The former Republican president landed, fist raised, around 5 p.m. in Atlanta, welcomed on the tarmac by his supporters.
His Democratic rival also treated himself to an impromptu walkabout on his arrival in the capital of Georgia, the scene of the duel between the two men.
In an extremely polarized America, where a supporter of the Democrat cannot imagine voting for the Republican, and vice versa, nothing says that this duel organized by CNN, in front of millions of viewers, will fundamentally change the situation.
But the vote between the 81-year-old Democrat and his 78-year-old Republican rival is shaping up to be so close that even tiny gains in the debate with independent voters could prove decisive in November, and that’s why both teams campaigners deployed major resources.
“Repeat offenders” versus “doped”
Donald Trump, the first president ever found criminally guilty, in a case of secret payments to a former porn star, is welcomed in Georgia by huge billboards financed by the Democrats, wishing a “welcome” to a “reprisoner of justice.”
The posters feature the billionaire’s mugshot, which was taken in Atlanta following Donald Trump’s indictment in another case, an attempt to falsify the outcome of the 2020 election in the state.
The Republican camp released a killer new video, showing Joe Biden’s falls and moments of confusion, and calling on voters to ask themselves if he is really capable of “spending four more years” in the White House.
The former president insinuated that his rival would be “doped” in front of the cameras. White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre, when asked about this, said she would “not honor him with an answer.”
Donald Trump claimed on his Truth Social network, in capital letters and with a lot of exclamation points, that his rival was “a threat to the very survival” of the country.
Strict rules
This sets the tone: the meeting between two men who hate each other will be extremely tense.
The two CNN journalists who will host the evening will have to enforce very strict rules.
The show will take place without an audience, without a teleprompter. Above all, Joe Biden’s microphone will be cut off when Donald Trump speaks and vice versa.
Basically, the two candidates should argue about inflation, immigration, the right to abortion, the defense of democracy and foreign policy.
Second debate in September
But since American presidential campaigns entered the age of television more than 60 years ago with the debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, form has mattered as much as substance.
This is especially true for Joe Biden, who has undeniably lost physical and oral ease in recent years.
Even if Donald Trump, only three years his junior, is also attacked for his mental stability and his verbal violence.
According to a survey New York Times/Siena published Thursday, Donald Trump is given as favorite for the debate. But the entourage of the Democrat emphasizes that he is chronically underestimated.
A second debate is scheduled on ABC in September, two months before an election that is being watched with concern around the world.
