Donald Trump prepares for the presidential debate, round two
The second presidential debate, which will be a town-hall format, plays to Donald Trump’s natural strengths, his advisers believe. They think that Trump’s television savvy shows him in such a setting as relatable, and even Reagan-esque. They say they don’t feel it’s necessary to coach him on whether to sit or stand or point him toward which camera or questioner to look at.
Hillary Clinton, they believe, comes off as robotic and pedantic in such a setting, although she participates in more town halls than Trump does.
Though Thursday night’s town hall in New Hampshire was initially seen as a way to rehearse, Trump and his campaign maintained that it was really not intended to be anything more than a regular campaign stop, despite the presence of a moderator, a countdown clock at Trump’s feet and a small audience.
The GOP nominee’s aides have been emphasizing policy over style in debate prep sessions. The official assessment from campaign aides is that Trump did just fine in the first debate, so nothing needs to be changed going into Sunday’s round two. But the unofficial assessment of his performance is somewhat at odds with the official one. The general assessment from polls and pundits alike was that Clinton won the first debate.
The available options to redirect Trump are limited because he takes advice so grudgingly. But his debate preparation has taken a different turn as Chris Christie has taken a bigger role in Trump’s debate prep. Trump respects Christie’s political acumen and debate chops (see: Rubio, Marco, eighth Republican debate), and has empowered the New Jersey governor to streamline what was an unwieldy approach to the debates. Christie is highly motivated -- he’s running Trump’s transition and could benefit from a job in a Trump administration, given that 2017 will be the last year of his second term as governor.
Going into the first debate, Trump spent Sundays at his golf course in New Jersey with over a dozen advisers -- most of whom had no political experience and no idea what goes into preparing for a presidential debate. The sessions were rambling and amounted to random suggestions and spit-balled concepts. Christie has cut the team down by half and kept the generals (Michael Flynn, in particular) on standby for specific answers but not for notional advice.
Overall though, Trump aides are relying on his personal skills for this debate, arguing that he relates better one-to-one and can be as good as Clinton with direct questions from voters. He has a better sense of timing, humor and personal chemistry, they believe, and they think this could provide a moment or two where Trump wins simply by being more spontaneous and relaxed. This is also a fervent hope. Trump advisers know they need a good debate -- early voting has begun, and momentum is ebbing. Trump has to give supporters a sense he can win or it will become exponentially harder for him to make the argument that he has what it takes.