Already made this prediction but making it again to be official: CNN moderators will press Biden on the hypothetical that he will pardon or commute Hunter Biden's sentence, and they will not ask Trump about any of his pardons of Roger Stone, Paul Manafort etc that actually happened.
BONUS PREDICTION: if Trump has a shit-the-bed incoherent performance where he spends the entire time trying to rattle or interrupt Biden like he did in 2020's first debate, centrist critics will describe it as "pugnacious"
Zero housing questions would be my prediction but if they do one it'll be framed around inflation and attributed to Biden's bad policies by the moderators bsky.app/profile/jody...
Possible they will "balance" the Hunter question by pressing Trump to swear he will not pardon himself, which is ridiculous since 1) he has already violated numerous oaths like this because he is a huge liar and 2) he won't need to pardon himself he can just order the DOJ to drop the case
It doesn't matter how Biden answers, the function of the question is to present to low info swing voters the Hunter Biden situation as an embarrassing and potentially disqualifying scandal equivalent to (or worse) than Trump's many scandals bsky.app/profile/apea...
Hasn't Biden already said he would not? And if particularly if they give him 2 minutes to respond or whatever, that seems something of a favor to Biden.
Not sure but I sort of suspect muted mics will only lead Trump to be more aggressive in trying to interrupt or shout at Biden. Someone standing 10 feet away from you shouting at you is just as distracting if their mic is live as if its not bsky.app/profile/roke...
Right, in a sense, it does hurt him. But then he doesn't need 90 or 120 seconds to answer the question "No, as I stated before, I will not. I believe in the rule of law."
Which then gives him a lot of time and an opening to talk about Trump's crimes in a way that isn't evading the question.
Honestly if that’s the balance framing they use I’d be fine with it. Biden has a good answer ready to go on the Hunter question, Trump will probably say something evasive and mealy-mouthed that in direct comparison looks bad.
Whatever happens the press will both sides it as a indecisive precisely as hard as they pushed the debates as defining demonstrating again how bad journalism os indistinguishable from marketing
Getting into my car yesterday and waiting for the bluetooth to engage, NPR was on just long enough to hear during what I assume was debate performance speculation "Trump is tough, but relatable". 🙃
I could see the moderators trying to match the pardon hypothetical with some kind of question about Trump's pardons for "balance" purposes but they will *for sure* ask more Hunter questions than environmental questions
My prediction for tonight’s debate is that Trump’s Secret Service detail and Biden’s Secret Service detail will get into a protracted John Woo-style shootout.
Hasn't Biden already said he would not? And if particularly if they give him 2 minutes to respond or whatever, that seems something of a favor to Biden.
Doesn't matter. Anything a Democrat could theoretically do, even if unlikely or impossible, is always a bigger threat than what Republicans are doing or have done. It's the Butter Emails recipe for horserace coverage.
Also, post debate, Scott Jennings and David Axelrod will both say Biden didn’t perform as well as expected while Jennings won’t say a negative word about Trump regardless of what happens.
I know that Biden will emphasize "I care about you, Trump only cares about himself", but if he really wants to "hand him an anvil", then his responses should repeatedly mention bedbugs at Trump hotels. Trump will then waste his time countering that claim instead of answering Qs, proving Biden right!
Yeah 08 general is the one time they sort of wanted the Democrat to win. Still, Biden is uniquely weak right now. He really should have been a one term caretaker.
I hate it and I agree. And it's so stupid. While Biden won't do that, it'd be easier for him to do if he loses the election and doesn't have to worry about political capital anymore.
“I will take the same action with my son Hunter that my opponent would, should he unfortunately become President again, in considering a pardon of Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, and his other convicted friends.”
