debate prep means knowing what questions might come your way knowing your policy positions inside and out and perhaps most important at all knowing your opponent Hillary Clinton is the only person who has debated both President Biden when they ran against each other in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary and former president Donald Trump Clinton described this moment during their second debate and how she was unnerved by Trump standing so close to her later writing that she'd wish she had told him to back up Clinton describes what she thinks it takes to successfully debate Donald Trump in a guest essay for the New York Times today and explains the importance of having a trusted longtime advisor stand in for Donald Trump someone who could provoke Rattle and enrage like the former president is known to do and that someone joins us now and he is Philip ryus Democratic strategist and a former adviser to Hillary Clinton Philipe thank you so much for joining us uh of course you stood in for Donald Trump during your mock debates with Mrs Clinton uh do you expect on Thursday we'll see the same Trump that we saw back in 2016 I think we'll see a blend of 2016 and 2020 which were really two very different looks it's not that I subscribe to the idea that they're different Donald Trumps there's really only one um but he doesn't have a strategy he has more of a list where he has things on his mind and I'm sure he's going to complain that he's being muted during the debate even though he agreed to that and then there's a policy debate um between you know two administr ations that were backto back against each other we haven't had that in 134 years two different presidents um trying to get you know swap jobs and the reason I'm saying all that is because there those second two buckets didn't exist in 2016 this is the earliest presidential debate ever how important will it be this is an opportunity for both of these men and when you're in a race that is so tight and when you're coming off the last two elections that are basically being decided by Le than 40,000 people in less than four you know three states you had to take every opportunity you can get and tomor uh you know the debate will be the most watch moment of this campaign they have not been in the same place at the same time for by my count 1,343 days there's a lot of emotion showing up on this stage in Atlanta and it's going to play a big part we know a small part of the elector could decide this race Independents and and the so-called double haters who don't like either candidate and might stay home or vote third party what could Biden or Trump say on Thursday to actually win over voters all of us think about the debates as some distinct moment separate and apart from the campaign and the reason I'm saying that is because we're only a couple of weeks removed from Donald Trump being found guilty of 34 felonies and I'm not just saying that as an excuse to rub it in I'm saying that because in the aftermath of that what polling has shown is that there is a subset of people who support him including the crucial group that you mentioned Independents who haven't abandoned him but are not happy about what happened and they are less sure about what they are going to do they haven't automatically shifted to Joe Biden but they are in some cases uh a jump ball fast forward to the debate that's the opportunity for Joe Biden to talk to this set of people that are unsure about whether they want to continue to support Donald Trump in light of his convictions that is a tremendous moment for the president that there are opportunities for Donald Trump as well I I think after this debate there's going to be a change in dynamic because the double haters um the so-called double haters are remembering a kind of blurry notion of what it was like for Donald Trump under Donald Trump for four years and I think they remember the noise they they just remember it as kind of antics they don't remember the real acute problems Joe Biden during the two debates in 2020 played a role in exposing a Donald Trump that no longer had any semblance of a me message he was simply an angry guy with Grievances and the American people decided he's not who they wanted to go four years in if that same Donald Trump shows up in Atlanta then I think he's going to turn a lot of people off well we will be watching F ryus we so appreciate your insights I'll be co-moderating the second debate in September alongside David M so we'll we'll have to call you up and get your advice for that for that day so really appreciate you coming on the show thank you for having me and this Thursday night on ABC News be sure to watch the CNN presidential debate simal cast it all starts on ABC News live at 7:00 p.m. Eastern with a special race for the White House