OPINION:
President Biden squares off against Donald Trump on Thursday in a verbal tourney, inviting viewers to evaluate the former president’s ability to demonstrate appropriate restraint and the current president’s ability to find the way to the stage on his own.
Allowing CNN to host the event places Mr. Trump at a significant disadvantage. In 2016, operatives at the network handed Hillary Clinton the precise wording of the debate questions in advance of her faceoff with Mr. Trump. WikiLeaks exposed the network’s collusion by publishing the emails then-CNN contributor Donna Brazile sent to Mr. Trump’s opponent.
In the 2012 debate between then-President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney, CNN moderator Candy Crowley jumped into the arena as a participant to come to Mr. Obama’s defense. She “fact-checked” Mr. Romney’s assertion that Mr. Obama did everything he could to avoid calling the deadly assault on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, a terrorist attack.
“He did, in fact, sir … call it an act of terror,” Ms. Crowley said. Her interruption was unwarranted, as Mr. Romney’s account of events was accurate.
Given the track record of manipulation, CNN hosts Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will likely do what they can to deflect from Mr. Biden’s shortcomings, wielding the power to cut microphones and interrupt the inevitable back-and-forth between the contestants whenever the current president falters.
All that effort may go to waste, since the vast majority of voters are already familiar with the candidates and have made up their mind about November. A Quinnipiac poll from last month suggests only 15% of Democrats and 8% of Republicans would entertain the thought of switching their vote at the last minute.
Even luck is favoring the president, who won the coin toss and will deliver the opening monologue. Mr. Trump will close the event.
Mr. Biden’s opener will almost certainly revel in his opponent’s status as a convicted felon. The administration put a lot of effort into turning this talking point into a reality by dispatching top political appointees on an unprecedented quest to imprison a former president.
An appeal is almost certain to reverse the verdict orchestrated by a conflicted and partisan judge, but such relief probably won’t come until after the election. The Democrats’ underhanded tactics have energized Mr. Trump’s supporters, who rushed to fill the former president’s campaign war chest with $70 million in donations within 48 hours of the verdict. The outpouring of financial support erased the monetary advantage the Democratic fundraisers had previously enjoyed.
Given the impropriety of the other side’s scheming, Mr. Trump ought to consider the gloves off. His closer could remind viewers that Mr. Biden looked into the camera in the last debate and knowingly lied about his son’s crime-filled laptop being “Russian disinformation.”
Mr. Biden’s fib was enabled at the highest levels of the intelligence community, revealing the urgent need to clean house — but not because what was done affects Mr. Trump personally.
The focus should be on the abuse Mr. Biden has unleashed on the country. He has created an FBI that investigates parents who complain during school board meetings and spies on traditional Catholics. His Department of Justice arrests people who post jokes on X and jails people who pray outside abortion providers’ offices.
For these Americans, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
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