Trump Tries Some Debate Prep at Campaign Rally

Politico: “Over the course of nearly 90 minutes, Trump interspersed talk of his economic plans and complaints about his criminal conviction in New York with musings about the potentially consequential political clash.”

“He mocked Biden for holing up behind closed doors at Camp David to prepare for the debate, suggesting the president would turn to illicit substances to boost his performance. He disparaged CNN debate moderators Dana Bash and Jake Tapper, whom he called ‘Fake Tapper,’ to boos from the crowd gathered at an arena on Temple University’s campus.”

“As he railed against the Manhattan criminal trial in which he was convicted of 34 charges of falsifying business records, he claimed the gag order he’s under could prevent him from answering some of the debate moderators’ questions.”

“Trump even attempted to crowd-source suggestions for how he should approach Biden: Should he ‘be tough and nasty’ toward his Democratic rival or should he ‘be nice and calm and let him speak?’ (After some crowd reaction, Trump indicated he was favoring the former).”