In anticipation of the first 2024 presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has voiced concerns about the challenges Biden faces — besides the cognitive ones. Clinton, who lost the 2016 election to Trump, suggested in an opinion piece that the demands of the presidency might hinder Biden’s debate preparation.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Biden starts from a disadvantage because there’s no way he can spend as much time preparing as I did eight years ago. Being president isn’t just a day job; it’s an everything-everywhere-all-at-once job.
Historically, that has led to weaker first debate performances for the incumbent,” Clinton wrote.
Clinton also commented on the expectations for Trump’s debate performance, noting that “expectations for Trump’s debate performance are so low that if he doesn’t literally light himself on fire on Thursday evening, some will say he was downright presidential.”
Reflecting on her own debates with Trump, Clinton criticized his approach. “He unleashed a blizzard of interruptions, insults and lies” during their 2016 debates. She argued that trying to refute Trump’s arguments in a traditional manner is futile, as “it’s nearly impossible to identify what his arguments even are. He starts with nonsense and then digresses into blather. This has gotten only worse in the years since we debated,” she asserted.
While praising Biden as “a wise and decent man,” Clinton contrasted him with Trump, whom she described as having become “angrier and more unhinged” after losing the 2020 election.
The debate between Trump and Biden is set to take place Thursday night in Atlanta, Georgia, moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.
Clinton also announced the release of her upcoming book, “Something Lost, Something Gained,” which she described as addressing topics such as friendship, aging, marriage, politics, democracy, and the collective efforts needed to shape a promising future.
