It’s old advice but still true. We’ve all been hearing a lot about the upcoming debate, and everyone seems to have their 2c of advice for the Biden team. But the most chilling piece I heard was on Deadline White House last week (sorry, links seem to be expired). The commentator pointed out that Donald Trump will be literally fighting for his life. He will play dirty. He will, as they said, “use a firehose of lies.” They pointed out that it should be up to the media to correct those lies, and if Biden has to use all his time to deny false accusations then there will be little time left for anything else.
At which point my inner monologue chimed in: ”But they NEVER do that”!
The media NEVER stops Trump. They NEVER correct all of his lies. To be fair, if they did they would never get anything else done. But that doesn’t change the fact that Trump does not play on an even field.
This debate will not be like past debates. Trump will lie—constantly. He will project; he will accuse Biden of everything he himself does. The effect is of bringing the debate stage onto the kindergarten playground level. If Biden has to constantly say “No I didn’t, you did!” “That’s not true!” this whole platform quickly devolves into a debacle for both men—which is a win for Trump.
The other thing Trump likes to do is make himself look strong and his opponent weak—by whatever means necessary. If that means breaking the rules, so be it. If it means the firehouse of lies, that’s what we’’re going to have to deal with. Biden has to find a way to counteract both of these things.
I personally think Biden needs to bring his own guns. He’s going to have to play dirty, and to come out swinging. He should say, “That’s a lie” to every single lie Trump tells—not bothering to correct him (that’s the media’s job)—but to point out how very often he lies. And at some point Biden should make a general point; that a politician that lies can’t be trusted or even listened to. What is the point of listening to his “platform” if he can’t be trusted to pursue it? If a politician can just say whatever he wants and not be held accountable, why have campaigns in the first place?
I also think Biden needs to make some serious accusations in order to wake up the public. Forget about looking “Presidential.” Use a page or two from the Trump playbook. Accuse him of being America’s Hitler. Accuse him of treason. Accuse him of insurrection. Use all of those words—they’ll be the memes that get replayed over and over instead of the clips of Biden looking old. They might even wake some people up to the danger Trump poses.
The main point is not to underestimate Trump or his mafia/salesman/caveman tactics. Deal with him as he’s going to deal with you. Bring your guns.