Debate Day is Here
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Voters 50 and over have the power to decide elections. So candidates who want to win need to talk about the issues they care about. Learn more from our latest polling in Pennsylvania at aarp.org slash PA polling. Overnight, Duncan's pumpkin spice coffee has sent folks into a cozy craze. I'm Lauren LaTulip reporting live from home in my hand-knit turtleneck that my Nana made me. Mmm, cinnamony. The home with Duncan is where you want to be.

The stage is set. The day is here. In just 15 hours, Joe Biden, Donald Trump will be squaring off in what could be the most fateful presidential debate in U.S. history. Good morning, everyone. CNN This Morning is live in Atlanta. It is 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. I'm Casey Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.

When President Biden and former President Trump take the stage tonight here at CNN's World Headquarters in Atlanta, a sitting president and an ex-president will be debating for the first time ever. And it is just shy of four years since they last saw each other face to face before Joe Biden beat Donald Trump. And in a modern first, Trump refused to stand on stage and hand power to his successor at the inauguration.

So help you God? So help me God. Congratulations, Mr. President. Trump flying away from the White House in his helicopter leaving Washington for the last time as president. I remember watching that helicopter fly over us as we stood on the lawn as President Biden was inaugurated. It was happening right at the time, at the same time that Joe Biden was standing on that stage alone.

They are both now trying to return to the Oval Office. And we want to remind you, there is no love lost between these two men. They do not like each other. And tonight, they are going to stand just eight feet apart from each other. Still, the rules, a candidate's microphone will be turned off if it's not their turn to speak. It may prevent contentious exchanges like this one.

I'm not here to call out his lies. Everybody knows he's a liar. But you agree. I just want to make sure. Joe, you're the liar. I want to make sure. You graduated last in your class, not first in your class. I want to make sure. Mr. President, can you let him finish, sir? He doesn't know how to do that.

Joining us on this most consequential of days, CNN senior political analyst Mark Preston, CNN senior White House correspondent Kayla Tausche, the former White House communications director Kate Bedingfield. Jonah Goldberg is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Dispatch. And we also have CNN political commentator Sir Michael Singleton joining us as well. Good morning to all of you on what is going to be a very consequential day. Mark,

Let me start with you. You are one of the people who works so hard to make days like this come to fruition on behalf of CNN, in addition to all of the editorial work that you do as well. The rules, the format are a huge focus, but for a reason, not necessarily just because, you know, I'm not focusing on the process here, right? When we're talking about two men who are going to interact with each other that way, how this is actually going to physically play out, they're going to be as about as far apart as you and I are right now.

First of all, let me say I apologize for putting us in this situation today. I take no responsibility what happens at like 10:44 when this debate is over tonight. You know, this is really going to be interesting. To your point, these are two folks, often in politics, you will have politicians on opposite ends of the spectrum.

challenging each other, but behind the scenes, they can be friendly, right? I mean, there is some comedy. We're not going to see that here tonight. And even though those mics will be muted, just remember, inside the debate stage, they can hear each other. So the question will then be, can, you know...

Joe Biden or Donald Trump, if the other one tries to knock them off their game, tries to confuse them a little bit, even though they can't be heard by the viewers. Will we see that happen? Yeah. Kayla Toshi, take us inside the Biden campaign in the Biden White House on this most consequential day. Which Donald Trump do they expect to show up and how are they in particular considering the rules thinking about? And I know this has been part of it.

how to basically provoke the other guy to into a moment that's damaging. Well, I know that in the words of one advisor, expect the unexpected. You have to prepare for every single version of Donald Trump that could potentially be on that stage. But I know that the rules are figuring prominently in the way that President Biden and his team are preparing. Mark just mentioned the two minute response time. That has been a big factor in the mock debates with moderators, uh,

putting very strict time constraints on the president. They don't want him to get into a situation where he's just about to make a great point and then the mics go dead and he's not able to get there. And so they want him to distill that message into a shorter period of time. And that's something that has been a focus for some of these mock debates. The schedule today, I'm told, is fluid with the potential for one more mock debate before the president and his team come to Atlanta. And then there's also... Wait, he might do an entire mock debate

I was told last night at 10 p.m. that there's a potential to do another mock debate today. Is that a good idea, Kate? I mean, that's...

Normally candidates are quiet, down, hanging out. I think it just depends on how he's feeling. I mean, there's, you know, if he's feeling energetic, if he's feeling like he wants to go through one more run through, we'll sort of make him feel calm, then great. You know, it's really, I think you just have to gauge where your candidate's energy level is and kind of where their head is. Jonah Goldberg. So first of all, there's three of you sitting with us. In many ways, you represent kind of the three pieces of American political thinking, right?

Well, that's frightening. To be clear... I'm selling my bonds. We have two Republicans, but as we've seen in these elections, I mean, these people keep voting for Nikki Haley. Jonah, you have expressed that you're not supportive of Donald Trump. I'm sure Michael previously worked for him. But Jonah, I just kind of want to go to you on, in that

As I'm thinking about this day and the reality that the three of you kind of represent and underscore, the historic nature of the day can be kind of hard to wrap our heads around. But in many ways, this election is going to be different from any we have had before. The stakes are in some ways very much higher. What is what are the stakes on that stage tonight in your view? Yeah. So I'm generally very much a skeptic about the importance of presidential debates. But I actually think this one matters. I mean, historically, historically,

There's a lot of data to show they don't tend to matter that much. They tend to emphasize style and telegenic stuff over substance. The one that everyone always talks about is Kennedy versus Nixon.

And everyone says, well, Kennedy won because he had makeup and Nixon looked like he woke up in a motel room. He sweat a lot. And it's like, okay, you're making my point. This thing's emphasized style versus substance. This is about reassuring people for two candidates that people have a lot of misgivings about. For Biden, it's not misgivings necessarily about his character. It's misgivings about his age, whether he's up to the job. And for Trump, it's misgivings about

Dear God, are we going to go back to four more years of the kind of chaos and him being in our headspace again? Can I handle that? Can I make peace with that? Or is it going to be four more years of him tweeting like an escaped monkey from a cocaine study? And so like I need to give this is what you're my here. Yes. He has to be reassuring to a certain extent to give people permission to vote against Biden.

And whether he can do that or not, I have no idea. I don't want to envision that. Casey, look, I think the past four years under President Biden, the previous four years under Donald Trump, showcased serious disintegration across our country.

And now I think you have a lot of Democrats who aren't enthusiastic about the president. You got many Republicans who aren't enthusiastic about Donald Trump. And I think the question tonight is, can either one of these men showcase that if given an opportunity, they can address some of the most critical issues that most voters are concerned with. For President Biden, he needs to showcase that he can continue going for another four years. Yeah, he may be a little older, but he's seasoned. He's experienced. He knows how to do the job. For Donald Trump, it's all about the temperament.

If people perceive him as being the chaos guy, again, they're going to say, you know what, I'm going to step back and I'm going to probably give my vote to Joe Biden. Last word, Kate. Yeah, I just think this is also a powerful moment from a media landscape perspective. I mean, so much of this campaign, so much of the way people consume information now is so siloed. You know, you kind of choose where you want to see your candidate and how. There just aren't that many moments where the two of them are on stage together in a side-by-side comparison. So,

It's going to be a really powerful, exciting night. You know President Biden very well. How do the personal dynamics of this? I mean, he does not like Donald Trump. He sees Donald Trump as someone who tried to not just steal an election, but steal it from him. Yes, yes. And fundamentally try to alter the fabric of the American Constitution. No, he absolutely dislikes Donald Trump.

You know, I think for him, part of what he's trying to put on display tonight, as we've kind of discussed here, is an energy. And so in some ways, I think the kind of the not just the personal animus, like, oh, I'm going to go out and try to embarrass Donald Trump, but just kind of feeling a sense of the stakes is a good thing for him. It kind of gives him that extra energy.

fire that I think if it's on display tonight for the American people will be a good thing for him. All right, well, we're going to find out soon enough. All right, our panel sticks around. Coming up next, a critical Supreme Court ruling on abortion accidentally posted online prematurely. And the co-chair of the Biden campaign is here to tell us about the president's last minute strategy for tonight's big debate.

I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, host of the Chasing Life podcast. What are some of the social service agencies that have supported you and your family growing up? That's Dr. Robert Waldinger. He's a psychiatrist, a professor, and a Zen master. What kind of relationships actually help us maintain happiness? And what should we do in those moments where we have setbacks and things that don't work out? Listen to Chasing Life, streaming now, wherever you get your podcasts.

There's been, of course, so much attention here in Atlanta for tonight's CNN presidential debate. We also, though, in Washington, have the Supreme Court set to potentially make major news in just a couple of hours. We are still waiting on several outstanding decisions, including the ruling on Donald Trump's claim of presidential immunity. That decision could come down today. If it does, that will, of course, be before President Biden and Donald Trump take the stage.

The court is also this morning grappling with an astonishing breach of protocol. According to Bloomberg News, the Supreme Court appears poised to temporarily allow abortions in medical emergencies in Idaho after a document was posted on the court's website and then quickly taken down. The court has acknowledged inadvertently posting the document.

They say that they have not officially rendered a decision in this case. Our panel is back. And Kate Bedingfield, the abortion decision in question would be a victory for abortion rights supporters. They're, of course, saying, well, this is just a delay of something that they view as a terrible policy. Because, again, we're talking about women going to emergency rooms in Idaho and they're having medical situations for themselves. Whether or not they can be denied treatment is the question at hand. Right.

Let's talk about how this issue is or isn't likely to play out on stage tonight. I mean, how much of this do you think is going to be what President Biden is trying to talk about? Well, I think the abortion issue writ large will be a huge piece of what Biden's trying to talk about because it's an issue where there is a clear through line from Donald Trump having been president of the United States

to the situation that we're in now where women are being denied health care across the country. So it is a incredibly potent argument for him to make about the consequences of Donald Trump presidency. You know, it's a good argument for him to lay at the feet of Donald Trump, who has tried because Trump recognizes this is a political loser for him and for the Republicans. Trump has sort of tried to

give six different answers to this, but he has bragged about putting the three justices on the court who overturned Roe and Biden can really be aggressive. And I also think this case illustrates, gives Biden an opportunity to say, we shouldn't be here. We shouldn't be here. And the reason we're here is because of Donald Trump. So I think this will be very prime target for- No, I agree with Kate. I think that may be one of the more stronger moments for President Biden on this issue

Republicans have got to figure out a way to change tone on this, Casey. I've advised a whole bunch of members of Congress, other state legislatures, that this issue will continue to seed victory in races that we could potentially win. And Donald Trump continues to say, well, it should be returned back to the states.

well that has occurred and it's not moving in the right direction for republicans is alive advises campaign needs to go further as a state should have referendums allow the voters to vote on this issue because we've seen in ohio we've seen in kansas we've seen a wisconsin even counties in kansas for example i think eighty percent that went for trump voted with democrats to protect reproductive rights this is an issue that most americans do not want government encroachment on republicans need to respect that jim goldberg i want to

touch briefly on the immunity question here because uh the the court they want to keep a perception that they are above all of the politics all the things that we were talking about today um there is no question in my mind anyway that they know what's happening tonight they can they can read the room so to speak uh what do you expect in terms of this immunity decision and how how do you think it's going to impact uh the race what we see here tonight if at all yeah so i expect

that they're going to get as close to a unanimous decision on this as possible. I could see Thomas maybe dissenting, but that's what Robert wants to do. This is a historically unified court, despite all the demagoguery about this court. They've had 49 unanimous decisions so far this year.

And the court, I think, is going to claw back a little of Jack Smith's requests. But at the same time, there is no way this court is going to give Donald Trump what he thinks he can get, which is total and complete immunity to kill all of my foes. Right. Even even Trump's lawyers didn't argue that in court.

they said there were certain things that he was not immune for. So I think it's going to be sent back to lower courts with some instructions, maybe to pare it back a little bit. But Jack Smith is going to still be able to prosecute on most of the stuff. Incredibly high stakes all the way around. All right, our panel is back in just a few moments. But coming up next on CNN This Morning, we've got new reporting on how President Biden is preparing to debate with less than 15 hours to go.

and how each candidate might handle talking about the January 6th Capitol riots at tonight's debate. All right. Later on tonight, President Biden and Donald Trump will be on stage right here in Atlanta on CNN. Unlike any recent debate, there'll be no audience in the room, just the candidates and the moderators. Kayla Tausche, you have some new reporting this morning about...

Some of the dynamics that the president has been thinking about because of the, I mean, this is just an incredibly unusual situation. There are questions, are they going to shake hands because of how much they don't like each other? How will each man address the other? What have you learned? Well, there's so much deep dislike between these two presidents that it's hard to imagine what the opening of this debate will look like. And so in asking about the opening protocol, some of the decorum

The Biden team says that they haven't exactly plotted that out, that it's going to need to be more of a play-by-ear situation. A game-time decision? Game-time decision, because in 2020, it was the COVID era. The podiums were socially distanced. We were in a time of fist-bumping and testing the entire audience before they could sit there. They all had to be masked. Now they're going to be a mere eight feet apart. And so how awkward...

is it to enter the room and to shake his hand or to not shake his hand? That's the thought process that's going through the Biden team. But certainly, I think there would be some relief and a collective exhale if there are an opportunity to avoid that interaction altogether. And then there's the question of,

how President Biden will address Donald Trump. Back in 2020, there were several moments where he simply just called him Donald. There was a moment in the second debate where they were talking about abortion, and Biden said that the overturning of Roe v. Wade was on the ballot. And Trump repeatedly interrupted him, despite there being muted mics in that debate. And he said at one point, Donald, would you just be quiet? Sort of a toned-down version of the

first debates, would you shut up, man? And at that point, it sort of encapsulated the fact that he was trying to address him in a more diminutive way. But this time around, there's a difference because of January 6th. And I'm told that there might be some instances where the president finds utility in mentioning that Trump was in the driver's seat on days like January 6th. He had the keys to the castle and he chose not to do anything. So there could be some moments where we do see Biden mentioning that Trump was president

And in that moment, Trump failed the American people in that role. So that's what's a little different about that. And then there's the question about how he reacts when Trump inevitably goes after his family. This happened a few times in 2020. Many commentators said that it didn't serve Donald Trump well because it gave Biden some moments that went viral. And this time around, it's expected to come up

again. And one advisor that I spoke to used a Mike Tyson quote to describe the prep in this area, saying everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. And they wanted to make sure that Biden had the ability to absorb the first punches in private, to take some of the worst possible comments that could be lobbed at him about his family.

and to really think about them and absorb them and then be ready to come back fighting. So that his first punch in the face is not for all of us to see. It's not for millions of people in America to be watching. All right. Panel, join us. I'll be back in just a moment. But coming up next here, an inside look at Joe Biden's debate strategy with Biden campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond, plus a one-on-one conversation with Republican Congressman Byron Donalds on why he's supporting Donald Trump this November. Is there any doubt in your mind that you would be able to function in such circumstances?

Not at all, Mr. Truitt, and I want you to know that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience.

So tonight is not going to be the first time that age will be front and center at a presidential debate, but it's the first time that we're going to see the issue hang over both candidates, 81-year-old Joe Biden, 78-year-old Donald Trump. It is, however, of particular concern for President Biden. Polls show that age is consistently a top concern for voters about him, and with millions expected to tune in tonight,

It's not only going to be Biden's biggest opportunity to showcase vigor and stamina if he can. It's also his best moment to communicate the message that those around him have been trying to emphasize in the lead up to the debate.

This election is most certainly not about age. Joe and that other guy are essentially the same age. Let's not be fooled. But what this election is about, it's about the character of the person leading our country.

And joining me now is Biden campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond. Cedric, thank you so much for joining us this morning. How do you expect President Biden is going to take this head on with the first real moment where millions of Americans are going to be tuned in? Well, I think he's going to

do his best and I think he's going to show to the American people the differences between the two candidates. And it's not about age, it's about the ideas, it's about the vision, it's about who cares for who. Donald Trump wakes up every morning trying to figure out how to benefit Donald Trump. President Biden wakes up every morning worrying about the American people, how to

fight inflation, how to help the economy, all of those things that are facing American people. And I think you're going to see that tonight. Of course, the Trump campaign has been reprising something that they've used in 2016 and 2020 by preemptively suggesting that there will be substances enhancing President Biden's performance tonight. I mean, even one congressman said, oh, he's going to be doing Mountain Dew. How do you respond to that? Well, I was in Congress when Donald Trump was president.

He lied 20,000 times. So this is just par for the course of former President Trump and his backers. And so you will see President Biden, you will see his character. And no matter how calm former President Trump is, it won't stop the fact that he will continue to make up stuff and he will continue to make it all about himself. And I think people are going to see that.

So Byron Donalds is a Trump supporter who has been working on outreach to the black community. And he held an event here in Atlanta where President Trump called in. And I know the Biden campaign responded to this last night. I'm hoping to get your personal take on it. Let's just show what happened, how the former President Donald Trump spoke at this event. Let's listen.

Since that happened, the black support, I think my representatives will tell you this, the black support has gone through the roof. And I guess they equate it to problems that they've had. But since this has happened, like the mugshot, that's the number one mugshot of all time.

He's, of course, talking about his criminal conviction. Your response? I think it's absolute foolishness. But it's typical Donald Trump. African-Americans, especially African-American men, do not gravitate to you because you are a convicted felon.

It's what black men care about is the economic prosperity and opportunity that they have in their community and what's going to help them support a family, what's going to help them with entrepreneurship. So while Donald Trump talks about, oh, black men are going to like me because I'm a convicted felon, I have a mugshot, I sell cheap gold tennis shoes, President Biden is going to

I'll reiterate that unemployment in the black community is at an all-time low. Entrepreneurship is at an all-time high. He's closed the racial wealth gap, the closest it's ever been. And so that's what you will see. And I think that that's one of the greatest examples

of how the two individuals approach things. Again, this is about Donald Trump. Hey, I'm a convicted felon, so black men are going to like me. And President Biden, who says, I want to empower black men. I want to help them create businesses. I want to help them achieve their wildest dreams and create and amass all the wealth they can. And I think that's a clear difference. Do you think that President Biden should call Donald Trump a convicted felon on stage tonight? Well, he has before. And look, if it

Looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck. It's a duck. He's a convicted felon. And that's just who he is. And by the way, he's a twice impeached convicted felon. And so it wasn't Joe Biden that did that. It was 12 American patriots who served as jurors that found him guilty unanimously on 34 counts. And so.

I'm not sure if the president will or not, but I certainly will. He's a convicted felon. So one of the things we've been talking about as well this morning is the degree of personal animosity and how each one of these candidates are going to deal with the other as they take the stage for the first time since they last met on a debate stage. Then President Trump did not attend President Biden's inauguration. Should President Biden shake Donald Trump's hand? Does he deserve that?

Well, that's up to President Biden. And I'm sure there's no love lost there. I wouldn't shake his hand. I was in the Capitol when he sent insurrectionists, the Proud Boys and others to the Capitol, chanting, hang Mike Pence, looking for Leader Pelosi, all of those things. I was there that day. And because of that, I don't think I would. But President Biden has consistently, he rises above the

pettiness, unlike Donald Trump. So I would leave that up to him. But what I've been through with the former president, I certainly would not. All right. Cedric Richmond, co-chair of the Biden campaign. Sir, very gratefully for your time this morning. Thank you very much. Good luck tonight.

All right. There is one issue that is certain, and we were just talking about it to come up tonight, that Biden and Trump could not discuss the last time that they debated, and that was the events of January 6th. And these two men could not look at this day any more differently. Donald Trump has been consistently portraying convicted rioters, insurrectionists as heroes.

They ought to release the J6 hostages. They've suffered enough. They ought to release them. I call them hostages. Some people call them prisoners. I call them hostages. Release the J6 hostages, Joe. Release them, Joe. You can do it real easy, Joe. The Biden camp has been preparing to challenge Trump on the role that he played in the Capitol riot. They just put out this ad ahead of tonight's debate.

Fight like hell, you're not gonna have a country anymore. It should have been stopped. That's neglect of duty. As a sheriff, it's awful to watch police officers getting attacked. That's not supporting this badge and this uniform. I have no desire to work with somebody who divides. That's not what America is, but I work with anybody who unites.

Remarkable. I want to remind everyone something that got us to that day, to that riot at the Capitol building. And it was a moment from a debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden when Donald Trump was pressed to condemn the white nationalist proud boys who then were at the

the Capitol on that day, and many of them are currently involved in prosecutions around it. Let's watch that moment. I'm willing to do anything. I want to see peace. Then do it, sir. Say it. Do it. Say it. Do you want to call him? What do you want to call him? Give me a name. Give me a name. White supremacist and white supremacist. Who would you like me to condemn? White supremacist and white supremacist. Stand back and stand by. Jonah Goldberg. Yeah. Look, I think

Donald Trump disqualified himself from public life, never mind public office, by screwing up our ability to talk about the peaceful transfer of power. And I think it is, it should be a non-starter as an argument. I think Donald Trump had a lot of better policies than Joe Biden, but that alone seems to me to sort of be a debate ender. Unfortunately, it's not a debate ender for everybody. And

I think it's the kind of thing, I think, I don't think Joe Biden is very effective when he talks about threats to democracy. It sounds too self-serving, but just letting the videos run and letting surrogates do it, I think is very effective at the margins. And that's what's going to

going to decide this election is voters at the margins. Sure, Michael Singleton, Donald Trump has handled this at rallies in a way that is very focused on his MAGA base. He is playing, he plays a version of the Star Spangled Banner where at the beginning of the rally it says, please rise for the January 6th

not the American flag. In fact, if we have it, let's play it and just remind people that this is, there are a lot of people that are going to be tuning in for the first time tonight to this election. Many people have been tuned out. They may not have seen that this is what Donald Trump does on the campaign trail watch. Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the horribly and unfairly treated January 6th hostages. Oh, thank God.

The spirit from the hostages, and that's what they are, is hostages. They've been treated terribly. Sure, Michael. There he was saluting the people that ransacked the United States Capitol, chanted hang Mike Pence. When it comes to this debate tonight, is that the...

the person that they want the American people to see? I really hope not. I mean, again, this election is going to be won or lost on the margins. And I was on Capitol Hill during January 6th. This makes a lot of people very uncomfortable, Casey. Even many Republicans just simply do not like this.

I think if you're Donald Trump, the base that may enjoy those sort of theatrics, if you will, at a campaign rally, they're going to remain with Donald Trump. He needs to figure out a way to talk directly to the American people and acknowledge there are a lot of people who did some really horrible and despicable things on that day. Now, will he do that? Probably not. But I think he needs to be careful and not do what we just saw in that clip.

You know, we talk about the margins. I mean, Jonah talked about it and sure Michael did as well. And they're absolutely right. And, you know, tomorrow morning, the nation, the world will be talking about this debate. But the reality is the election is going to really be decided in just a handful of states. So the margins are even smaller than the national margin. We're talking about the margins in states like Georgia, where we're sitting right now, Wisconsin, maybe Nevada, you know, certainly North Carolina. So these margins are really tight.

And even though we're going to be talking about issues tonight, there will be issues. That's going to be the baseline of the debate. The reality is, is Joe Biden going to come with a strong performance, an energetic performance or whatever you want to call it, enough that people are going to have confidence?

Is Donald Trump, as we keep on saying, you know, is he going to go off the rails and people are going to be scared? Yeah, well, look, I think Joe Biden is incredibly animated by this argument. I mean, he is somebody who truly views what Donald Trump did in aiding and abetting January 6th as a threat to our country moving forward. So it's a it's an argument that he is personally animated on. I think he will be ready to engage and to push Trump. I mean, if you actually watching that clip.

You know, Chris Wallace is pushing Trump and saying white supremacists. It's actually Joe Biden who says proud boys and gets Donald Trump to say proud boys. All right. Stand back and stand by. So, you know, I think Biden will be aggressive at getting Trump to respond to the specifics of what he's done. And I also think, you know, there's kind of this received wisdom that, you know, this is an argument that elites care about. It's not really an argument that voters care. Do they you know, do they think about January 6th in the same way? And I

I think that they do. I think there is a fundamental rejection of the idea that America is no longer a place where there's a peaceful transfer of power. I don't think swing voters are sitting around talking about it in constitutional terms, but I do think they say that's not America. That's not what we do. And and I think there's some power in that. Just very quickly, I think there's one way for Biden that he could get be effective about this. Is this just called the utter BS of calling these people hostages?

All of these people had legal representation. They had facts and evidence brought in court, and they were tried and convicted in court. They're not hostages, and it's a grotesque slander on the American criminal justice system to call them that.

Kayla, you wanted to jump in as she was talking about how President Biden may approach this. I'm just curious, Kate, how you think President Biden can change the message so that it actually resonates with voters, because he's given no fewer than four speeches on this topic, on democracy, different backdrops, whether it's Independence Hall, University of Arizona, Union Station, various times of day where he has tried to get this message across to the American people to help them understand the urgency of the situation.

it didn't resonate then, but why do you think it will now? It resonated in 2022. I mean, it was Democrats had a much better than expected midterms in part on the back of that argument. I mean, Joe Biden delivered that speech on democracy a week or two before the election in the fall of 2022. And in a lot of the data post-election, people said my concerns about democracy were a big driver for me going out to vote. So I think there is evidence that in fact it is landing with some of those swing voters. And so I think he absolutely has to make an aggressive case. He has to

He has to be putting Donald Trump on the defensive. And that will be his task tonight, to put Donald Trump on his heels on this. All right. Kayla Tausche, thank you so much for being here today. I really appreciate it. All right. The rest of the panel will be back in just a few minutes. But up next here, the rules that will make tonight's CNN presidential debate so unique. Plus, Trump backer ally Byron Donald joins us live. The Florida congressman will tell us what he thinks Donald Trump has to do tonight for his campaign.

Welcome back to CNN this morning. Donald Trump will be back in Georgia today for the first presidential debate right here on CNN. This is a state that he lost by less than one percentage point in 2020. And it's also where he now faces criminal charges. It's actually in this very county for his efforts to overturn his election loss four years ago. And as Trump looks to try to sway voters in the battleground, this battleground state, the governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, had this advice for him last night.

I think former President Trump has a great opportunity to really be forward thinking, not look in the rearview mirror, not focused on the past, but stay focused on the future. Contrast.

Joining me now is Florida Republican Congressman Byron Donald, a top supporter of Donald Trump's in November. Congressman, thank you very much for being here. Good to be with you. So let me start right there with what the governor said. He urged President Trump to be forward-looking and to not be focused on the past. Do you expect that's what we'll see from the former president tonight? I do. You know, if you've been on the trail with the president, I've been on the trail with him. If you listen to everything that he says,

He's been talking a lot, significantly a lot, about what's going on in our country. Inflation, the border, foreign policy, all the issues that really matter to the American people. Our economy being able to grow and thrive, people being able to get ahead. That's been his focus. Of course, he'll talk about what happened in lower Manhattan. He might still talk about 2020, but the focus has been the future for the American people and the reason why we must have a change in the White House from Joe Biden to Donald Trump.

So you were actually hosting an event on behalf of the president in Atlanta here, and he called in to the event. And you, of course, are trying to work on generating support, especially among blacks, black men for the former president. I want to just play for our audience who may have not seen it what the former president had to say. Take a look.

Since that happened, the black support, I think my representatives will tell you this, the black support has gone through the roof. And I guess they equate it to problems that they've had. But since this has happened, like the mugshot, that's the number one mugshot of all time.

So he, of course, was talking about his criminal conviction. Cedric Richmond of the Biden campaign was just here. He called that absolute foolishness. What did you make of the president's comments there? Is President Trump right? Well, look, I will tell you what he was responding to was I think the gentleman that was to my right in that shot.

He's the one that brought it up and said that, yeah, in Atlanta here and a lot of places around the country, but specifically in Atlanta, there were black men who said, wow, they're going after Donald Trump. Well, let me look into this more. I mean, honestly, how bad can he be if they're going after him like this? What happened in lower Manhattan? What do you mean how bad?

What happened in lower Manhattan was a violation of his constitutional rights. Alvin Bragg and Judge Mershon never even allowed in the original indictment what the underlying crime is. The jury pool did not have to agree on what the criminal law was to find him guilty. Even the Supreme Court has just came back in another case a few weeks ago and said that

Juries are not allowed to do that. You have to agree on an element of a crime. That did not happen in lower Manhattan. People are watching what happened. They see the unfairness. They see that it is political because even that charge, you talk to legal scholars, that charge has never been brought against anybody, would never be brought against anybody except Donald Trump. So I think when you, I'm going to make this point, is this clear? Yeah.

When we're looking at the justice system, we all agree nobody's above the law. But Donald Trump's not below the law either. And I think that you do have black men in particular, but men, other women in our country who saw what happened there and they say, man, this is political. This is not fair.

fair. And so why are we trying to criminalize Donald Trump simply because he's running for president? That's not right. The American people, I think, agree with that. Yeah. All I was going to say was, you know, apart from there are a lot of arguments, you know, our lawyers have had all the arguments about the specifics of the case, but the sentiment that you are getting at, you do believe that there is...

an identification among the black community the way he said because of this? I don't believe it. I've heard it from people in my travels through the country here in Atlanta. I've heard it again yesterday. There are people who are saying this is not right. So if they're going to go after him like that,

Well, frankly, what else is he trying to do for the country? Because then they're listening to what he's talking about, what it means to actually have a growing economy, getting inflation under control, building generational wealth for families. They're listening to his message in part because of what's happened through these criminal proceedings. I think if you were to ask Democrats today, they would admit that this lawfare strategy has backfired against them.

Congressman, we were talking earlier in the show about January 6th and how this is the first time that these two men will confront each other face to face in the wake of that. And we showed some of the footage from Donald Trump's rallies. He calls those who have been convicted or jailed because of their roles hostages. Do you think he should call them hostages on the stage tonight? Is that a message for...

the millions of Americans that are going to be perhaps tuning into this race for the first time? Well, I'm not going to speak to what he's going to say on the stage. I've heard him say a lot of different things about some of the January 6th detainees, some of which are still sitting in a D.C. jail, still haven't been afforded their day in court. If you talk to those inmates and all the things that have happened to them, the fact that they're legal, they've been investigating their case, trying to get legal writings to their attorneys. That stuff was taken from them in a D.C. jail, a violation of constitutional rights. The fact

that you had the U.S. attorney in D.C. who's using obscure law and charging it up massively to try to get the maximum amount of jail time for people who, and I'm not talking about people who are fighting with police officers. I'm not talking about that. I'm not talking about people who are breaking windows. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about people who are at the Capitol or might be walking through the Capitol.

I was on the floor that day. January 6th was a very tough day for our country. I fully acknowledge that I was there. But at the same time, we're going to go back to the justice system. It's got to be fair and even-handed. We got to be consistent with the rule of law, the application of law. And there is a legitimate argument

that the U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia has simply overcharged people who were on Capitol Hill on January 6th. Meanwhile, other violent crime in Washington, D.C. is either not being prosecuted or they are decreasing the charge. That's not right. All right, Congressman Byron Donalds for us this morning. Congressman, thank you very much for your time. I really appreciate it.

All right, the rules for tonight's debate could play a pretty significant role in how this plays out. There's going to be no audience in the studio for the 90-minute debate. The candidates will have two minutes for their answers and a minute for rebuttal or follow-up questions. And each candidate's microphone will be turned on or off.

only when it is their turn to speak. A green light on each of the podiums will let the candidates know when their microphone is live. We want to show you exactly what that will look and sound like. Watch.

So let's say I'm answering a question. My light is green and I'm speaking. Phil's microphone is off and his green lights are not illuminated. He's going to interrupt me as I'm speaking and this is what it will sound like. My volume remains constant while Phil's interruption can be difficult to understand.

Oh, poor Phil Mattingly. It is important to note that CNN shared that demonstration and all the rules with the campaign teams and both sides did agree to them. Mark Preston, I'm actually really interested to know kind of how this came about and sort of

because obviously these are very careful negotiations. I know you can't share a lot of the details, but the reality is that, you know, Donald Trump really came across the first debate of 2020. A lot of people will look at that and say he hurt himself because of all the ways he was able to interrupt President Biden. Is there a chance that, I mean, I think there had been this perception that the Trump team was unhappy with this. That seems to be shifting a

Look, I think that the Trump team certainly doesn't want Donald Trump to come out, like Sher Michael says at the end, and just takes the train off the rails and it burns, you know, burns up in flames. However, having said that, I do think I do think that either candidate with the with the rules in place and they do need to be in place. Otherwise, we're not going to hear anything. There is an there is an opportunity to interrupt, to talk.

knock somebody off balance, make them not look as good on TV. Yeah. Kate? Yeah, I mean, I think Joe Biden's task, regardless tonight, is to drive the conversation to the places he wants it to go, the places where Donald Trump is politically vulnerable. I think I'm somebody who thinks that the mics being muted probably does accrue to Trump's benefit if he's trying to be the more restrained version of himself. We can get a wide shot. All the heads are nodding. But he doesn't here. Yeah, see, they're all

But I actually but fundamentally it doesn't change Joe Biden's task, which is, again, try to put Donald Trump on the defensive on the things where he's vulnerable and to show the country that he would be a dangerous and unfit option for a second term. So, you know, whether what that means stylistically for Trump and for Biden, we'll see tonight. But I think Biden's task is

remains the same regardless. We've got 30 seconds. Quick last point. Yeah, no, I agree with that. The downside is Trump can get all the benefits from interrupting Biden without any of the detriments by being seen interrupting Biden. Yeah. No audience benefits Trump because he lives and breathes off of the audience reaction. I think this is going to be a good night for him. Yeah, the audience, we haven't actually dug in too much to the fact that there is not going to be an audience tonight. Really going to change. I mean, it's the first time in years, right?

In years. Though I will say the CPD debates, they had an audience, but they were just potted plants. I mean, it's not like they actually participated in the debate. No disrespect to the CPD. Just tell them the truth. Well, and ultimately, your audience is the television audience. Yeah, exactly. It's really the only one that matters. I mean, you're in the hall. Your perception of actually how it plays, it's really muted. All right. Thank you very much to our panel. Thanks to all of you for joining on the...

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