Ahead of Thursday’s first presidential debate of the year, former President Donald Trump said he has been preparing for “my whole life.”
Trump explained he did not believe getting ready for a debate at this level is something one can do by locking “yourself in a room like some people do,” taking a swipe at President Joe Biden for spending around a week at Camp David to prepare himself for the debate.
“I think I’ve been preparing for it for my whole life if you want to know the truth, and I’m not sure you can lock yourself into a room for two weeks or one week or two days and really learn what you have to know,” Trump said on Newsmax’s Prime News. “And I’ve been through it. I’ve been, you know, a popular president. We had some great elections and some amazing number of votes, nobody got more than we got. And you know, I know the subject. Now they may get cute because it’s obviously at CNN, and I call it fake news for a long time. We’ll see how they do it. I think they have a lot at stake to be fair. I think they have to be fair. But we’ll see how we do. I think we’ll do very well.”
Trump also referenced a report that claimed Biden has been practicing for the debate by standing for 90 minutes, to which he responded, “Let’s see what happens.” He also reiterated his comments that the United States is in trouble, which calls for a change in leadership because the country has “never been so embarrassed.”
“We have to change presidents,” Trump said. “He’s the worst president in history, and we have to get change.”
The former president was asked about the possibility of announcing his vice presidential candidate before the debate. The three rumored candidates are Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), and J.D. Vance (R-OH). Trump did not provide a direct answer, only saying he could choose “any one of these people” but that he would make a decision soon and that people would be “very happy” with his choice.
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CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will moderate Thursday’s debate, which will feature several changes from years past. There will be no public audience, candidates will have no pre-written notes, and their microphones will be cut when it is not their turn to talk.
A second presidential debate is scheduled for Sept. 10, which will be hosted by ABC. Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris has accepted an invitation from CBS News to debate Trump’s running mate, which could be held on either July 23 or Aug. 13, according to the Biden campaign.
