USED MACHINERY THAT COULD DETECT INTENTIONAL. IT COSTS A LOT OF MONEY. THAT WAS PART OF THE DEAL WE PUT TOGETHER. THE BIPARTISAN DEAL. MORE FENTANYL MACHINES, MORE NUMBERS OF AGENTS, ALL PEOPLE AT THE BORDER. WHEN WE HAVE THAT DEAL DONE, HE WENT AND HE CALLED HIS REPUBLICAN COLLEAGUES AND SAID DON'T DO IT. HE NEVER ARGUED IT'S NOT A GOOD BILL. WE NEED THOSE MACHINES. WE NEED THOSE MACHINES. AND WE ARE COMING DOWN HARD IN EVERY COUNTRY. MEXICO IS WORKING WITH US TO MAKE SURE THEY GET THE TECHNOLOGY TO PUT THOSE TOGETHER. WE NEED THOSE MACHINES. >> AGAIN, THE QUESTION IS ABOUT AMERICANS IN THE THROES OF ADDICTION STRUGGLING TO GET THE TREATMENT THEY NEED. >> HE ENDED REMAIN IN MEXICO, HE ENDED CATCH AND RELEASE. WE HAVE SO MANY THINGS THAT WE HAD DONE, HARD NEGOTIATIONS OF MEXICO AND I GOT IT ALL FOR NOTHING. IT'S LIKE WHEN HE HAS A HOSTAGE, WE ALWAYS PAY $6 BILLION, NOW WE HAVE A HOSTAGE, A WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTER. I THINK, A GOOD GUY, AND HE'S OVER THERE BECAUSE PUTIN IS LAUGHING AT THIS GUY PROBABLY ASKING FOR BILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR THE REPORTER. I WILL HAVE HIM OUT VERY QUICKLY, AS SOON AS I TAKE OFFICE, BEFORE I TAKE OFFICE, I SAID, BY LITERALLY, AS SOON AS I WIN THE ELECTION, I WILL HAVE THAT REPORTER OUT. HE SHOULD HAVE HAD ABOUT A LONG TIME AGO BUT PUTIN IS PROBABLY ASKING FOR BILLIONS AND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS BECAUSE THIS GUY PAYS IT EVERY TIME. WE HAD TWO CASES, WE PAID $6 BILLION FOR FIVE PEOPLE, I GOT 58 PEOPLE OUT, AND I PAID ESSENTIALLY, NOTHING. >> LET'S TURN TO CONCERNS THAT VOTERS HAVE ABOUT EACH OF YOU. PRESIDENT BIDEN, YOU WOULD BE 86 AT THE END OF YOUR SECOND TERM. HOW DO YOU ADDRESS CONCERNS ABOUT YOUR CAPABILITY TO HANDLE THE TOUGHEST JOB IN THE WORLD, WAY INTO YOUR 80s. >> FIRST OF ALL, I SPENT HALF MY CAREER BEING CRITICIZED AS BEING THE YOUNGEST PERSON IN POLITICS. I WAS THE SECOND YOUNGEST PERSON EVER ELECTED TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE AND NOW THE OLDEST. THIS GUY IS THREE YEARS YOUNGER. AND A LOT LESS COMPETENT. LOOK AT THE RECORD. LOOK AT WHAT I'VE DONE. 50 MILLION NEW JOBS, 800,000 MANUFACTURING JOBS. OVER BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN PRIVATE INVESTMENT. WE ARE GROWING. BY THE WAY, THE WHOLE IDEA OF COMPUTER CHIPS. WE INVENTED THOSE CHIPS. AND WE LOST IT BECAUSE HE WAS SENDING PEOPLE TO FIND THE CHEAPEST JOBS OVERSEAS AND SO I WENT TO SOUTH KOREA, I GOT SAMSUNG TO INVEST BILLIONS OF DOLLARS HERE IN THE UNITED STATES AND GUESS WHAT? THEY PAY OVER $100,000, YOU DON'T NEED A COLLEGE DEGREE FOR THEM AND THERE'S BILLIONS, ABOUT $40 BILLION ALREADY BEING INVESTED AND BUILT IN THE UNITED STATES CREATING SIGNIFICANT JOBS FOR AMERICANS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. >> PRESIDENT BIDEN, 40 SECONDS LEFT, WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD ANYTHING? >> THE IDEA THAT SOMEHOW WE ARE THIS FEELING COUNTRY, I NEVER HEARD THE PRESIDENT TALK LIKE THIS BEFORE. WE ARE THE ENVY OF THE WORLD. NAMELY A SINGLE MAJOR COUNTRY PRESIDENT WHO WOULDN'T TRADE PLACE WITH US, WE ARE THE MOST PROGRESSIVE COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, WITH GETTING THINGS DONE, THE STRONGEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. WE ARE COUNTRY KEEPS OUR WORD, AND EVERYBODY TRUSTS US. ALL OF OUR ALLIES, AND ALL OF THOSE WHO HE CUDDLES UP TO, KIM JONG UN, PUTIN, THEY DON'T WANT TO SCREW AROUND WITH US. >> THANK YOU. FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP, TO FOLLOW UP, YOU WOULD BE 82 AT THE END OF YOUR SECOND TERM. WHAT DO YOU SAY TO VOTERS WHO HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT YOUR CAPABILITIES TO SERVE? >> WELL I TOOK TWO COGNITIVE TESTS AND I ACED THEM, BOTH OF THEM. AS YOU KNOW, WE MADE IT PUBLIC. I'D LIKE TO SEE HIM TAKE ONE, A REAL EASY ONE LIKE 02 THE FIRST FIVE QUESTIONS, HE COULDN'T DO IT. BUT I TOOK TWO COGNITIVE TESTS AND I TOOK PHYSICAL EXAMS EVERY YEAR, AND YOU KNOW, KNOCK ON WOOD, WHEREVER WE MAY HAVE WORK THAT I'M IN VERY GOOD HEALTH, I JUST WON TWO CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS, NOT EVEN SENIOR, TO DO THAT, YOU HAVE TO BE QUITE SMART AND YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO HIT THE BALL A LONG WAY AND I DO IT. HE CAN'T HIT A BALL 50 YARDS, HE CHALLENGED ME TO A GOLF MATCH, HE CAN'T HIT A BALL 50 YARDS. I THINK I'M IN VERY GOOD SHAPE. I FEEL I'M AS GOOD OF SHAPE AS I WAS 30 YEARS AGO ACTUALLY, I LIKE HER, BUT I'M AS GOOD OF SHAPE AS I WAS YEARS AGO. I FEEL VERY GOOD. I FEEL THE SAME BUT I WAS WILLING TO TAKE A COGNITIVE TEST AND YOU KNOW WHAT IF I DIDN'T DO WELL, I ACED THEM, DR. RONNIE JACKSON, WHOSE A GREAT GUY, WHEN HE WAS A WHITE HOUSE DOCTOR THAT I TOOK A SIMILAR ONE, AND BOTH, ONE OF THEM SAID THEY'VE NEVER SEEN ANYBODY ACED THEM. >> THANK YOU. PRESIDENT BIDEN? >> YOU CAN SEE HE IS 6'5 ONLY 225 POUNDS. >> WELL -- >> ANYWAY, JUST TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT HE SAYS HE IS, AND TAKE IT FOR THE WAY HE IS. LOOK, I'D BE HAPPY TO HAVE A DRIVING CONTEST WITH HIM. I'VE GOT MY HANDICAP DOWN TO A 6. BY THE WAY I TOLD YOU BEFORE AND HAPPY TO PLAY GOLF IF YOU CAN CARRY YOUR OWN BAG, DO YOU THINK YOU COULD DO IT? >> 6 HANDICAP? >> YEAH WELL -- >> PRESIDENT TRUMP -- >> LET'S NOT ACT LIKE CHILDREN. >> TO A SPECIFIC CONCERN THAT VOTERS HAVE ABOUT YOU, WILL YOU PLEDGE TONIGHT THAT ONCE ALL LEGAL CHALLENGES HAVE BEEN EXHAUSTED, THAT YOU WILL ACCEPT THE RESULTS OF THIS ELECTION REGARDLESS OF WHO WINS, AND YOU WILL SAY RIGHT NOW THAT POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN ANY FORM IS UNACCEPTABLE. >> WELL I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO SAY THAT BUT OF COURSE I BELIEVE THAT. IT'S TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. AND IF YOU WOULD SEE MY STATEMENTS THAT I MADE ON TWITTER AT THE TIME, AND ALSO MY STATEMENT THAT I MADE IN THE ROSE GARDEN, YOU WOULD SAY IT'S ONE OF THE STRONGEST STATEMENTS THAT YOU'VE EVER SEEN. IN ADDITION TO THE LARGEST CROWD EVER SPOKEN TO AND NOBODY EVER TALKS ABOUT THAT, THEY TALK ABOUT A RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT WENT TO THE CAPITOL AND IN MANY PLACES WERE USHERED IN BY THE POLICE AND AS NANCY PELOSI SAID, IT WAS HER RESPONSIBILITY, NOT MINE. THE ANSWER IS, IF THE ELECTION IS FAIR AND FREE AND I WANT THAT MORE THAN ANYBODY AND I'LL TELL YOU SOMETHING, I WISH HE WAS A GREAT PRESIDENT BECAUSE I WOULDN'T BE HERE RIGHT NOW. I WOULD BE AT ONE OF MY MANY PLACES ENJOYING MYSELF, I WOULDN'T BE UNDER INDICTMENT BECAUSE I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN HIS LYRICAL OPPONENT BECAUSE HE INDICTED ME BECAUSE I WAS HIS OPPONENT. I WISH HE WAS A GREAT PRESIDENT. I WOULD RATHER HAVE THAT, I WOULDN'T BE HERE, I DON'T MIND BEING HERE, THE ONLY REASON I'M HERE IS HE SO BAD AS A PRESIDENT I'M GOING TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. WE ARE GOING TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, WE ARE FAILING NATION RIGHT NOW, WE ARE SERIOUSLY FAILING, AND WE ARE A FAILING NATION BECAUSE OF HIM. HIS POLICIES ARE SO BAD, HIS MILITARY POLICIES ARE INSANE. THEY ARE INSANE. THESE ARE WARS THAT WILL NEVER END. HE WILL DRIVE US INTO WORLD WAR III AND WE ARE CLOSER TO WORLD WAR III THAN ANYBODY CAN IMAGINE. WE ARE VERY CLOSE TO WORLD WAR III AND HE IS DRIVING US THERE AND KIM JONG UN AND PRESIDENT XI OF CHINA, ALL OF THESE, PUTIN, THEY DON'T RESPECT THEM, THEY DON'T FEAR HIM, THEY HAVE NOTHING GOING WITH THIS GENTLEMAN, AND IS GOING TO DRIVE US INTO WORLD WAR III. >> YOU WANT A WORLD WAR III. YOU'RE GOING TO SAY LET PUTIN DO WHAT YOU WANT IN NATO. ARTICLE 5. AN ATTACK ON ONE IS AN ATTACK ON ALL. THE IDEA, THE IDEA, I CAN'T THINK OF A SINGLE MAJOR LEADER IN THE WORLD WHO WOULDN'T TRADE PLACES WITH THE JOB I'VE DONE, BECAUSE WE ARE A POWERFUL NATION. IT'S BECAUSE OF THE PEOPLE, NOT ME, IT'S BECAUSE OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, THEY ARE CAPABLE OF ANYTHING AND THEY STEP UP WHEN NEEDED AND RIGHT NOW, WE ARE NEEDED TO PROTECT THE WORLD BECAUSE OUR OWN SAFETY IS AT STAKE AND AGAIN, YOU WANT TO HAVE A WAR, JUST LIKE PUTIN, GO AHEAD AND TAKE KYIV, SEE WHAT HAPPENS IN POLAND, HUNGARY AND OTHER PLACES ALONG THE BORDER. THEN, YOU HAVE A WAR. >> PRESIDENT TRUMP, AS I COME BACK TO YOU FOR A FOLLOW-UP, THE QUESTION WAS, WILL YOU ACCEPT THE RESULTS OF THIS ELECTION, REGARDLESS OF WHO WINS? >> JUST TO FINISH WHAT HE SAID IF I MIGHT, RUSSIA, THEY TOOK A LOT OF LAND FROM BUSH, THEY TOOK A LOT OF LAND FROM OBAMA AND BIDEN, THEY TOOK NO LAND, NOTHING, FROM TRUMP, NOTHING. HE KNEW NOT TO DO IT. YOU ARE NOT GOING TO PLAY GAMES WITH ME, I GOT ALONG WITH HIM WELL BUT HE KNEW NOT TO PLAY GAMES. HE DID NOTHING FOR ME. BUT NOW HE'S GOING TO TAKE THE WHOLE THING FROM THIS MAN, RIGHT HERE. THAT'S A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER STARTED. IT WOULD HAVE NEVER STARTED, EVER, WITH ME. AND HE'S GOING TO TAKE UKRAINE AND YOU ASK ME A QUESTION BEFORE, WOULD YOU DO THIS, HE'S GOT US IN SUCH A BAD POSITION RIGHT NOW, WITH UKRAINE AND WITH RUSSIA, BECAUSE UKRAINE IS NOT WINNING THAT WAR. THEY'RE RUNNING OUT OF PEOPLE, RUNNING OUT OF SOLDIERS, THEY LOST SO MANY PEOPLE, IT'S SO SAD, THEY LOST SO MANY PEOPLE AND THEY LOST THE GORGEOUS CITIES WITH THE GOLDEN DOMES THAT ARE 1000 YEARS OLD, ALL BECAUSE OF HIM AND STUPID DECISIONS. RUSSIA WOULD HAVE NEVER ATTACKED. >> PRESIDENT TRUMP, THE QUESTION WAS, WILL YOU ACCEPT THE RESULTS OF THE ELECTION REGARDLESS OF WHO WINS, YES OR NO. >> IF IT'S A FAIR AND LEGAL AND GOOD ELECTION, ABSOLUTELY. I WOULD HAVE MUCH RATHER ACCEPTED THESE BUT THE, THE FRAUD AND EVERYTHING ELSE, IT WAS RIDICULOUS. AND IF YOU WANT, WE WILL AVENUES CONFERENCE IN A WEEK OR WILL HAVE ANOTHER ONE OF THESE IN A WEEK BUT I WILL ABSOLUTELY, THERE'S NOTHING I WOULD RATHER DO. IT WOULD BE MUCH EASIER FOR ME TO DO THAT THEN I'M RUNNING AGAIN. I WASN'T REALLY GOING TO RUN UNTIL I SAW THE HORRIBLE JOB HE DID. HE'S DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY. I WOULD BE VERY HAPPY TO BE SOMEPLACE ELSE, IN A NICE LOCATION SOMEPLACE. AND AGAIN, NO INDICTMENTS, NO POLITICAL OPPONENTS STUFF, BECAUSE IT'S THE ONLY WAY HE THINKS HE CAN WIN BUT UNFORTUNATELY IT'S DRIVEN UP MY NUMBERS AND DRIVEN THEM UP TO A HIGH LEVEL BECAUSE THE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND IT. >> LET'S SEE WHAT YOUR NUMBERS ARE WHEN THE ELECTION IS OVER. LET'S SEE. YOU ARE A WHINER, WHEN YOU LOST THE FIRST TIME, YOU CONTINUED YOUR APPEAL AND APPEAL TO A COURT OF ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, NOT ONE SINGLE COURT IN AMERICA SAID ANY OF YOUR CLAIMS HAD ANY MERIT. STATE OR LOCAL, NONE. BUT YOU, YOU CONTINUE TO PROVOKE THIS LIE ABOUT SOMEHOW THERE'S ALL THIS MISREPRESENTATION, ALL OF THE STEALING, THERE'S NO EVIDENCE OF THAT AT ALL. AND I'LL TELL YOU WHAT, I DOUBT WHETHER YOU WILL ACCEPT IT BECAUSE YOU ARE SUCH A WHINER, THE IDEA WITH YOU LOSING AGAIN, YOU CAN'T STAND LOST, SOMETHING SNAPPED IN YOU WHEN YOU LOST LAST TIME. >> WE WILL BE RIGHT BACK WITH MORE FROM THE CNN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE, LIVE FROM GEORGIA. ♪ >>> WELCOME TO THE TRUMP TRIALS SIDEBAR, A NEW PODCAST FROM THE WASHINGTON POST. AS DONALD TRUMP RAMPS UP HIS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN. THE RAMIFICATIONS ARE SERIOUS. >> THE FIRST TIME A U.S. PRESIDENT IS IN COURT AS A DEFENDANT. >> WE ALSO HAVE FUN. >> IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB IN THE COURT OTHER THAN JOURNALIST, WHAT WOULD YOU BE? >> I WOULD BE THE A. >> OUR COLLEAGUE SARAH THERE INSIDE SCOOP. >> DO YOU HAVE A SENSE THAT THE JURY HAS THE WEIGHT-BEARING ON THEM? >> THEY KNOW THEY ARE A PART OF HISTORY. >> WHAT ARE SOME THINGS YOU LEARNED ABOUT JURORS THIS WEEK? >> HIS PUBLIC ACCESS TV SHOW. >> LISTEN ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST FORUM TODAY. >> I WANTED TO JOIN THE WASHINGTON POST TO WORK WITH THE BEST POLITICAL TEAM IN THE BUSINESS AND COVER THE PEOPLE WHO WERE GOING TO DETERMINE WHO WINS THIS ELECTION. >> BEING OUT IN THE FIELD IS ESSENTIAL TO COVERING THE CAMPAIGN. I'M CONSTANTLY ON THE TRAIL GOING TO DIFFERENT EVENTS, FLYING AROUND THE COUNTRY, THERE'S A LOT OF VOTERS WHO WERE HESITANT ABOUT THIS GENERAL ELECTION. I WOULD SAY MY MOST INTERESTING INTERVIEWS IN THE PAST YEAR, COVERING THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE HAVE NOT BEEN OF THE CANDIDATES THEMSELVES BUT WITH THE VOTERS WHO ARE OUT IN THE COUNTRY AND HEARING ABOUT WHAT ISSUES ARE MOTIVATING THEM OR NOT MOTIVATING THEM TO TURN OUT AND VOTE. >> I THINK JUST BEING ABLE TO TELL STORIES THAT WE MIGHT NOT OTHERWISE HEAR FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL, IT'S A PRIVILEGE, AND WE ARE TRYING TO HOLD THE STORIES AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. >> DEMOCRACY IS ON THE BALLOT. YOUR FREEDOM IS ON THE BALLOT. >> I AM YOUR WARRIOR, I AM YOUR JUSTICE, I AM YOUR RETRIBUTION. >> THE 2024 ELECTION IS IN FULL SWING. FOR EVERY KEY CAMPAIGN MOMENT, THE WASHINGTON POST IS THERE, BRINGING YOU LIVE COVERAGE WITH INSIGHT AND ANALYSIS. FROM LANDMARK SUPREME COURT DECISIONS TO THE SENTENCING OF DONALD TRUMP. WE WILL BE ON LOCATION, REPORTING LIVE, FROM THE REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND THE PRESIDENTIAL AND VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES. IT ALL LEADS UP TO OUR 2024 ELECTION NIGHT SPECIAL. PROVIDING REAL-TIME RACE CALLS, LIVE UPDATES FROM OUR REPORTERS ON THE GROUND. MONITORING THE PIVOTAL RACES THAT WILL DETERMINE THE BALANCE OF POWER IN WASHINGTON AND THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY. NO ONE COVERS POLITICS AND ELECTIONS LIKE THE WASHINGTON POST. BECAUSE DEMOCRACY DIES IN DARKNESS. >>> IT'S NOW TIME FOR THE CANDIDATES TO DELIVER THEIR CLOSING STATEMENTS AS PREDETERMINED BY A COIN TOSS WE BEGIN WITH YOU PRESIDENT BIDEN. YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES. >> WE'VE MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS FROM THE DEBACLE THAT WAS LEFT PRESIDENT TRUMP IN HIS LAST TERM. WE FIND OURSELVES IN A SITUATION WHERE NUMBER 1, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A FAIR SYSTEM. I ASK ANYONE WATCHING THE DEBATE, DO YOU THINK THE TAX SYSTEM IS FAIR AND NOBODY MAKING UNDER $400,000 HAD A SINGLE INCREASE IN THEIR TAXES. BUT THIS GUY HAS INCREASED YOUR TAXES BECAUSE OF THE DEFICIT. THAT'S NUMBER 1. HE'S INCREASED INFLATION BECAUSE OF HOW HE LEFT THE PANDEMIC. HE WANTS TO TAX YOU MORE BY PUTTING IN A 10% TARIFF. WHAT I DID WHEN FOR EXAMPLE, ONCE TO GET RID OF THE ABILITY OF MEDICAID, TO BE ABLE TO NEGOTIATE DRUG PRICES. GUESS WHAT, WE GOT IT DOWN TO $35 FOR INSULIN INSTEAD OF $400, MORE THAN $2000 FOR EVERY SENIOR, NO MATTER HOW MANY PRESCRIPTIONS THEY NEED. THAT REDUCED THE FEDERAL DEBT BY $160 BILLION OVER 10 YEARS. BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT DOESN'T HAVE TO PAY THE EXORBITANT PRICES. I'M GOING TO MAKE THAT AVAILABLE TO EVERY SENIOR. HE WANTS TO GET RID OF THAT. I WILL MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE CHILDCARE, WERE GOING TO INCREASE THE CREDITS THAT PEOPLE HAVE FOR CHILD CARE. WE WILL MAKE SURE WE DO SOMETHING ABOUT WHAT WE ARE DOING ON LEAD PIPES AND ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE CAUSING HEALTH PROBLEMS FOR PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY. WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO FIGHT TO BRING DOWN INFLATION AND GIVE PEOPLE A BREAK. >> PRESIDENT TRUMP YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES FOR YOUR CLOSING STATEMENT. >> LIKE SO MANY POLITICIANS, THIS MAN IS A COMPLAINER. HE SAID WE WANT TO DO THIS, WE WANT TO DO THIS, GET RID OF THIS TAX OR THAT TAX BUT HE DOESN'T DO ANYTHING. ALL HE DOES IS MAKE OUR COUNTRY UNSAFE BY ALLOWING MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF PEOPLE TO POUR IN. OUR MILITARY DOESN'T RESPECT HIM, WE LOOK LIKE FOOLS IN AFGHANISTAN, WE DIDN'T STOP ISRAEL, IT WAS SUCH A HORRIBLE THING THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED. IRAN WAS BROKE, ANYBODY THAT DID BUSINESS WITH IRAN INCLUDING CHINA, THEY COULDN'T DO BUSINESS WITH THE UNITED STATES, THEY HAD NO MONEY FOR HAMAS OR HEZBOLLAH, NO MONEY WHATSOEVER. AGAIN, UKRAINE SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED. HE TALKS ABOUT ALL THE STUFF BUT HE DIDN'T DO IT FOR 3 1/2 YEARS, WE ARE LIVING IN HELL. WE HAVE THE PALESTINIANS AND EVERYBODY ELSE ALL OVER THE PLACE, YOU TALK ABOUT CHARLOTTESVILLE, THIS IS 100 TIMES THEY DON'T RESPECT YOU AND THEY HAVE TO RESPECT THEIR PRESENT AND THEY DON'T RESPECT YOU THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. WHAT WE DID WAS INCREDIBLE, WE REBUILD THE MILITARY, THAT THE LARGEST TAX CUT IN HISTORY, THE LARGEST REGULATION CUT IN HISTORY. THE REASON HE HAS JOBS IS BECAUSE I CUT THE REGULATIONS THAT GAVE JOBS BUT HE'S PUTTING THE REGULATIONS BACK ON. ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE, NOBODY HAS EVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT, EVEN FROM A MEDICAL STANDPOINT, THE RIGHT TO TRY, WE CAN TRY SPACE-AGE MATERIALS AND SET OF GOING TO ASIA OR EUROPE, WHEN YOU ARE TERMINALLY ILL, NOW YOU CAN GO AND GET SOMETHING, YOU SIGNED A DOCUMENT, THEY'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET IT FOR 42 YEARS BUT YOU KNOW WHAT WE DID FOR THE MILITARY, CHOICE FOR OUR SOLDIERS AND SAID WAITING FOR THREE MONTHS TO SEE A DOCTOR, THEY CAN GO OUT AND GET THEMSELVES FIXED UP AND READIED UP, AND TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES AND THEY ARE LIVING AND THAT'S WHY I HAVE THE HIGHEST APPROVAL RATING IN THE HISTORY OF THE VA SO ALL OF THESE THINGS, WE ARE A FEELING NATION BUT IT'S NOT GOING TO BE FAILING ANYMORE, WE WILL MAKE IT GREAT AGAIN. >> THANK YOU FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP, PRESIDENT BIDEN, STAY WITH US BECAUSE WE HAVE FULL ANALYSIS OF THIS DEBATE, ANDERSON COOPER AND AARON BURNETT START NOW ON CNN. >> THIS IS LIVE, FROM THE WASHINGTON POST OF CNN'S PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE AND YOU CAN STAY WITH US FOR ANALYSIS, RIGHT HERE, WITH THE WASHINGTON POST TEAM. I'M LIBBY CASEY AND I'M IN THE STUDIO WITH JAMES HOHMANN AND RHONDA COLVIN IS LIVE IN ATLANTA TONIGHT. WELL PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN HAD TO PUT TO REST WORRIES ABOUT HIS AGE BUT AT TIMES, HE APPEARED TO LOSE HIS TRAIN OF THOUGHT AND DID NOT COUNTER DONALD TRUMP. TRUMP LIED REPEATEDLY, BUT WASN'T FACT CHECKED I THE MODERATORS AND OFTEN NOT BY BIDEN, EITHER. LET'S TALK WITH JAMES, TOP TAKEAWAYS OF THIS DEBATE. >> IT WAS A TOUGH NIGHT FOR BIDEN, SOME OF HIS AIDES SAID THAT HE HAD A COLD, THEY DIDN'T TELL US THAT BEFORE THE DELAY. I THINK THE PRESIDENT HIT HIS STRIDE IN THE BACK HALF, ENOUGH, SO THAT PEOPLE WHO WERE SUPPORTING JOE BIDEN WOULD STICK WITH HIM BUT I THINK A LOT OF AMERICANS ARE UPSET THAT THESE ARE THE CHOICES THEY ARE LEFT WITH GOING INTO NOVEMBER AND I THINK WE ARE GOING TO SEE A NEW ROUND OF DOUBTS ABOUT WHETHER IT REALLY MAKE SENSE FOR DEMOCRATS TO RALLY BEHIND JOE BIDEN. >> J.M.? >> AGE IS A SIGNIFICANT ACHILLES' HEEL FOR BIDEN, MORE SO THAN TRUMP EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE ONLY THREE YEARS APART. THAT WAS REINFORCED TONIGHT, ESPECIALLY IN THE FIRST PART OF THE DEBATE, WHEN A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE WATCHING. THAT IS WHERE DEBATES ARE AS MUCH ABOUT MOMENTS AND ABOUT SORT OF THE OPTICS AND THE TENOR, AS MUCH AS FULL MAY WISH THAT THEY NOT BE, THAT IS WHAT DEBATES OFTEN ARE, WHAT THEY OFTEN COME DOWN TO. BIDEN REALLY DIDN'T HAVE THAT SORT OF MOMENT UNTIL AS JAMES MENTIONED, THE LATTER HALF OF THE DEBATE, OFF THE TOP, HE LOOKED YOU KNOW, HE WAS RAMBLING, HE WAS STRUGGLING THROUGH, YOU KNOW, HE STOPPED SUDDENLY AT TIMES. WAS REALLY STRIKING TO WATCH . NOW, THE SECOND HALF OF THE DEBATE, HE SEEMED TO REALLY COME INTO THE FORMAT A LITTLE BIT MORE, AND TRUMP JUST RATTLED OFF FALSEHOOD AFTER FALSEHOOD AND WE SHOULD NOT MINIMIZE THAT HERE. BUT IN TERMS OF HOW THIS SHAPES THE RACE WHICH IS WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, WAS THE IMPACT OF THIS, WE DON'T KNOW YET, WE ARE GOING TO KNOW IN THE DAYS AND WEEKS AHEAD BUT THIS WAS NOT A GOOD NIGHT, OFF THE TOP ESPECIALLY, FOR THE BIDEN CAMPAIGN . >> LET'S GO TO RHONDA COLVIN, WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE CHATTER IS BUT LET'S START WITH YOUR ANALYSIS OF TONIGHT. AS YOU TALK TO VOTERS , FOLKS THAT YOU TALK TO WANTED TO HEAR ABOUT POLICIES AND IDEAS BUT ON EVEN SOME OF THE STRONGEST PLATFORMS, THAT DEMOCRATS HAVE, LIKE ABORTION, BIDEN COULD NOT FIND HIS WAY THROUGH THE WOODS TO EXPLAIN HIS POSITION CLEARLY AND REALLY GAIN SOME TRACTION ON THAT TONIGHT. LET'S HEAR MORE FROM YOU ON WHAT THEY DID EFFECTIVELY AND WHAT THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO DO TONIGHT. >> YEAH, THAT'S ACTUALLY WHAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT WHILE I WAS WATCHING THIS, IS THE VOTERS I SPOKE TO. AND OTHER PEOPLE I'VE SPOKEN TO WHILE I'VE BEEN HERE. PEOPLE WERE REALLY ANTICIPATING A NIGHT WHERE THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THESE TWO MEN FALL ON CERTAIN POLICY ISSUES AND AMERICANS WANT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT POLICY. IT'S BEEN A RACE THAT'S BEEN LOW ON DISCUSSION OF REAL POLICY. IT'S BEEN A LOT OF TRAUMA, AND AMERICANS WANT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT WE HEARD POLICY, THE MODERATORS KEPT TO ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT ISSUES FROM ABORTION, FROM THE WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN, FROM THE WARS GOING ON, ALL SORTS OF THINGS BUT YET, DID WE GET ANY TRUTH? ARE AMERICANS GOING TO HAVE TO GO HOME AND DO HOMEWORK BECAUSE WE DID HAVE SO MANY SWEEPING GENERALIZATIONS, AND MISTRUTHS FROM THE FORMER PRESIDENT, AND BIDEN WAS NOT ABLE TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON SOME OF THOSE THINGS THAT TRUMP KEPT BRINGING UP. I ALSO THINK, TO THE POINT OF J.M. AND JAMES THERE, ABOUT HOW AGE CERTAINLY WAS AN ISSUE GOING INTO THIS AND OF COURSE, WHEN YOU ARE ON STAGE UNDER LIFE, AGE IS VERY VISIBLE. THAT MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN AN AREA THAT BIDEN WAS ABLE TO OVERCOME BUT YOU ALSO HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT, THAT HE IS THE INCUMBENT AND COAT -- AND IN REGULAR CYCLES, IT'S HARDER FOR THE INCUMBENT IN THESE SITUATIONS BECAUSE THEY ARE GETTING DIRECT QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON NOW AND WHAT'S GOING ON NOW IS MOST SALIENT IN VOTERS MINDS. SO BIDEN COMING INTO THIS HAD A HIGHER BAR TO MEET BUT OF COURSE, AS J.M. ALSO NOTED, WE CANNOT UNDERESTIMATE EXACTLY WHAT TRUMP WAS SAYING ABOUT ALL THE MISTRUTHS ABOUT JANUARY 6th AND THINGS THAT PEOPLE MAY HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT. THAT CERTAINLY NEEDS TO BE DISCUSSED IN THE COMING DAYS AND FACT CHECKED, BECAUSE HE DOES HAVE THE ADVANTAGE OF A LOT OF PEOPLE MAYBE NOT REMEMBERING SOME OF THOSE MOMENTS THAT WERE BROUGHT UP. >> WE ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO DO THAT RIGHT NOW. LET'S FACT CHECK. TRUMP REPEATEDLY LIED, HE WAS NOT FACT CHECKED IN REAL TIME. THEY LEFT IT TO THE CANDIDATES TO CHECK EACH OTHER BY HAVING THE REBUTTAL TIME. LET'S LOOK MORE CLOSELY AT THE STATEMENTS OF BOTH CANDIDATES. >> WE WANT TO BE CAREFUL NOT TO DRAW FALSE EQUIVALENCE. BECAUSE DONALD TRUMP REALLY DID TRY TO GASLIGHT PEOPLE ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE IN OFFICE ABOUT SAID ON THINGS LIKE CHARLOTTESVILLE, ABOUT HIS ROLE IN JANUARY 6th, ABOUT KIND OF, JUST BALL BOLDLY AND AGGRESSIVELY SAYING THAT ABORTION, EVERYONE WANTED IT TO RETURN TO THE STATES AND WANTED TO OVERTURN ROE VERSUS WADE AND PUTIN WOULD NOT HAVE INVADED UKRAINE, SO THERE WAS JUST A SEA OF FALSEHOODS THAT FRANKLY, IT WAS HARD TO KEEP UP WITH AND BIDEN ALSO, MADE SEVERAL FALSE STATEMENTS THAT WERE WORTH FACT CHECKING AS WELL. >> YEAH, BIDEN SAID THAT TRUMP WANTED TO ELIMINATE SOCIAL SECURITY, THAT'S NOT TRUE. BIDEN AT ONE POINT SEEM TO SUGGEST THAT THE BORDER PATROL UNION HAD ENDORSED HIM AND TRY TO CLEAN IT UP LATER, THEY ENDORSED THE BIPARTISAN BILL, THEY HADN'T ENDORSED BIDEN'S REELECTION AND CAME OUT WITH A TWEET SAYING THEY ARE NOT ENDORSING PRESIDENT BIDEN AND NEVER WILL. EARLIER IN THE DEBATE, HE MESSED UP THE INSULIN PRICE, THAT IT WAS CAPPED AT. BUT TO YOUR POINT, JAMES, THE BIGGER WHOPPERS, QUOTE UNQUOTE IN TERMS OF FALSEHOODS, THINGS THAT NOT ONLY WE HEAR TIME AND TIME AGAIN BUT BIGGER PIECES OF NONSENSE, FROM TRUMP, WERE MUCH MORE FREQUENT AND MUCH MORE OFTEN, TRUMP TALKED A LOT, THEY WERE FOCUSING ON THE TARIFFS AND TRUMP WAS TALKING ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY IT WILL SAVE THE AMERICANS, WHEN TRUMP WAS IN OFFICE THE FIRST TIME, BIDEN HAS KEPT A LOT OF THOSE TARIFFS IN PLACE. SO THAT'S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT. THE OTHER THING THAT TRUMP HEART ON OVER AND OVER AGAIN ON THE ECONOMY WAS HOW THEY HAD THE LARGEST TAX CUT AND THE BIGGEST ECONOMY. THE ECONOMY WAS DOING WELL, NEITHER ONE OF THOSE WERE AT THE RECORD HIGHS THAT TRUMP ASKED LIKE THEY WERE. >> LET'S BRING IN RHONDA COLVIN TO TALK MORE ABOUT SOME OF THOSE DECISIONS TO JUST RUN WITH THINGS. IT SEEMED LIKE BECAUSE NOBODY WAS FACT CHECKING TRUMP, HE JUST DOUBLED DOWN. >> CERTAINLY, THAT'S HOW IT LOOKED LIKE IT PLAYED OUT. THERE WERE SO MANY THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN SAYING, IT WAS ALMOST LIKE YOU COULD HAVE WHIPLASH DISCOUNTING ALL THE THINGS THAT WEREN'T TRUTHFUL OR WERE GENERALIZATIONS OR EVEN WHITEWASHING THINGS THAT PEOPLE DID SEE CLEARLY ON THEIR TELEVISIONS OR EXPERIENCED THEMSELVES. JANUARY 6th, CHARLOTTESVILLE BUT AGAIN THERE IS SOME DISTANCE FROM THOSE EVENTS AND AMERICAN VOTERS ARE NOW THINKING ABOUT THE ECONOMY, THINKING OF REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS, THINGS THAT ARE RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM RIGHT NOW. ONE AREA, TOO, AT THE BEGINNING, THE ABORTION ISSUE CAME UP AND WE KNOW FROM SPEAKING WITH VOTERS, HOW IMPORTANT THAT ISSUE IS. THIS WAS THE TWO-YEAR ANNIVERSARY THIS WEEK OF THE DOBBS DECISION AND IT STILL SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT. SO THAT IS AN AREA OF STRENGTH FOR DEMOCRATS TO COME OUT ON. BUT TRUMP, HE ALMOST APPEARED CALM AND THAT IF HE SAID EVERYBODY WANTS IT TO THE STATES AND IT'S THOSE TYPES OF STATEMENTS WHERE, VOTERS WHO MAY NOT BE FOLLOWING THIS, MAY NOT BE READING ABOUT THE SENTIMENT OF A LOT OF AMERICANS, THEY MAY NOT REALIZE THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO DON'T WANT THAT. SO THERE WERE MOMENTS LIKE THAT, THAT JUST STAND OUT TO ME WHERE, TRUMP WAS REALLY ABLE TO RELY ON THE FACT THAT A LOT OF THE THINGS FROM HIS ADMINISTRATION ARE SORT OF GOING BACK IN HISTORY AND PEOPLE JUST AREN'T REMEMBERING THEM AS WELL HOWEVER, THEY DID OCCUR AND EVEN IF HE IS SAYING THEY DIDN'T OCCUR IN THE WAYS THEY DID, THEY DID. AND IT'S IS FORCING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO DO THEIR HOMEWORK. WE TALK ABOUT THE DOUBLE UNHAPPINESS, IF THEY ARE ANYMORE HAPPY OR UNHAPPY TONIGHT, THIS DEBATE MAY NOT HAVE GIVEN US A CLEAR PICTURE OF WHERE THIS IS GOING AND WHERE VOTER SENTIMENT IS RIGHT NOW. >> JAMES, DID WE GET A CLEAR PICTURE OF WHERE THIS IS GOING TONIGHT? >> IN A CLOSE ELECTION, THIS WILL BE BAD FOR JOE BIDEN, THE SPLIT SCREEN WAS BAD. BIDEN LOOKED DOWN A LOT, WHICH MADE IT LOOK LIKE HE WAS HOLDING HIS HEAD, I THINK HE WAS JUST LOOKING AT THE PODIUM. I DON'T THINK HE FULLY UNDERSTOOD HOW THAT WOULD LOOK. TRUMP PROJECTED CONFIDENCE EVEN AS HE WAS MAKING THESE FALSE STATEMENTS, HE WAS CLEARLY MORE PREPARED THAN HIS TEAM LET ON. THEY WERE PRETENDING LIKE HE WASN'T TAKING PREPARATION SERIOUSLY. CLEARLY HE SPENT A LOT OF TIME PRACTICING THE LINES AND THERE WERE TIMES WHEN BIDEN SOUNDED OVER PREPARED, EARLY ON WHEN HE WAS TALKING ABOUT ABORTION, HE TRIED TO BRING IMMIGRATION. IT SEEMED LIKE THEY HAD REHEARSED THIS LINE BUT IT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE. EVEN SOME OF THE SINGERS THAT WERE INTENDING TO BE HEADLINES, I THOUGHT ONE OF THE BEST LINES , HE SAID YOU HAVE THE MORALS OF AN ALLEY CAT. AND TRUMP HAD ONE OF THE BEST LINES, I DID NOT HAVE SEX WITH A LINES, I DID NOT -- I DID NOT HAVE SEX WITH A PORN STAR. >> DANA BASH ASKED HIM ABOUT THIS, ABOUT HIS AGE AND BIDEN STARTS TALKING ABOUT CHIPS AND FABS AND HE DID NOT CLEAR THE THRESHOLD OF SATISFYING VOTERS THAT HE HAS THE ENERGY AND STAMINA TO SERVE FOR FOUR MORE YEARS. >> RHONDA, ONE THING THAT HAPPENED TONIGHT, WAS TRUMP WAS ABLE TO DODGE ANSWERING QUESTIONS HE DID NOT WANT TO ANSWER. AND NOBODY HELD THEM TO IT. THE MODERATORS GAVE HIM THE FLOOR, BUT HE DID NOT ANSWER A QUESTION ABOUT MASS DEPORTATION, SOMETHING THAT HE REPEATEDLY SAID HE WOULD DO AND HE NEVER ANSWERED ABOUT ACKNOWLEDGING A PALESTINIAN STATE. WAS BIDEN ABLE TO DO ANY OF THAT IN HIS OWN WAY AS WELL? >> WELL THIS IS ALSO HOW YOU CAN SEE BOTH OF THESE CANDIDATES AS DIFFERENT AS THEY ARE, THAT WE KNOW THEM TO BE, ONE IS A CONVENTIONAL CANDIDATE WHO'S BEEN AROUND FOR DECADES, WHO PROBABLY PREPARED FOR THIS IN SOME FAMILIAR WAYS, THE OTHER ONE, IS MORE OFF-THE-CUFF AND WELL AS YOU DESCRIBE, KIND OF DRIVE IT WHERE HE WANTS TO GO, AND IS LESS PREDICTABLE. SO IN THAT WAY, YOU WERE ABLE TO SEE THE SPLIT SCREEN OF HOW THEY HANDLE IT. BIDEN STUCK TO THE QUESTION AT HAND AND OFTENTIMES YOU WOULD SEE TRUMP TO FLEX OR GO TO A QUESTION THAT WAS ASKED TO QUESTION THE GO AND BRING IN HIS ANSWER TO THAT. AND IT WAS FUNNY, WHEN YOU SAW THE GRAPHIC AT THE BOTTOM THAT SAID THE ACTUAL QUESTION THAT THE MODERATOR HAD ASKED, OFTENTIMES, IT WAS NOT THE QUESTION HE WAS EVEN TALKING ABOUT. SO WE DID SEE THAT A LOT. AND I THINK THAT JUST SPEAKS TO HOW THESE ARE TWO VERY DIFFERENT CANDIDATES, AND OF COURSE, MOST AMERICANS OF THE WORLD KNOW THAT BUT THAT WAS CERTAINLY ON DISPLAY IN THE WAYS THAT THEY HANDLED EACH QUESTION. >> LET'S PLAY SOME TAPE FROM TONIGHT, PRESIDENT BIDEN HAD SEVERAL SHAKY MOMENTS INCLUDING THIS MOMENT WHERE HE DID APPEAR TO LOSE HIS TRAIN OF THOUGHT. LET'S WATCH. >> WE BE ABLE TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT ALL THOSE THINGS WE NEED TO DO, CHILD CARE, ELDER CARE, MAKING SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM. MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN MAKE EVERYTHING A PERSON ELIGIBLE FOR WHAT I'VE BEEN SEES ME, COVID, DEALING WITH EVERYTHING WE HAVE TO DO WITH, LOOK, WE FINALLY BEAT MEDICARE. >> THANK YOU PRESIDENT BIDEN. PRESIDENT TRUMP? >> THAT WAS A MOMENT FROM THE DEBATE TONIGHT, YOU KNOW, REALLY, IT'S ALMOST LESS OF A TRAIN OF THOUGHT LOST, MORE LIKE A WORD LOSS. HE JUST COULDN'T QUITE CATCH IT. >> NORMALLY, IT'S WORTH SAYING THAT THE PRESIDENT AND TRUMP TO THIS, TOO, HE HAS NOTECARDS AND HE'S OFTEN READING OFF OF NOTECARDS AND TONIGHT HE DIDN'T HAVE ANY NOTES IN FRONT OF HIM. HE CLEARLY HAS SPENT ALL WEEK AT CAMP DAVID PRACTICING THESE TWO-MINUTE ANSWERS AND IT HAPPENS TO EVERYONE HE HAD THESE POINTS HE WANTED TO GET ACROSS. I THINK WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO SAY WAS THAT HE TOOK ON PHARMA CAPS THE PRICE OF INSULIN BUT HE WAS MIXING UP HIS WORDS. SOME OF IT IS THAT HE HAS A STARTER BUT IN THIS CASE, HE CLEARLY WAS I THINK OVER PREPARED. HE WAS TRYING TO SAY TOO MUCH AND THEN HE HAD THIS BRAIN FREEZE AND TRUMP CAPITALIZED ON IT. THE OTHER PROBLEM FOR BIDEN IS IT HAPPENED EARLY IN THE DEBATE AND IT KIND OF SET THIS TONE THAT HE KIND OF WAS OUT OF HIS DEPTH A LITTLE BIT, A DEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS AND THAT'S WHEN MY PHONE STARTED BLOWING UP WITH PROMINENT DEMOCRATS SAYING WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON, THIS IS A DISASTER. >> DEMOCRATS ARE CLEARLY CONCERNED ABOUT BIDEN'S PERFORMANCE ESPECIALLY THE FIRST PART OF THE DEBATE. I THINK THE JAMES POINT, IT BECAME VERY APPARENT, I THINK YOU KNOW, SPECULATION HERE, BUT I THINK IT BECAME APPARENT THAT HE WAS ALMOST OVER PREPARED IN A SENSE. AND FROM WHAT I COULD OBSERVE, IT SEEMS LIKE HE WAS THROWN OFF A BIT BY THE FORMAT OF THE DEBATE, ESPECIALLY IN THE EARLY GOING, THE MICROPHONES, I THINK THE BIDEN CAMPAIGN, THE TIME LIMIT, I THINK THAT WHAT IS IRONIC, IN SOME WAYS ABOUT THAT IS THAT BIDEN CAMPAIGN REQUESTED THIS DEBATE, AND THE TWO CAMPAIGNS NEGOTIATED THE RULES, THE PARAMETERS OF THIS DEBATE, SO THEY KNEW HOW THINGS WERE GOING TO BE CHANGED AND AS YOU MENTIONED, IN THE EARLY PART OF THE SHOW, THERE WAS A THEORY OF THE CASE WHICH I THINK PLAYED OUT WHICH WAS ACTUALLY THAT THAT MICROPHONE BEAUTY WORKED OUT BETTER FOR TRUMP. THERE WAS A CONVENTIONAL WISDOM IN THE WEEKS LEADING UP THAT THIS WOULD BE BETTER FOR BIDEN BECAUSE OF HOW MUCH TRUMP INTERRUPTED BIDEN IN THE FIRST ABATE. AND TRUMP FOLKS SAID NO HE'S GOING TO COME IN, AND HE'S GOING TO PLAY IT EVEN KILLED, HE'S NOT GOING TO INTERRUPT AND WE MOSTLY SAW THAT TONIGHT, ASIDE FROM THE TAIL END OF THE DEBATE. BUT I THINK THAT THE MEETING OF THE MIKE'S, THE EXCHANGES CREATED AWKWARD SITUATIONS FOR BIDEN, SOMEONE WHO OVER THE YEARS HAS ACTUALLY BEEN A PRETTY GOOD DEBATER BUT AS SOMEONE WHO HAS FED OFF THE CROWDS. SO AS MUCH AS WE TALKED ABOUT HOW TRUMP LOVES TO FEED OFF OF THE APPLAUSE LINES, IN SOME WAYS IT WAS BIDEN WHO SEEMED TO NEED THOSE MORE TONIGHT. >> LET'S PLAY ONE MOMENT THAT WORKED FOR BIDEN BECAUSE HE DID TRY AND TAKE A COUPLE OF SWINGS AT PRESIDENT TRUMP AND HERE'S ONE OF THE BARBS THAT CAME FROM BIDEN, THIS WAS ABOUT 25 MINUTES IN THE, SO IT WAS NOT THE TOP. >> MY SON SPENT A YEAR IN IRAQ. HE CAME BACK WITH STAGE IV, I WAS RECENTLY IN FRANCE FOR D- DAY, I WENT TO THE WORLD WAR II CEMETERY, HE REFUSED TO GO. HE WAS STANDING WITH A FOUR- STAR GENERAL AND SAID I DON'T WANT TO GO IN THERE BECAUSE THEY ARE A BUNCH OF LOSERS AND SOCCER. MY SON WAS NOT A LOSER OR A SUCKER. YOU ARE THE LOSER, YOU ARE THE SUCKER. >> LET'S BRING IN OUR COLLEAGUE, WHO IS COVERING ALL OF THIS. HE IS THE AUTHOR OF THE CAMPAIGN MOMENTS NEWSLETTER AND ALSO -- A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW WHO WON AND WHO LOST THE DEBATE. HOW DO YOU FRAME IT AND THINK OF IT IN TERMS OF KEY TAKEAWAYS AND MOMENTS THAT WORK TO MOMENTS THAT DIDN'T? >> I THINK IT'S EVIDENT THAT DEMOCRATS ARE PANICKING. WE ARE SEEING THAT IN SOME OF THE RESPONSES THAT WE ARE GETTING. I WAS STRUCK IN PARTICULAR BY THE COMMENTS ON CNN FROM KATE BEDINGFIELD WHO IS THE WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR IN THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, BASICALLY CALLING THIS A DISASTER. CERTAINLY OTHER PUNDITS HAVE. I DON'T THINK THEY CAN PUT A GOOD FACE ON IT AND THEY ARE NOT REALLY EVEN TRYING AT THIS POINT. I DON'T THINK THERE WAS A WHOLE LOT ABOUT THE DEBATE THAT WAS VERY SURPRISING, BUT IT KIND OF CONFIRMED PEOPLE'S FEARS IN A LOT OF WAYS. THIS WAS A MOMENT THAT KIND OF TOOK THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY THAT HAS BEEN TRYING TO LOOK PAST THIS ISSUE AND ARGUE THAT IT'S NOT SO BAD AND BIDEN'S AGE IS SOME KIND OF A MEDIA CONSTRUCT, THEY WILL POINT TO ALL THE STORIES AND SAY THAT THIS BEING BUILT UP INTO SOMETHING THAT IS NOT AND THEN YOU SEE A SITUATION LIKE THIS WHERE BIDEN ACTUALLY TAKES THE STAGE, AND WE SEE WHY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE THESE CONCERNS IN THE FIRST PLACE. AND SO, I THINK THAT IS THE BIG TAKE AWAY HERE. I DO THINK BIDEN HAD SOME DECENT MOMENTS WHEN HE WAS TALKING ABOUT DEMOCRACY, WHEN HE BROUGHT UP TRUMBULL -- PARDONING JANUARY 6th DEFENDANTS INCLUDING MASS DEPORTATIONS, THINGS LIKE THAT BUT THESE WERE ISOLATED MOMENTS IN THE DEBATE THAT WERE LOST IN THE SHUFFLE. BIDEN WAS NOT ABLE TO DRIVE THE MESSAGE, HE WAS NOT ABLE TO COUNTER TRUMP IN A WAY THAT HE NEEDS TO BE COUNTERED BECAUSE OF THE FALSE THINGS HE SAID AND THAT ALLOWED THIS DEBATE TO BE ALL ABOUT JOE BIDEN IN A WAY THAT THE BIDEN CAMPAIGN CERTAINLY WOULD NOT HAVE WANTED IT TO BE. >> LET'S TALK ABOUT DONALD TRUMP. HE LIED REPEATEDLY TONIGHT. THEY WENT MOSTLY UNCHECKED. BIDEN DIDN'T SEEM TO BE ABLE TO COUNTER THEM QUICKLY OR AGGRESSIVELY ENOUGH, TO PROVE THEM WRONG. SO, HOW DID TRUMP DO TONIGHT? >> I THINK YOUR POINT ABOUT THE FACT CHECKING IS IMPORTANT. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE DEBATE MODERATORS DECIDED THIS WASN'T THEIR POSITION TO DO THAT. WE COULD HAVE A DEBATE ABOUT WHETHER THAT'S A GOOD THING OR NOT. PART OF THE REASON I SUSPECT THEY DON'T WANT TO DO THAT IS BECAUSE IT'S A DIFFICULT THING TO DO, TO HAVE A GRASP OF ALL THESE FACTS AHEAD OF TIME, IT'S NOT EASY TO DO. YOU RISK GOING TOO FAR IN FACT CHECKING SOMEBODY BY YOU NOW, SAYING SOMETHING IS FALSE WHEN IT'S MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF A SITUATION WHERE IT'S DEBATABLE. I THINK WHAT HAPPENED HERE WAS TRUMP WOULD HAVE BEEN IN A POSITION WHERE THOSE THINGS MIGHT HAVE HURT HIM MORE, HAD BIDEN BEEN ABLE TO COUNTER THEM. IT WAS REALLY IS SOMETHING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WOULD COME TO THIS DEBATE WITH IS FAR- FETCHED AND IT WASN'T DRIVEN HOME. THAT WILL BE A FOCUS OF SOME MONTH THE -- SOME OF THE COVERAGE BUT THAT IS NOT GOING TO BE WHAT MOST AMERICANS THOUGHT. >> LET'S BRING RHONDA BACK TO GET A SENSE OF WHAT THE ATMOSPHERE IS LIKE OUT THERE IN ATLANTA POSTDEBATE. >> THE ROOM IS FILLING UP AND THE SPIN ROOM IS BELOW AND I SAW A FEW SURROGATES FOR BOTH CANDIDATES PASS BY ME AND SAW SENATOR SCOTT MENTIONED BY TRUMP, ONE OF THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO WAS IN THE VP MENTIONED BY THE FORMER PRESIDENT IN THIS DEBATE AND I SAW SENATOR WARNOCK AND HE IS THE US SENATOR FROM GEORGIA HERE FOR BIDEN. ALL OF THEM ARE GETTING IN POSITION TO TALK TO REPORTERS ON THE FLOOR AND TELL THEM WHAT THEY THOUGHT ABOUT THE NIGHT AND WE KNOW WHAT WE HEAR FROM THE DEMOCRATIC SIDE IS IT WILL BE A LITTLE BIT MORE STRUCTURED WHERE THE SURROGATES WILL SPEND TIME WITH REPORTERS. NOTHING EXTENDED. THEY WERE HERE BEFORE THE DEBATE AND WE TALKED ABOUT HOW WE SAW GAVIN NEWSOM AND MAKING ROUNDS WITH REPORTERS AND THERE WAS OTHERS HERE EARLIER ON BEHALF OF PRESIDENT TRUMP RIGHT NOW IT FEELS SUBDUED LIKE A SPIN ROOM AND I HAVE BEEN TO A FEW OF THESE IN MY CAREER AND IT SEEMS A BIT QUIET. EVERYBODY IS TRYING TO GET A SENSE OF WHAT HAPPENED. BOTH SIDES WILL TRY TO CONVINCE THE MEDIA AND THE PUBLIC THAT THEIR SIDE WON. I THINK WE WILL BE UNPACKING THIS FOR A WHILE. IT IS A FEW MONTHS BEFORE THE ELECTION AND ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN BUT EVERYBODY'S TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE GO FROM HERE. >> TALK TO US ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE. THERE WERE SOME INTERESTING THOUGHTS THEY ARE ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE TAKE AWAY. EVEN THOUGH HE LIED REPEATEDLY, IF AMERICANS AREN'T KEYED INTO THAT BECAUSE THEY ARE FOCUSED ON BIDEN'S PERFORMANCE, ISN'T IT A SUCCESSFUL NIGHT FOR TRUMP? >> THAT COULD BE THE WAY IT PLAYS OUT. WE WILL SEE AND MONITOR WHAT WILL COME OUT IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS IF THERE IS AN UPTICK OR A DOWNTICK OR UPTICK FOR BIDEN AND WE WILL SEE WHAT THE SENTIMENT IS ON THIS DEBATE AND ONE THING ABOUT TRUMP IS WE ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH THIS AS WE COVERED HIM FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS AND WHEN HE SPEAKS IN GENERALIZATIONS AND SPEAKS AND SAYS THINGS LIKE EVERYBODY KNOWS IT AND EVERYBODY IS SAYING, YOU WONDER WHAT EFFECT IT HAS ON VOTERS WHO MAY NOT BE AS KEYED INTO SOME OF THE THINGS HE IS LYING ABOUT. AGAIN, THIS IS PART OF WHY THIS ELECTION HAS MADE SO MANY PEOPLE UNHAPPY BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT CONVINCED ON EITHER CANDIDATE. ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS REMAIN TO BE SEEN ON HOW THE VOTERS TAKE IT AWAY AND THERE WILL BE ANOTHER SHOT AT THIS IN SEPTEMBER WHEN THEY DO DEBATE AGAIN. RIGHT NOW, IT APPEARS THAT IF WE WERE LOOKING AT THE OPTICS OF TONIGHT, THERE WAS THE ISSUE OF AGE WITH PRESIDENT BIDEN AND THE ISSUE OF THE FORMER PRESIDENT BEING CLASSICALLY THE CANDIDATE WE KNOW HIM TO BE A SOMEBODY WHO IS GOING TO SPRINKLE AND MISTRUTHS AND GENERALIZATIONS THAT ARE HARD TO FACT CHECK. >> LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS NOT EAST AND AS RHONDA SAID THERE IS A PLANNED DEBATE FOR SEPTEMBER BUT WHO KNOWS WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE COMING MONTHS AND WE DON'T YET KNOW WHO TRUMP WILL SELECT THIS IS VICE PRESIDENTIAL RUNNING MATE. THERE IS CHATTER AMONG DEMOCRATS WHETHER OR NOT BIDEN IS UP TO DO THIS JOB IN THE NOMINATING CONVENTION IS THE TIME WHEN YOU LOCK IN AND SOLIDIFY WHO THE NOMINEE IS AND TALK TO US ABOUT WHAT IS TO COME IN THE NEXT FOUR AND HALF MONTHS. >> THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL PICK WILL BE A BIG MOMENT AND IN THE IMMEDIATE TERM IT WILL BE ABOUT HOW MUCH BEDWETTING WE SEE FROM THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. NEITHER OF THESE CANDIDATES HAVE BEEN NOMINATED YET AND IT'S PRETTY FAR-FETCHED TO THINK THAT DEMOCRATS WOULD BE ABLE TO TURN THE PAGE AND THERE IS A REASON DEMOCRATS STUCK WITH PRESIDENT BIDEN FOR ALL THIS TIME, NOT JUST BECAUSE THEY WERE RELUCTANT TO BELIEVE HE HAD PROBLEMS. THE ACTUAL PROCESS OF REPLACING HIM ON THE BALLOT WOULD GET MESSY AND THINK ABOUT HOW THAT WOULD GO DOWN AND WOULD YOU GO WITH VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS OR WOULD YOU GET SOMEBODY ELSE IN THERE SKIPPING OVER THE FIRST LACK VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. IT IS SOMETHING DEMOCRATS HAVE AN APPETITE FOR UNLESS THEY DECIDE THIS IS A LOST CAUSE AT THIS POINT. WE HAVE SEEN THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE VERY MAJOR CONCERNS ABOUT BIDEN'S AGE BUT THE RACE IS CLOSE. I EXPECT THEY WILL SEE HOW THINGS PLAY OUT AND LOOK AT THE POLLING AND SEE IF THINGS CHANGE AND DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT THEY WILL DECIDE TO DO SOME KIND OF OTHER THING WHETHER THAT IS AT THE CONVENTION OR SOME OTHER KIND OF COURSE CORRECTION WITH THE BIDEN CAMPAIGN. RIGHT NOW IT IS CLEAR IT IS AN ISSUE THAT ISN'T GOING AWAY. THEY HAVE TO START TALKING ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT MORE EARNESTLY. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALSO THE AUTHOR OF THE CAMPAIGN MOMENT NEWSLETTER. TRUMP WENT ON THE OFFENSIVE TONIGHT REPEATEDLY AND ONE POINT HE ATTACKED BIDEN FOR NOT SAYING THE WORDS AND THE WORDS WERE YOU'RE FIRED. >> HE NEVER FIRED PEOPLE AND I NEVER SAW HIM FIRE PEOPLE. I FIRED A LOT OF THE TOP PEOPLE AND A LOT OF PEOPLE AT THE FBI AND DRAINED THE SWAMP AND THEY WERE NO GOOD AND IT ISN'T EASY. THEY WERE NO GOOD AND I INHERITED THESE PEOPLE AND I FIRED HIM AND HE HASN'T FIRED ANYBODY AND HE SHOULD'VE FIRED EVERY MILITARY MAN INVOLVED WITH THAT AFGHANISTAN FOR SHOW THE MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT IN HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY AND DID YOU FIRE ANYBODY OR ANYBODY ON THE BORDER THAT HAS ALLOWED US TO HAVE THE WORST BORDER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD? DID ANYBODY GET FIRED FOR ALLOWING 18 MILLION PEOPLE, MANY FROM PRISONS AND FROM MENTAL INSTITUTIONS? DID YOU FIRE ANYBODY THAT ALLOWED OUR COUNTRY TO BE DESTROYED. OUR COUNTRY IS BEING DESTROYED AS YOU AND I SIT UP HERE AND WASTE TIME ON THIS DEBATE. >> THAT IS A CLIP FROM EARLIER TONIGHT. >> THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF HIM TAKING SOMETHING THAT IS A WEAKNESS AND LIABILITY WHICH THERE WAS UTTER CHAOS DURING HIS ADMINISTRATION BUT HUGE LEVELS OF TURNOVER THAT HE WAS CONSTANTLY -- HE WAS NOMINATING THESE PEOPLE AND SUBSEQUENTLY FIRING WHETHER IT WAS HIS ATTORNEY GENERAL OR HIS CHIEF OF STAFF AND HE IS SPINNING IT INTO I HOLD PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE AND SIMILARLY ON IMMIGRATION HIS NUMBERS ARE WILDLY INACCURATE. HE IS PIVOTING TOWARD AN ISSUE WHERE HE IS POLITICALLY STRONG. I THINK PEOPLE WON'T MEMBER WHAT WAS SAID BUT HOW THEY FELT. TRUMP SOUNDED FORCEFUL, STRONG. DEMOCRATS WILL RALLY AROUND THEIR STANDARDBEARER. HE IS POPULAR AND AMERICANS DON'T HAVE A FAVORABLE VIEW OF HIM. I DON'T INC. THIS WILL MAKE PEOPLE ALL OF THE SUDDEN LIKE TRUMP BETTER COMING OUT OF THIS DEBATE, BUT IT DOES I THINK TRUMP'S PERFORMANCE IN BIDEN'S PERFORMANCE MEANS NEITHER SIDE WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE THIS SLOWLY A REFERENDUM ON THE OTHER CANDIDATE. THIS WILL BE A CHOICE ELECTION WHERE VOTERS WILL HAVE TO WEIGH IN THE CLEAR WEAKNESSES OF BOTH MAJOR PARTY NOMINEES. >> FINAL THOUGHTS? >> GOING INTO THIS, THE DYNAMIC HAS BEEN A REMARKABLE STATIC RACE AND TRUMP HAS A STEALING ISSUE AND BIDEN HAS AN ENTHUSIASM ISSUE. DID THE DYNAMIC CHANGE TONIGHT? THAT WAS THE QUESTION. CAN THEY ALTER THE TRAJECTORY? WE DON'T KNOW. AND WE WILL KNOW MORE IN THE COMING DAYS AND WEEKS BUT THERE IS TIME LEFT BUT THERE IS ONE IN THE SCHEDULE AT THIS POINT AND THERE ARE TWO CONVENTIONS AND WE ARE OVER FOUR MONTHS AWAY FROM THE GENERAL ELECTION. POLLING IN JUNE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN NOVEMBER. I THINK POLLING IS IMPORTANT, BUT ALSO TO DRIVE HOME FOR VIEWERS THAT POLLING IN JUNE IS NOT PREDICTIVE NECESSARILY OF WHAT HAPPENS IN NOVEMBER. IT IS A SNAPSHOT IN TIME AND THIS WAS A BAD NIGHT FOR BIDEN, BUT TRUMP DIDN'T RESPOND AND HE DIDN'T HAVE A GOOD DEBATE BUT HE HAD A BETTER DEBATE THAN BIDEN. I THINK THERE IS A LOT OF STORY LEFT TO BE TOLD AND WE LIVE IN EXTREMELY HYPERPOLARIZED TIMES. MAYBE 10 OR 20 OR 30 OR 40 YEARS AGO, REALLY BAD DEBATE PERFORMANCE MAY HAVE SUNK A CANDIDATE'S CHANCES WITH NO CHANCE FOR THEM TO COME BACK AND RECOVER FROM THAT. I AM NOT SURE WHETHER THAT IS THE SITUATION WE ARE IN NOW GIVEN THE UNDERLYING DYNAMICS OF THE RACE. AND IT IS A WEIGHT AND SEE TO WAIT WHAT COMES OUT IN THE DAYS AND WEEKS AHEAD OF WHAT IT DOES OR DOESN'T HAVE. AND AS WE COME -- PREPARED A CLOSE UP SHOP AND WHAT ARE YOUR FINAL THOUGHTS. >> I BELIEVE THEY TOUCHED ON THIS AS WELL. THE THING I AM THINKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW IS THAT WHAT IS HAPPENING TODAY DOESN'T DECIDE WHAT HAPPENS IN NOVEMBER. WHAT THE STORY IS TODAY MAY NOT BE THE STORY TOMORROW OR NEXT WEEK AND WE KNOW THAT AS JOURNALISTS. IT IS HARD TO SAY IF THE PERFORMANCES BY BOTH CANDIDATES DID ANYTHING FOR THEIR CAMPAIGNS RIGHT NOW TO HELP DECIDE WHO WINS THE ELECTION. IT'S OUR JOB IS REPORTED TO FIND OUT HOW VOTERS FEEL ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW AND SEE WHERE IT GOES. THERE IS A LONG TIME ESPECIALLY IN THE NEWS CYCLE WE HAVE BEEN LIVING IN, A LONG TIME BETWEEN NOW AND ELECTION DAY. WE WILL SEE WHAT REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS MAKE OF IT. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHAT DO AMERICAN VOTERS THINK ABOUT IT IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS? >> THERE IS A LOT OF STORY YET TO BE TOLD IN THE WORDS OF MY COLLEAGUE. WE WILL BE HERE TO TELL IT AND WITNESS IT WITH YOU. THIS HAS BEEN LIVE COVERAGE FROM THE WASHINGTON POST OF CNN'S PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE AND THE EARLIEST EVER TELEVISED PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE. THANKS TO OUR TEAM IN ATLANTA AS WELL AS JAMES AND JAN AND ALL OF OUR REPORTERS. WE WILL BE LIVE IN TWO WEEKS AS DONALD TRUMP IS SENTENCED IN NEW YORK FOR HIS CONVICTIONS OF FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS. WE WILL BE LIVE COVERING THE REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTIONS LATER ON THIS SUMMER AND ON YOUTUBE. LOOK FOR THE WASHINGTON POST. I AM LIBBY CASEY. HAVE A GOOD NIGHT. WELCOME TO A NEW PODCAST BY THE WASHINGTON POST. EVERY WEEK ALONGSIDE RHONDA COPEN WE BREAK DOWN THE BATTLES AS DONALD TRUMP RAMPS UP HIS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN AND THE RAMIFICATIONS ARE SERIOUS. >> THE FIRST IN THE U.S. PRESIDENT IS IN COURT AS A DEFENDANT. >> IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB OTHER THAN JOURNALISTS WHAT WOULD IT BE? >> I WOULD ENJOY BEING THE BAY LEFT. -- BAYLESS. -- BAILIFF.