What:

American University experts shared their insights into the upcoming Trump-Biden debate at a virtual media briefing held on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. Please feel free to use the quotes below and contact us if you would like to interview one or more of the professors.

For a link to the entire discussion, please contact aumedia@american.edu.

Who:

Discussion participants included Amy Dacey, executive director of the Sine Institute of Policy & Politics; Ernesto Castañeda, director of the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies; Chris Edelson, assistant professor in the School of Public Affairs; Jane Hall, associate professor in the School of Communication; and Jordan Tama, provost associate professor in the School of International Service.

These comments have been edited for length and clarity.

On what to expect from former President Trump in the June 27 debate:

Ernesto Castañeda said: “I think we’re going to see a sharp contrast between moments of substance versus spectacle; policy proposals versus complaints; achievements versus conspiracies; and empathy versus egoism.”

Chris Edelson: “Donald Trump is an entertainer. He is really good at getting people's attention and at pushing people's buttons. His supporters love him, and the people who hate him are also drawn to this, of course not for the same reasons. He is a different kind of candidate, and he is not preparing for the debates in a traditional way.”

Jane Hall said: “This is a great coup for CNN as a news organization…they out maneuvered other networks who are also wanting to do this. They [CNN] characterize themselves as non-partisan. So how are they going to do? How will they perform? That will be a key element.”

“I think this debate may surprise us. I think that Donald Trump probably is being coached and is planning to be not the kind of person that he has been in most recent debates, and I think the lack of an audience will actually benefit him.”

Jordan Tama said: “I’m sure Trump is being advised to stay on message — emphasizing policy issues where his advisors think he can score points against Biden — especially immigration and inflation, which are the two issues that the Trump campaign thinks will work most to Trump’s advantage. The question in the debate is whether Trump can stay on message or whether he lets his tendencies to get nasty and behave in an overbearing and obnoxious way get the better of him.”

On what to expect from President Biden in the June 27 debate:

Amy Dacey said: “President Biden is going to try and set a contrast in leadership style between former President Trump and himself. In a very challenging environment, he’s going to try and talk about where he stands on some of these complex issues that will be most prominent in the discussion. I think we’ll see a lot about women’s health, the economy, and immigration.”

Jane Hall said: “It will be up to Biden to answer the question that everybody has on their mind. It’s not only the media asking the question, ‘is he up to the job?’ ‘Is he frail?’ and ‘what is his vision?’ Biden can’t just say ‘look what I’ve done for you’ — he’s going to have to draw the contrast and say, ‘this is what it would look like under Biden,’ and ‘this is what it would look like under Trump.’”

On the challenges candidates face with voters:

Chris Edelson said: “Donald Trump is a threat to democracy. How do Republican elites respond to this? What will they say? What will they do when he lies? It’s hard for any moderator to keep up with that, so it’s a challenge for voters as well.”

Jane Hall said: “Biden has got to have something other than, frankly, the purely rational argument. No election is decided solely on reason, so he’s got to have some sound bites; some things that can live on memes among young people.”

Amy Dacey said: “We’ll see Donald Trump very proudly taking credit for the overturning of Roe v. Wade and I think it is going to be an issue in this election for a lot of people. The candidates will use this issue to try to motivate and educate voters about what’s at stake here.”

On foreign policy and immigration:

Jordan Tama said: “I don’t think Biden will raise the war between Israel and Hamas, but it will probably come up and he will need to defend his approach — which includes both supporting Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas, but also supporting a two-state solution as an end goal, and supporting aid and relief to the Palestinians in Gaza.”

Ernesto Castañeda said: “[Speaking about the difference and similarities between the two candidates’ major immigration policy proposals], from day one of coming into office, Biden proposed comprehensive immigration reform that hasn’t gone anywhere and hasn’t received the bipartisan support needed to take place. So, Biden has gone the executive route in many ways — ending the Muslim ban; he, for the most part, stopped construction of the wall, allowing dreamers and DACA recipients to benefit from the Affordable Care Act. He has also announced a program to give a path to citizenship for spouses of US citizens and graduates of US universities. And there seems to be an agreement on that between the two candidates. On the other hand, Trump has dropped his “Build the Wall” rallying cry.”