Debate preshow: Looking ahead to the CNN presidential debate

[Music] [Music] [Music] hello Canada I'm Travis Stan rash it's debate night in America the first time a sitting US president will take on a former US president and the stakes couldn't be higher you're looking live right now at Atlanta where Donald Trump and Joe Biden will soon go head-to-head on a stage in that building Arcy Simpson is there live this is a live shot of the prize that they're both vying for the White House our Paul Hunter is in Washington tonight with analysis we will check in with him shortly but first a look at how we got here two drastically different Visions for a country that is still the most powerful Nation on the planet two men from different backgrounds with different views of America's place in the world one a New York businessman turned reality star then president facing legal battles and claims he wants to further divide and already fractured Nation the scenes of January 6th still a part of his legacy the other a career politician from Scranton who says he wants to unite but Joe Biden has also faced his share of challenges in the White House debt inflation and a cost of living crisis criticism of his immigration policies at the southern border and Wars abroad his son Hunter Biden is now a convicted felon tonight each must lay out their plan for the next four years both must make the case for why voters should make them the 47th president of the United States of [Music] America and we will have extensive coverage throughout the evening here on CBC News Network our Katie Simpson leads off our coverage tonight she is on the CNN Midtown campus along with a lot of other media from right around the world so Katie there's a great deal of anticipation around tonight's debate what's it like there at this moment the rain has finally stopped the sun and the humidity are back the air smells fresh and I think everyone is just ready for this to get underway people have had so much caffeine everyone's starting to get the shakes that's kind of the atmosphere here at the CNN campus where all of this is about to get underway we're seeing sort of the who's who of the political world in the United States down here members of Congress some who possibly want to be on Donald Trump's ticket they're here arguing in favor of Donald Trump we've seen Mary Trump who is Trump's estranged niece she is here stumping for Joe Biden so that's the kind of atmosphere what it's like behind the scenes what we are expecting tonight this is a 90minut debate there will be two commercial breaks the thing that's getting the most attention right now is the fact that microphones will be muted when one candidate is not supposed to be talking but there are so many questions about this while the audience may not be able to hear directly through that live microphone what happens inside the room if Donald Trump continues to talk can Joe Biden hear him I know that even if my microphone is turned off and someone is standing in the same room with me my voice will get there and I'm not as loud as either of these presidential candidates so it's it's a great unknown in the mix here also another great unknown when it comes to this kind of debate there's no studio audience so there won't be anyone in the room that either of these politicians can be feeding off of um some analysts we spoke to thought that that might be a bit of a hindrance for Donald Trump but they also think that when microphones get cut off that might help Donald Trump because it'll give him a limited time frame to be able to make his point and get his message out Joe Biden is trying to deliver a a performance tonight that uh shows confidence in his ability to continue on and to demonstrate that he's not too old to be running for this office that is's not too old for reelection there have been a number of events that have taken place people are concerned that he is too old it's one of the top things that American voters talk about when it comes to what they're looking at what they're considering before they make their choice so that's what is at stake here it is expected to be intense there are many unknowns here so it is must see TV certainly is and and Katie you know over the past couple of months I've lost count of how many Americans you have talked to in in various States taking the pulse of America what do you think voters are going to be watching for tonight talking to American voters about what they think is I think my favorite part of my job and so uh we caught up with a republican uh she's involved in the young Republicans young Republicans of Georgia um she's involved in that organization we sort of got a sense of um what she wants to see from Donald Trump tonight and she's hoping she thinks Donald Trump will be more effective if he's able to be more restrained in his delivery he needs to not be as combative as he was in the past there's there's the daa moments there's the zener that of course we all love right because that's what makes Donald Trump Donald Trump and I think a lot of younger people can relate to that because it's not so um uptight so formal like he actually can be relatable in that sense is balancing that though with you're in a debate there's a way you handle yourself in debate and I think if he does that he'll come out looking 10 times better than Joe Biden will Democrats we spoke with are hoping that Joe Biden can have a similar performance to what he did at the State of the Union they liked his energy levels there he looked combative when he was engaging with members of Congress and trying to forcefully paint his vision of America Democrats we spoke with want him to appear to be the adult in the room that's something we know the Biden campaign is hoping for as well but at least one Democrat we spoke to hopes that perhaps Donald Trump isn't that restrained version of himself because they think that that is not going to help him with independent voters or women a lot of uh voters that I know I think of them as my nice tennis friends just kind of moderate Republicans are fed up with the chaos that we saw with the first Trump Administration and I don't think that Trump has done anything to endear himself to them himself to them in the last four years so the issues we can expect to come up the economy there is a cost of living crisis here in the United States very much like what it is back in Canada immigration it is one of the most divisive issues in this country but both Republicans and Democrats recognize there is a challenge here they both have very different approaches in trying to solve it both candidates will try to create contrast on that issue and then of course the baggage from the last election and baggage is probably a weird phrase to use to describe an attempt by Donald Trump to try and hold on to power after losing the 2020 election baggage is the wrong word I recognize that uh but it's the the history between these two candidates right uh we are in the state of Georgia Donald Trump is facing criminal charges in this state for those uh uh efforts to try and overturn the election the spread of misinformation and lies about Mass voting fraud uh trying to pressure Republican officials into changing the vote in his favor finding those 11,798 votes that he needed to win that state that is something that's going to be hanging over this debate as well as come up to be uh a point that will be discussed in this conversation Joe Biden having One Vision uh for America where he he will point out and criticize Donald Trump for what happened then uh Donald Trump trying to point forward uh that uh you know he thinks under his leadership the United States life will be better for the average American because he'll focus on the economy those are the two main messages are some of the main messages that are going to emerge from this but again remember this is American politics Donald Trump has shown time and time again he's unpredictable he is going to do whatever he is going to do anyone who tries to predict it I wish you luck indeed Katie Simpson in the middle of all the action in Atlanta starting us off tonight our thanks to Katie we will check in with her throughout the evening well CBC News Chief correspondent Adrien Arno joins us now for more on tonight's debate she'll be hosting a special edition of the national right after the live event here on CBC News Network so Adrian good to see you what does this debate mean for Biden and Trump everything I I I think Travis the reality is this is close you know it's been close polls have more or less been sort of stuck for a while and we've had the nominees early right both men have been presidents so put all there that together there should be no surprises but where this especially matters is that recent polls suggest maybe as many as 20% of Voters somehow still don't know that's a bit astonishing right these men could not be more wellknown so that means that a debate like this one has a chance to se cement some views so the risk here is that the people who dislike both of them and are still deciding frankly which one they can tolerate in the White House more than more than the other the risk is that those people will watch what happens tonight and say you know what that's it I dislike that guy more than that one and now my mind is made up uh these are the voters that are being called the double haters you've heard that talked about a lot before you're going to hear it talked about a lot more people in a few key States who just still cannot make up their minds their motivation seems to be again not who or what they want but who they don't want so these men tonight uh maybe more than win over new voters just have to present the more tolerable option which sounds like a miserably low bar but that it seems um to be where we are I I can tell you interestingly too Travis that most polling suggest that people think that Trump will do better tonight it is very strange for the incumbent to be perceived as the underdog going into a debate so that will be fascinating too it certainly will be and Adrian you know you have covered uh many of these debates you've spent time in Washington what what what what will you be watching for specifically tonight how they navigate the rules uh you know they're St as as Katie explained they're standing pretty close to each other we're talking about 8T apart so mic's muted when a candidate isn't speaking doesn't another mic won't pick up an outburst and I I got to say I'm pretty sure Katie Simpson's voice would be picked up on those mics um how that will emerge in digestible bits that will do the rounds of social media which frankly is how a lot of people will be taking in this debate For Better or For Worse probably for the worse is the Joe Biden who shows up the captain energy we saw the State of the Union because that energy had an impact on people's perceptions is their humor it takes confidence to show real humor and land a funny moment and confidence appeals to those who are unclear where to go with her vote um we saw Donald Trump asking his supporters at a rally should I be nasty or nice people expect nasty but when you're dealing with people who already don't like him nasty May really fail to impress those undecided so largely looking to see how attuned they are uh to what people want and need uh what the key demographics what matters to them I got to say I I am both sort of looking forward to it and also preparing to watch with like one hand over my eyes out of the nervousness uh it would be fantastic if this is a robust serious smart debate but let's see certainly okay Adrian uh we will uh chck in with you again you're going to be up for a while tonight that is a CBC News Chief correspondent host of the national Adrien Arseno and of course Adrien is going to have anal is ahead of the debate starting next hour at 8:30 Eastern then stay tuned for the simal cast of the CNN presidential debate at 9 Eastern right here on CBC News Network and other CBC platforms and following the debate Adrian will have more special coverage on the national CBC News senior correspondent Paul was Paul Hunter is in Washington and you know Paul as we head into this debate set the scene for us you know we've been talking to Katie and we've been talking to Adrian about the stakes here but you know zooming out what is the pulse of the American people right now honestly Travis I I think people are just fed up with all of this I I think you ask Americans they say we just want to move on we want to get past this kind of ugly divisive politics that has been front and center in this country for a long time now they're fed up and and they want something else but the fact is right now they they don't have that option as as Adrian was alluding to these two candidates are their choices this kind of politics is what it is right now you know beyond that it's it's a country of paradoxes I mean you've got a President Joe Biden who can point to a number of successes job growth for example but effectively gets no credit for it um because things cost more than they did four years ago inflation is a giant drag on Joe Biden in the eyes of so many is politics want to one in a way if br cost more blame the guy in charge toss him out his approval rating is remarkably low right now and yet even his critics will not he's done some good stuff he just can't seem to sell his message and he looks he acts old in a country that to generalize wants its leaders to be energized and strong then you've got Donald Trump who you know when he left office four years ago would have topped the list of worst Presidents ever but that was four years ago and so you know since then this kind of political Amnesia has said in people they haven't forgotten January 6th for example or children separated from their families at the US Mexico border or the Muslim ban and they aren't unaware that Trump is now a convicted felon and yet and yet it's as if none of that matters for so many it's it's it's a remarkably bizar World kind of situation in this country right now yeah it C certainly is and we've been talking about this for for years now it seems like you know Paul obviously people know that these two men are are very different they have very different vision of the country but but but lay out what sets these two men apart fundamentally broad fundamental outlooks on the way this country should go forward uh Travis look uh Polar Opposites doesn't begin to describe uh these two uh Trump critics will say he's in it only for himself his administration would help the rich get richer he's said if reelected he'd go on a kind of revenge tour and seek retribution for his perceived enemies and to the degree possible he dissol all the federal investigations against him his supporters would say they don't care about any of that because they still want the swamp drained they love the guy because he's unlike other politicians still right Biden on the other hand is one of those old school politicians uh but say his supporters he's got the country's best interests at heart he may be old but he's surrounded by people who know what they're doing Trump would surround himself with enablers for his agenda but again for many of trump backers that doesn't matter for whatever for reason they just love the guy I mean what's the worst that can happen in four years they might say and that's where the political Amnesia uh from his four years in office uh kicks in it certainly does if and we're a long way from November but if Donald Trump wins this election what could that mean for the United States and really the rest of the world yeah well yeah we're a long way but in in a sense it's tomorrow right it's it's it's months but it's it's coming up fast right look if he if he gets reelected there are those who who'd say you know America had to get out of jail free card with Trump the first time around and if he's reelected you know no more Mercy in how in how they look at the country once bit and twice shy kind of thing that's looking from the outside looking in from the inside looking out what would Trump do right he's promised more tariffs broadly he'd seal the border with Mexico Deport undocumented migrants all of them uh America First on steroids basically and as I say he'd go after those he sees as his political enemies uh it will be ugly I think people would uh say and it will be ugly quickly last time around it took you know Trump uh a while to figure out the machinations of the White House what he can do as president what he can't do this time around well he'd know how to get stuff done from the get-go that's a big difference cbc's Paul Hunter in Washington we're going to check in with Paul again next hour thanks Paul okay we're going to head back to Atlanta now and uh you know I feel pretty youthful my colleagues are as well but we're going to get a young perspective on all of this we're joined by journalist Wyatt sharp now uh Wyatt good to see you you have been you've been you got accreditation you were down there covering this and you've been talking to Americans particularly with young voters what are you hearing from them ahead of this debate yeah certainly Travis at least the majority of the polls are suggesting right now that the vast majority of Americans don't really want either president Trump or president Biden to be the nominee and yet of course here we are still I mean a lot of Americans are looking for an alternative they're looking for kind of a new generation of leadership so to speak and so they feel as if president Trump and President Biden perhaps are not the best person to advocate for that and so I think a lot of young people in particular are going to be tuning into the debate tonight I you know was speaking to some young people here on the ground there's a progressive political commentator I was speaking to just a moment ago he's very young he has about 500,000 YouTube subscribers he was saying even though he himself is a progressive he still doesn't feel as if President Biden is able to capture the youth vote just based off of some of his cognitive issues as of recently and so whoever is able to kind of fulfill their end of the bargain tonight more successfully will kind of I guess be deemed the winner of the debate so so what are some of the big questions that that you have and other young people about Joe Biden and Donald Trump right now I think it's really not too too different from the issues that you know other demographics are facing except for the sense of young people in particular are seeing an impact whether it be their parents their grandparents other people within their family in the United States I mean I was talking to someone recently who was expressing concern over the affordability crisis even coming back and forth to the debate venue our Uber drivers were very young people and and people who you know it's their first or second time voting and they're expressing concern frankly that the two people that are running for president don't really have any experience themselves with having to struggle with something like affordability as a large portion of Americans are the people here in Atlanta at least we're bringing that up quite a bit over the course of of the past few days since we've been here and so I guess young people kind of just looking for for some answers to some of these questions it's no secret these two candidates are are quite old they're senior citizens uh how do you think they can reach and really connect with young voters well we're seeing some of it in terms of Tik Tok for example both Joe Biden his campaign team has created a Tik Tok account former president Trump has created a Tik Tok account as well I mean I'm not necessarily saying that that is kind of the only way to approach this but certainly young people are on Tik Tok more than any other demographic to put it frankly and so um you know reaching out via that way as opposed to perhaps more you know traditional forms of communication of campaign advertising and what have you is one way to kind of draw in voters and actually speaking to them on the issues that are important well still also realizing that you don't necessarily need to treat them all that differently from other demographics of the population and other segments of the population who again are being impacted just as much by some of these issues I I I know you know I got to let you go here quick but I I know why you're engaged you're interested in politics you a poly siiz student uh you're interested in journalism as well but but why should other young Canadians care about not only the outcome of this debate but the outcome of the American election I mean I think in particular if we're looking at Canada like for example over the course of the Trump Administration whether it be tariffs whatever happens in the US it seems to have kind of a trickle down effect to impact Canadian politics that's been a question I've been getting here why is a Canadian correspondent interested in this debate and and I think that kind of speaks as to why we're here and why so many different Canadian networks are here as well including CBC wide sharp in Atlanta for us thanks W appreciate it thank you a big focus of this debate for both Biden and Trump of course will be on the undecided voter those that have yet to make a decision let's hear from one of those people tonight Audrey Porter is an decided voter she recently graduated from Oregon State University and she joins us tonight from Seattle so uh Audrey thanks for being here why are you still undecided absolutely um you know in 2020 it wasn't an easy vote to make I think as a recent graduate hoping to enter the job market and also just starting out on my own um seeing we've had a unique experience where we've seen Trump in office and we've seen and are seeing Biden in office so hoping tonight just to see how they hope to carry on their policies and their future if one of them is to be elected compare and contrast for me if you if you would uh you know the time that Joe Biden has been president versus the time that uh Donald Trump was in the Oval Office yeah I mean I think with the co pandemic it's very hard to compare and contrast they have very different um situations that they've been in um and I think as mentioned earlier today there's certain things Biden can do and people choose to ignore that there's certain things Trump can do and people seem to focus just all about everything he does outside of politics um so it's very interesting just the way they operate within the Oval Office what what are the main issues that you are focused on and what do you want to hear from these two candidates tonight in terms of substance um I think in terms of actual policies I would love to hear them both touch on foreign aid and also foreign policy Healthcare the economy housing is a big one for me especially um as I mentioned a recent graduate um also immigration just to see because they do have such polarized views and polarized objectives on going about the immigration issue um but because we have such a unique format tonight um we have uninterrupted muted mics no audience I'm really just hoping to see Clarity and transparency from both candidates and just how they perform under pressure as well and and and and on that point what do you think about the format the F fact that you know no notes will be allowed uh mics will be cut off do you do you think that that will result in a more fome debate you know it's very interesting when they first announced that I was at first hesitant but um I think I won't have any clear thoughts on it until after the debate tonight but I think it's a great opportunity for us to see candidates away from their teams and away from the American public influence especially with crowds we know how that can get um so just having both candidates essentially uninterrupted for as long as they'll be up there I think that's a really unique experience just to see how they do and how they're able to connect with voters outside of this um unique Arena do you think that this could be decisive in terms of who you're going to vote for what you hear tonight I think it'll definitely help me in my decision but I don't think that decision will come any time um until probably September and October but just seeing how they do this is the first time we've seen both of them talk together um in quite some time and debate in this format um so it'll definitely help me see who's able to perform better under pressure okay Audrey appreciate it that is Audrey Porter an undecided voter from Oregon thank you well more news from this side of the border is just ahead but we will continue to keep a close eye on that stage right there in the leadup to the debate right here on Canada tonight we're back after this stay with us [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you are looking live at the scene in Atlanta tonight this is where US President Joe Biden will go head-to-head with former president Donald Trump for the CNN presidential debate it will be simal cast right here on CBC News Network at 900 p.m. Eastern 6 Pacific there will also be special post debate coverage led by CBC News Chief correspondent Adrien Arseno we're going to get you caught up on some news from here at home now Former Defense Minister haret sajan is maintaining he never ordered commanders to prioritize seeks over others with more direct links to Canada his denial follows a media report suggesting Sagan pressured the Canadian military to rescue a group of Afghan six from Kabul as the city fell to the Taliban three years ago Ashley Burke has the story it was total chaos in cabal in August 2021 thousands of people were trying to escape as Afghanistan fell to the Taliban Canada's special forces were on the ground amid this scramble trying to evacuate as many Canadian citizens as possible and those who helped Canada but today the Global Mail reported the defense minister at the time directed the military to help rescue more than 200 Afghan six further down on the priority list let me address the the article quite directly um because I'll be honest with you it was utter BS haret sjin now the minister of emergency preparedness says he did direct military to help these six and provided the military information about their whereabouts from an NGO trying to get them out but sagun says he never pressured the forces to put the sick group ahead of Canadians it was an approved government policy uh to safely evacuate as many uh vulnerable Afghans as possible which included obviously Canadians um first um those who worked with us like um our interpreters and it also included vulnerable afans which included religious minorities like the U uh the Afghan SS uh and Hindus he thinks the reason any of this is even an issue is because he himself is sick I'll be honest with you I didn't think I would be getting those questions if I wasn't wearing a turban I've rarely ever even talked about racism and what it actually meant but I'll be honest with you um you know it needs to be called out NOS helping the sick group that was stuck in Afghanistan says they were approved by the government to come to Canada and in the end the Canadian military didn't reach them in time to get them out these are minority communities who are facing a a dire threat from the Islamic State and had already been the focus of suicide attacks targeted killings uh these were the most vulnerable of the Afghan minorities that group says they saw no sign of favoritism but the glob of male says it spoke to sources who say there was anger on the ground that the Special Forces had to divert time and resources to try and help the sick group because of The Minister's Direction they called it a logistical nightmare at a time where they're still trying to get Canadians home Ashley Burke CBC News Ottawa rainfall and lower temperatures have decreased the threat of the Wildfire near Churchill Falls in newon Labrador the fire is smoldering there is no spread occurring today and no expected spread to occur tomorrow with the current forecast and we hope that uh we do have shower activity in coming days as well of course the weather changes so we're always looking at the most current forecast the fire has been downgraded to level one a significant drop from the level five in six categories from earlier this week around 750 people were forced to flee over a week ago as a result of the Wildfire threat officials say other staff have been brought in to relieve employees who have been working to keep the town's hydro plant up and running the plant has been operating at reduced function due to the fire a CBC News investigation into Canada's drug Supply reveals millions of potentially dangerous and addictive pills are going missing often with no explanation the cbc's Tara Carman looks at why police don't always hear about these losses armed thieves targeting a string of pharmacies in Toronto lured by the street value of prescription narcotics up to $60 per pill now every pharmacist in Ontario must enter a code in a time delay safe wait several minutes to enter a second code before retrieving any controlled substance for a customer measures like these in Ontario BC and Alberta have helped reduce thefts dramatically but new data obtained by CBC news shows drugs are still disappearing our analysis shows large amounts of Controlled Substances went missing last year totaling over 25 million units nearly 2/3 reported as loss unexplained the largest over 245,000 pills of brand named opioid diloted worth 4 million on the street reported lost by a pharmacy somewhere in Ontario so what's going on we are seeing prescription frauds and forgeries go up we we showed the list of large losses to detective Constable Chris o any amount of drugs that are lost that could possibly be diverted back into the systems that people might misuse we're always concerned about those types of things it' definitely an Avenue that we'd sort of uh want to follow up on yet no major Police Service contacted by CBC News including the opp had heard about the missing 245,000 diloted turns out pharmacies are not required to alert law enforcement when pills go missing automatic dispensing units like this one are now being used in many hospitals I see you're saying that there's five in there when you opened it okay they can generate reports that help identify and prevent potential diversion right now we don't really have a good grasp in Canada on on where these vulnerabilities are research chair Patricia trbovich says people might be finding more subtle ways to steal unless we have the proper checks and balances in place and the proper signals to detect when a lost or a theft has occurred then we're going to continue to see an increase in these losses CBC News has learned Health Canada referred a pharmacist connected to the loss of the 245,000 diloted to the regulatory College they are currently investigating Tara kman CBC News Vancouver winipeg Police are trying to find out why and how a home exploded in the city's East End yesterday we're not going to leave any stone unturned at this point um if the investigation's going to guide us in the direction that it needs to uh right now uh we've had a catastrophic event in a residential neighborhood and we're doing everything in our power to determine what was the cause houses don't just explode um there is a reason for it all that's left of that house is the concrete foundation there are no reports of injuries from inside or from neighboring homes but several are too damaged to allow people to return to them just just yet the occupants of the destroyed house weren't at home when it blew up once again a live shot of Washington this evening the seat of power for the government of the United States of America in just an hour and a half Donald Trump and Joe Biden will go head-to-head for the CNN presidential debate in Atlanta Georgia CBC News network will simoc cast it from 9900 p.m. Eastern and six Pacific we continue our coverage in the leadup next we'll talk big picture and also about the youth vote you're watching Canada tonight stay with us [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] a live shot of Atlanta Georgia this evening where the countdown is on for the CNN presidential debate for the first time we will see a current president debating his predecessor the rivals are squaring off for the first time since 2020 and once again they are setting a record for oldest candidates to Vive for the highest office in the United States let's bring in Tim naftali he is a historian and Senior research scholar at the School of International and public affairs at Columbia University we reach him tonight in New York Tim thanks for being here pleasure Travis how different is this debate from previous presidential debates that we have seen are you going to hear the term unprecedent presented a lot but uh it's accurate in this case this is the first time that uh two presidents are um competing debating before a national audience it's never happened before and so some of the um traditions of presidential debates are not applicable for example usually in a first debate the CH it the Challenger has the opportunity to make a big splash because that person is going to Define historically himself to the American people well both of these men are well known to the American people the second difference from a traditional First presidential debate is that usually the incumbent president is Rusty or the is the rustier debator because the Challenger has worked his way up to the nomination of his party well neither man has actually officially been nominated yet and both of them have not had to debate at all for the last few months so they're both both likely to be rusty H you know the other thing that you know people have been talking about is how early this is happening in an election year is that unprecedented or is it has it happened this early before well imagine the United States is having a presidential debate before the two main parties have actually nominated their candidates now we know who those candidates are going to be but officially they haven't been nominated this is also the first presidential debate uh before we know um the both of the tickets well we know Joe Biden's running but we don't know Donald Trump's running M so it's quite unprecedented in that regard there's something else that's very important it's months ahead of the election and so something has to be extremely mem worthy uh tonight to have a lasting effect on the outcome because the vote is so many months away H yeah and that was going going to be my next question um you know how significant historically is the impact of a first presidential debate can be enormously significant in the case of the first presidential debate the televised debate in 1960 um John F Kennedy was the Lesser known candidate and he did so well in that first debate that that uh propelled him ahead of Richard Nixon uh who was his opponent um first debates can also be quite forgotten uh we all remember how Ronald Reagan some of us remember how Ronald Reagan seemed to push aside the age issue with a very funny quip well that was in his second debate in his first debate in 1984 Ronald Reagan seemed old tired and actually quite confused no one remembers the first debate people remember if they remember anything from the 1984 campaign it's the second debate what are you going to be watching for tonight you know people are talking about Trump's demeanor is he going to be the the aggressor is he going to try to hold back can he help himself from from you know taking some low blows tonight what will you be watching for I'll be watching for how Donald Trump um balances uh VI and veh uh Donald Trump on the hustings on on the campaign Trail has been uh has used darker uh language rhetoric than he used in 2020 or even 2016 we'll see the extent to which um he pivots back to something slightly more presidential in the case of Joe Biden I am looking for the focus and the care with which he speaks I'm looking for him to be a presidential of course but also to show people why they should take a chance on electing somebody who would be in the white house until the age of 86 right uh you know we we all look at these debates sometimes and we remember moments and you know in the age of social media these debates are cut up and then these moments live on on social media how important is it for both candidates to have strong moments tonight and also if there are gaffs is that a concern that that could become the narrative well absolutely the clip is King because most people are not going to watch the entire debate most people are going to listen to what um they read about the debate tomorrow and it'll be the uh the Clips in their inbox in their feeds tomorrow morning so it's absolutely essential that both candidates remember they're not they're never off camera and they also remember that they are talking to people who may have forgotten why they like them or dislike them in other words they have to make the sale again is is the format different as well than than we have seen previously we know that they're not going to have notes as I was saying earlier uh that the mics will be cut off as well is that new or has that happened before this is really something to watch for because there's no live studio audience so the to the extent that either debater deres energy from having people to talk to they won't have that opportunity it'll be very interesting to see how Donald Trump who loves his outdoor rallies will function in an environment where he doesn't have any studio audience so I think the lack of a studio audience could be very interesting the fact that uh there will be an attempt to shut off their mics uh when their time expires will be interesting too although they're close enough to each other I believe the um the rostrums are only 8T apart that you'll be able to hear any aside that the other candidate makes despite the fact his time is up I got a lots more questions but I got to leave it there we're out of time uh but but Tim appreciate your time that is Tim naftali a historian and Senior researcher uh a scholar at the School of International and public affairs at Columbia University joining us from New York once again that live shot of Atlanta Georgia in just over an hour now the Democratic and Republican candidates for US president will take on each other and face off in CNN headquarters they'll be debating under different set of rules to 2020 one change will be having their mics muted as we were just talking about when it's not their turn to speak next we'll talk to a body language expert on what he's noticed about Joe Biden and Donald Trump's body language and we'll tell you what he's going to be looking for tonight in this debate Canada tonight is back after this [Music] [Music] for [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] all right we are just now over an hour away from the first Major meeting during this election cycle in the United States between Joe Biden and Donald Trump it is the first time a sitting president will face off against a former president will have coverage and Analysis this in the leadup until that debate begins and then of course we will have coverage of the debate right here on CBC News Network well one way this debate will be different from 2020 is the candidates will have their mics muted when it's not their turn to speak now their last debate four years ago was marked by disruptions As Trump and Biden interrupted and talked over each other so tonight viewers might look to body language to gauge reactions that topic has come up in presidential debates before for example a lot was made of Trump's body language during his 2016 debates with Hillary Clinton including Trump's big gestures smirking and looming over Clinton let's bring in Mark Bowden to help us break this all down he is a trained political leaders right across the world on their body Lang language he joins us tonight from Toronto okay so Mark uh I want to start talking to you about this and and starting with the first moment that handshake that we are likely to see tonight perhaps uh how important is that moment well it's super important of course because you get the meeting of these two let's say Titans going into some kind of battle now we know Trump has a very special handshake that he likes to give where he'll try and pull the other in and off balance if he tries to do that how is Biden going to react to that of course we know Biden needs to look tonight totally in physical and mental control of course we expect that Trump May well try and get him off balance and so he's gonna have to countermeasure that what will his counter measure be right and and you know as I was laying out in the intro this debate is going to look a lot different because we it sound a lot different because of course mics are going to be muted does that kind of up the ante when it comes to how important non-verbal communication is well not only that Travis but we've got a split screen as well as far as I understand it so we should be able to see not only the person speaking but the person reacting and their silent reactions Well normally they would have got a chance to kind of jump in on each other and give some kind of verbal Parry to what's going on they now know that they're going to be muted it's right that some there might be some spill from mic to mic but even so they're going to look a little bit stupid maybe if they're talking and the audience aren't hearing them so what they should be trying to do is how clear can their nonverbal reactions be to the other speaker and can they score some points with those clear nonverbal reactions and Paris to what else is going on you know uh when you cross the border for example border agents are trained to to kind of look for non-verbal cues whether or not somebody's lying do does the general population pick up on that with facial expressions and things like that as well well of course we all are able to pick up nonverbal Expressions but we tend to bias towards the negative if we don't quite know to be safe than sorry always read it as being a bad signal so we're on the whole actually not very good readers of body language on an instinctual level we just guess toward towards the negative and when we're right we tend to feel like we made a good choice We tend to forget all the times we got it wrong so talk to me about what you are going to be watching for tonight hard uh gestures soft gestures as well tell me what what what you'll look for well I'm going to be looking for very direct gestures from both candidates direct means that they feel confident about what they're saying think about Biden when he's direct down what I would call the wheel plane here with both hands in Symmetry and his voice lowers and he leans into the camera we know he's really confident about what he's saying and he's well practiced about the message that he's given Trump he likes to go wide with his gestures he likes to do these kind of symbol smashes with his gestures or Squeeze Box gestures he likes to be big and fill up the space but again symmetrical and really direct now if they start getting asymmetrical and really indirect with what they're doing then we know they're destabilized in some way and we know that both will want to be destabilizing the other so we can nonverbally show to the audience this is not the candidate for you look they're under too much stress they can't handle the situation fascinating stuff we got to leave it there mark but appreciate your analysis that is Mark Bowden a body language expert and author joining us from Toronto well many voters will be watching this highly anticip anticipated debate here's how some of them are feeling going into tonight debates are have always been reality TV but this is like truly like the peak of reality TV that along with like the Super Bowl I would love to hear anything about actual issues honestly instead of a lot of fighting about ridiculous things that are in the past not super huge fan of of either but um just if they're respectful to each other I feel like that's super important our country just just being together um we're we're so divided now uh we need to get back together in just about an hour Donald Trump and Joe Biden will go head toad for the CNN presidential debate in Atlanta CBC News network will simoc cast it from 900 p.m. Eastern Standard time we'll continue our coverage in the leadup to the debate next stay with us [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] hello I'm Travis danr it is just one hour before the debate with Donald Trump and Joe Biden who will go head-to-head in the first presidential debate of the 2024 campaign and the stakes could not be higher we'll show you right now a live shot of Atlanta this is where the two candidates will make their pitch to voters and our Katie Simpson is there live to bring us the scene we'll show you right now a live show shot of Washington the prize that they are both vying for the White House our Paul Hunter is in Washington tonight we will check in with him for analysis coming [Music] up let's start our coverage once again this hour with cbc's Katie Simpson who is at the CNN Midtown campus along with a lot of other media from right around the world so Katie you know the anticipation building we were an hour way now what is it like where you are tonight security has been ramped up all around the CNN campus the secret Services here of course you've got a sitting president and a former president so security here is incredibly tight there is a buzz all around the building where most of the reporters are set up for coverage of this event and surrogates for both Donald Trump and Joe Biden are doing their best to make their cases talking to reporters uh trying to Hype up their pick for the president H as part of this ongoing spectacle and spectacle it certainly is now it's going to be a 90minut debate there are two commercial breaks it'll just be Donald Trump and Joe Biden at the podium there's no studio audience and the question is could that help or hinder both of these candidates given that there won't be an audience for them to feed off of there's also a new equation here a new part of the equation microphones will be muted when it's not candidates turn to talk now while the audience may not be able to hear properly or clearly what someone is saying while the mic is off the question is can the other candidate in the room hear it and will that throw someone off so for two candidates that American voters know probably better than any other presidential candidates they've ever dealt with uh there are so many unknowns here in this historic Square Up Now Travis as I mentioned uh there's a whole they call it a spin room here where both supporters of Joe Biden and Donald Trump are down on the floor it's got a big red carpet and they're answering questions from the media so we found Gavin Newsome who is the Democratic governor of California could one day be a presidential Contender we asked him we had an opportunity to ask him a question uh more or less looking at what's at stake here when it comes to America's role in the world and remember he is a Democrat and he is here supporting Joe Biden I mean uh there's a few foreign leaders that I've talked to they don't roll their eyes behind Donald Trump's back they call one of the weakest leaders of the Free World I hope we maintain that status and being leaders of the Free World God forbid he's reelected they laugh behind his back he sits there with Putin and he believes Putin in his intelligence assessment over his own National Security advisers how weak can you get now on the reverse side of that there are surrogates for Donald Trump who are on the floor out there making similar arguments on different cases one of them that Republicans are repeatedly pointing to is the economy they want Americans to look at their bank accounts look at their online statements are they better off now under President Joe Biden or were they better back when Donald Trump was president that is an argument that Republicans have been making in Fierce defense of Donald Trump on the floor down there yeah and the economy one of the issues likely to come up tonight Katie uh obviously there is so much going on in the United States right now do we have any sense of what other issues the candidates will likely take on this evening when I talk to voters some of the issues that really stand out is as we mentioned the economy just like in Canada there is a cost of living crisis here groceries the price of groceries have been hit by inflation pretty severely gas prices and then housing prices the housing prices crisis it sort of depends on where you live but interest rates are a factor for anyone trying to get into the housing market so the some of the challenges that Canadians are experiencing right now are Al happening down here in the United States immigration is another big issue both Joe Biden and Donald Trump have very different positions on this however Joe Biden recently implementing some Republican supported ideas on how to stop the the flow of people trying to seek a better life into the United States at that southern Border Crossing into the US illegally that is something that motivates voters as well and then of course there is uh Reproductive Rights uh Joe Biden plans to point out many times that Donald Trump is the the president who appointed the Supreme Court Justices who then overturned Ro v Wade which of course had protected access to abortion across this country for nearly 50 years so those are some of the issues we can expect to hear about and then the big picture question that many Americans have suggested is something that's important to them it's the future of democracy in this country the role of Institutions the role of the Department of Justice this is an unprecedented contest between these two men not just in the debate but in the election big picture because of what they represent Donald Trump facing dozens of criminal charges some of them related to his effort to try to remain in power even though he lost the 2020 election some of those charges laid right here in the state of Georgia so all of that is looming over this first debate of the presidential contest and it is going to be h a spectacle we already know that but again there are so many different unknowns it is certainly something that'll be worth tuning in for it certainly will be strik when you say you know the future of democracy will be up for debate this evening uh certainly as we said off the top the stakes could not be higher cbc's Katie Simpson in Atlanta thank you CBC News senior correspondent Paul Hunter is in Washington Paul you know you have covered so many of these US Presidential debates what are you going to be looking for tonight yeah a super high stakes a super intense uh cage match basically Travis both candidates know the stakes are supremely high tonight and so it's as if one has to take down the other and this is the biggest arguably best chance to do that first debates get eyeballs for a reason it's the first big test of any candidate in any election this time around Katie was saying everyone knows these candidates uh both have been president already their outlooks and their policies are well known by pretty much everyone so the question is and I'm not trying to be glib here but the question is the reason so many are tuning in tonight is to find out who's the toughest right will Joe Biden prove he's not too old by taking down Trump by going on offense by holding Trump to account as a convicted felon as a civil responsible sexual abuser as someone who wanted to circumvent the US Constitution last time around and cheat his way back into office and how will Biden do that on Trump and as for Trump will he be able to contain himself will he follow the advice he evidently been given and try to come across as someone with the right temperament for office or will he be the same Trump who in the first debate last time lost it by trying to bully Biden we'll see yes there are issues to talk about but really and I'm hardly alone in this thinking this one's about who can prove that they the person that they are has what it takes to be president and Paul okay so that's what you are looking for tonight what do you think voters are going to be looking for yeah well look I mean in many ways the same thing and and keep in mind it's a tiny sliver of Voters that both candidates are trying to reach here relatively speaking it's a small number of undecided voters in a handful of states in which the November election will turn you know Most states are hardcore Democrat or hardcore Republican will vote Biden or Trump no matter what but in that tiny handful of States Travis Wisconsin Michigan Pennsylvania Georgia where tonight's debate is of course Nevada Arizona those six right that's where the election will almost certainly be determined and so it's the undecided in those states that Trump and Biden are trying to reach tonight Biden going after Republicans dissatisfied with Trump trump going after Democrats disenchanted with Biden um each candidate tonight has the chance to demonstrate here's why me basically and and they know that this is maybe the best chance they've got to do that it's not really their first impressions so saying that either of these candidates are trying to make but it's their first impressions of them now that we are stepping into the nitty-gritty of this contest you know can ey the voters see this frail old man as president can I see the other guy with all the baggage Trump brings from his first term as president that's what voters are looking for and you know as we were talking about last hour Paul the election is still months away but as as you noticed uh that that they said they that's really going to be here in an instant in the blink of an eye will tonight really make a difference yeah look I mean I I say it's as if it's tomorrow uh but it is what four odd months four four months and a few days a lot can happen uh in the next four months or so uh to be fair right um at this point in 2016 right all the good money was on Hillary Clinton and we know how that movie ended right um but I can't understate the amount of hype that's been building up on this debate tonight you can't turn on the TV or watch YouTube you know without being inundated with talk about this debate coming up even today I was looking on YouTube for the latest Trump ad attacking Biden uh for uh a radio piece I was doing and you know as is the case on YouTube the video opened with an ad the ad was by Joe Biden taking on Trump so interest is Skyhigh already and tonight the hype is all over the key question on both right now who has the stuff right who can dish it out who can take it who can convince that soft middle the voters who bizarre as it may sound the voters who even after all this time could still go either way who who can win them over Biden has been rehearsing all week outside Washington he'll almost certainly be reminding voters that every chance he gets that Trump is now a felon but what he also has to do is underline what he can do why he's the best positioned to do it then he isn't so old and fragile so as to be counted out Trump has to convince the soft middle strange as it may seem to some convince them to trust him to believe that he Donald Trump is best suited for the OVO many believe that already his neck and neck he just needs to sway over enough right tonight is the chance for both of them to get that done tonight is the night Paul Hunter with the view from Washington thanks as always yep people in Canada will be watching this debate closely my next guest has seen firsthand how changes in the US may affect Canadians Frank McKenna served as Canadian ambassador to the United States from 2005 to 2006 he joins us tonight from Capell New Brunswick thanks for being here good evening what are you hoping to hear from these two candidates tonight particularly about the relationship with Canada or do you expect that to come up well I suspect uh the name Canada won't be mentioned but there are a number of issues that will be very very consequential to us um obviously the most important uh the most important for issue for Us is around the economy and protectionism in the United States would be a a very serious flow to the Canadian economy so much of our uh production in Canada is exported to the United States so we'll be particularly mindful of Trump's pledge that he's going to put a tariff wall around United States of America use a 10% tariff barrier uh to fund tax cuts um and Canadians will watch that very closely we'll watch very closely as to whether that will impact on our free trade arrangement with United States uh which had been called NAFTA is now called kma and we'll be watching very closely on other issues such as in inflation U and whether or not his agenda which involves tariff barriers will lead to more inflation in the United States which will spill over and obviously we'd be very interested in the environmental issues because the United States has got an extraordinarily sharp focus on the environment right now and if that were to change it would competitively disadvantage Canada and also take away the world leadership that the United States needs to demonstrate on climate change yeah I want to talk to you about climate uh policy in just a moment but to pick up on something that you were just mentioning about know protectionist policies certainly Trump has demonstrated that he he he believes in protectionism but but but Biden as well has brought in some protectionist policies are there concerns when it comes to Biden about that as well well there's no doubt that Biden has followed in Trump's tracks in terms of introducing tariffs particularly uh uh involving Chinese manufacturers but Biden has been faithful to the terms of kusma uh the trade deal we have Canada the United States and Mexico and we would we would want we would want to be very certain that uh we have friends in the United States when it comes to the renewal of kusma uh because that guides the relationship the the uh battery plants which we're building in Canada the electric vehicles that we're building all of that is designed to go to the United States of America so it's really important that we have guard rails on the relationship so that would concern us if um uh if if both parties were to become even more protectionist than they are at the present time I I just say this very bluntly I don't think it's healthy for the world that has led to Great uh depressions in the past this idea of putting tariff barriers up will only result in in retaliation from other countries leading to tariff Wars across the globe uh not a healthy situation for anybody but that is the general direction the United States is going in at the moment and on the environment you know on this side of the border the the government has placed a a pretty big focus on climate policy and and it likely come up tonight uh in terms of American policy how much does Canada uh and and you know the United States government really need to work together on this to have significant progress well I think it it it's important work hand and glove uh you'll recall back many decades ago uh we were able to get um the acid rain reduction measures introduced uh that have helped reverse that particular issue we had but that was a crossbo issue uh the the winds bringing acid rain uh didn't stop at the border and uh and at the present time it's important on issues like methane emissions that we have synchronized standards so that uh one country doesn't uh release methane uh without any any regulation at all into the atmosphere in the other country has very stringent methane regulations so I think it's it's very important that our two countries would share this geography uh try to uh end up on the same side with respect to environmental regulations let's talk about immigration now and and you know this has been a huge talking point for uh Donald Trump how do you think he will address this issue tonight and and and how far do you think he will go well he'll attack Biden on this it's a it it certainly is a vulnerability for Democrats uh the economy in which the perception is different from the reality but immigration where uh where Biden has recently made some pretty robust meas has undertaken some very robust measures to try to protect the Integrity of the Southern border but it's a big issue uh almost near the top of the issues uh uh in any poll and I think uh Trump will attack that very strongly it's it work it plays in an interesting way in Canada uh if the United States really shuts off immigration or makes people feel unwelcome in the United States it does open up Canada to bring some of the best and the brightest people on the planet to our country you know of course the United States right now is in an election year we are not here in Canada but people are thinking about the next federal election here uh who do you think would be uh best suited to to deal with a a potential Donald Trump president Justin Trudeau or or Pierre POV well it's it's an interesting question that I I hear debated constantly without resolution certainly uh uh the current prime minister would make the case that he's already done a a 12 round vote with Trump on NAFTA and come out of it in very good shape so that would be his argument uh uh the conservative leader might make the argument that he and the Republicans would be uh more ideologically aligned um we just don't know uh both both sides would make an argument on that and by the way one thing that we haven't mentioned we'll be watching as Canadians uh because these debates uh attract a huge number of viewers some 60 million viewed the Trump uh Hillary Clinton debate and many Canadians will be will be watching but one of the things that we need to watch closely is the comportment of the parties as well uh Biden's biggest vulnerability uh by many polls is his age and the fact that he looks a bit in firm it'll be important tonight that he shows the same kind of strength of character that he showed during the State of the Union Address and Trump is going to uh of course have to restrain himself because he tends to be very Vose and uh and and come across Hawk on television uh and vindictive at times so uh he's going to have to try to gear his message towards more independent voters who are looking for something uh a little less hot and a little more uh uh just a little more directed at policy all right appreciate your analysis on this we will see what happens tonight Frank McKenna served as Canada's ambassador to the United States from 2005 to 2006 thank you Travis and for more analysis on tonight's presidential Faceoff let's turn to our panel now mlla is an attorney and Democratic strategist he's also a former senior adviser to then Vice President Joe Biden he joins us tonight from Providence Rhode Island Dena bass Williams is a Republican strategist she's also a former Trump Administration staffer and a founding partner at Bass public affairs she's an upper malbro Maryland tonight thanks both for making the time thank you for having us okay I want to start with initial thoughts from both of you and expectations for tonight Mo we'll start with you sure it's good to be with you again Travis thank you so much for having me um look I think tonight's going to be combative um contentious and consequential um I think this is probably the most dramatic presidential debate probably in our nation's history we've never ever had a convicted felon uh from a major party running for president of the United States that alone makes it unique but I think you're going to see two men who uh have no love loss between them uh and I think they're going to go at it and I think they'll take off their gloves tonight and go at it that's what I predict okay Dena you know I have to agree with Mo 100% I think that this debate um will be uh probably one of the most watched debates in American history um I do believe that it will be contentious I do think that this these new rules um you know turning off the mic um not having uh access to each other on the stage no um actual crowd in the audience I think those things will actually play towards Biden's strengths I think that um you know Trump is a puncher and a counter puncher and he um likes to interrupt he is um boistrous and uh and yes bombastic and I think that uh that that will um this new debate style I think will benefit Biden um I will say that uh I as people as Americans and Canadians are watching this debate uh I think what people want to see we want to say that we want to see policy but this is like thrill and Manila this is a um this is a kind of a big Rumble and everybody's you know GNA tune in yeah absolutely and you know if if if Trump does MO uh make character attacks uh this time around and he does stick to the same Playbook how should Biden handle that should he go high or should he he get in there and and you know react accordingly well you know he's a dear friend of mine and I worked for him and advised him back when he was vice president it's not in his nature to get in the mud however I don't think it's if Donald Trump will do that I think we can all agree he will do that because that's his nature right and that's his style and so I think the way the president has to respond is yes to go high but I also think he needs to take every one of those shots that he receives about his character and actually contrast himself in his answer I think it's an I would take those attacks Travis and Dena and I would use them to my advantage by let giving me the platform to contrast my maturity my leadership my composure right my responsible demeanor those types of things that's what I would do okay let's get into some of the issues now and you know the criminal trials will definitely come up uh likely come up I should say uh Dina how do you think Trump should handle that uh and the fact that he is a convicted felon well I do believe that at this point in the in the process people who are supporting Trump are not concerned about the indictments are not concerned about the um the trials that are uh that haven't happened or that will happen well I at this point you know if youve if as I did I voted for Trump twice and I'll vote for him in November um if if I stuck with him through Billy Bush if I stuck with him through the um uh impeachments and indictments then that it is unlikely that someone at this point who supports Trump will pull away I will say that normally at this time I would think that both candidates are trying to play for the independence but in this debate when you look at the numbers that are that Biden is hemorrhaging Biden actually has to secure his base and so Trump may be playing for Independence um he's not very good at that but Trump may be playing for Independence but when you look at reuter's polls and others that show that that one in four to one in six Democrats will not vote for Biden and when you look at the African-American vote um particularly the African-American male vote that Biden is President Biden is losing then at this point Biden President Biden actually is not only um in pursuit of independent middle of the road voters he actually has to secure Democrats can I yeah there's there's a lot there and mo I want to give you a second to uh you know respond to that and then I I want to talk about age being a factor but but Mo go ahead no thank you I just have just a quick thing to add to that you know I respect dena's uh assessment um and and her expertise especially on her side of the aisle um the only thing I would add to that is if we're going to talk about people or voters that Joe Biden might be hemorrhaging which different polls demonstrate different things I wouldn't be so uh definitive on that yet but um you know when your own vice president and the vast majority of your cabinet uh is not endorsing you and have announced publicly they're not voting for for you and the former Republican speaker of the house has announced he's not voting for Donald Trump um you're hemorrhaging some very high profile Republicans conservative Republicans which to me is indicative that we do not truly know how many of these Republicans are going to peel off in Hemorrhage so I think they both have some work to do is my point okay Dan a quick rebuttal and then let's move to age well you know I I think that um these elected officials and cabinet officials that um have not endorsed Trump they don't um to regular everyday Republicans those things don't matter but but I think that Mo's point is well taken um you know we in the political space we political Consultants always say the only poll that counts is the one that takes place on Election Day and with with the margin so raor razor thin like I I would I would not bet anything on who's going to win it is a it is going to be a dog fight until the end we we saw yeah likely will be you know we saw President Biden strong uh during the State of the Union but he had a teleprompter uh and likely age will come up his mental acuity will come up Mo uh how do you think he should address those concerns that a lot of Americans have I I would look in the camera if I was my former boss and say you know what I'm 81 and I'm proud of it um and I have done a damn good job as president last three and a half years that's what I would do I would use humor I would use humility I'd own it because guess what Mr Trump and Joe Biden were in high school at the exact same time guess what else they both do a little bit of rambling they both slur their words at times and they're both somewhat incoherent at times this is an issue in my eyes it's offset um you want to go there Trump go there because I think Biden will be ready for it but if either of them go for it I personally I think this is just nonsense at this point really okay uh din do you think that Hunter Biden will come up that the president uh the former president I should say uh will use this as an opportunity to talk about uh the current president's son and his leg I definitely believe you know 100% Trump is going to um bring up Hunter Biden I think that one thing that Republicans can appreciate about uh President Biden as that he has a great love and um affection for his his family and his son and so I will say that the reason I would be okay with President Trump bringing up Hunter Biden because I normally I'm like family is off is out of bounds I I do believe that Hunter Biden is a is a grown man and I 100% believe that if this were If This Were Donald Trump or Eric Trump you know naked in a bathtub with cocaine all around him we know that the media would be running this 247 now I don't think that Hunter Biden's problems are necess like these um this addiction issue now there's some of the um business issues that might affect the president but I don't think Hunter Biden's addiction issues have any bearing on President Biden's ability to to serve and so I believe in a in um making sure that it's clear that um President Biden loves his son he loves his family and and people struggle with addiction and I think um that we should encourage people to to seek help and yeah I got to hop in here because I'm I'm up against I got to hand things over here in a in a second uh for for uh our continuing coverage but I do want to both give you uh 15 seconds or so just to to to kind of put a a fine point on what you think each candidate needs to do tonight uh Mo what does Joe Biden need to do oh I think the president needs to to stay on message about the incredible things he's accomplished that help massive amounts of Americans Travis and I think that that's one thing Democrats frankly and I've said this publicly before I that they disappoint me for all of my adult life is on messaging right uh they accomplish a lot of good things Travis but half the time they forget to get back to their talking points Republicans have their four talking points and they never get off of them and so I commend them for that we need to do more of that Dina you got like 15 seconds for real you know I really would say I I would talk about the price of eggs I would talk about the price of gas um the Biden Administration continues to say that um that everything is Rosy um I believe in attacking policy not people I will not attack an American president certainly not on um an international outlet but I will attack the policy and so I think that we should you know look at the price of eggs in America got to run guys thank you both mlla and Dina bass Williams all right live shot once again ahead of tonight's big debate we're going to hand things over to Adrien Arseno [Music] now and hello good evening I am Adrien Arsenal welcome to special coverage of a presidential debate unlike any other Joe Biden and Donald Trump will take to the stage in Atlanta in just under half an hour this is the first time of course a sitting president and a former president will go head-to-head before a national audience and when you're talking about a race as tight as this one A Moment Like This may end up meaning a lot in terms of what Americans choose for their leadership over the next four years and what that will mean for the rest of the world certainly being their neighbors has taught us all that what happens there matters here so what is the state of that divided nation they are battling over immigration the economy abortion even foreign policy poliy all of that hangs over the debate and looming larger than policy for some is perception especially the question of age these two elderly candidates will have to ease voter doubts over mental Fitness and physical durability it is a pretty low bar that has left many Americans feeling frustrated in an unprecedented race for the white house so let's set the scene here it's just after 8:30 that is at atanta there is a growing sense there of anticipation as we approach uh this debate the stage obviously set for two candidates voters are extremely familiar with and a potential repeat of the war of words they held four years ago so cbc's uh Katie Simpson is in Atlanta has been busy for us tracking all the day's developments uh what an interesting story in the sense that we haven't seen these two men uh share a stage since 2020 um Katie I'm curious about what these two men have been signaling in in the hours uh leading up to this about how this night might go one thing we can look at Adrien is how they have prepared very different ways for this matchup tonight Joe Biden taking a more traditional approach which is very representative of his time in office going to Camp David hunkering down with his advisers running mock debates getting rest uh being behind closed doors not seeing the public for about a week or so as he prepares for what should be a traditional debate now I think right now Adrian we're starting to see some of the motor Cades go in we saw a whole bunch of um security we uh police going by uh we see a whole whack of um uh people going by and it might be Trump first or Biden first anyway they're going in this is happening right now and everyone uh is is this is a sign of just how close we are to this thing actually getting underway um but it so that Joe Biden is taking a more traditional approach to this Donald Trump is doing what Donald Trump does he didn't take that same formal H approach to preparing for this he doesn't like to use the word preparation he likes to rely on his instincts and so he's been bouncing ideas off of his advisers as well as some of the Republicans who really want to be his vice presidential candidate having conversations with them there were some preparations at maralago he had a couple of days of of private events where he was behind closed doors there uh but again he really likes to rely on his instincts one thing we should keep in mind do you remember back in 2016 when it was Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton there was a debate matchup they had and in that debate matchup Donald Trump's team brought in a number of women who had accused Bill Clinton of inappropriate sexual behavior to Rattle Hillary Clinton bringing them into the audience so that is the kind of team around Trump and so when we think about what he could bring to to the table there's no audience that's not going to happen again this time obviously it's a different race it's a different candidate but when we think about big picture what things could look like that's one thing to keep in mind so Katie we get as as viewers you know we're going to get this very narrow view of of these two men I a split screen I presume they're only 8 ft apart but when there's nothing like being on the ground like you are right and I know you've been in and out of a spin room that red carpeted area at CNN where everyone from the Biden Camp is going to say they won and everyone from the Trump camp is going to say they want and I know you're surrounded on both sides by reporters shouting into microphones right now what is it what does it feel like there what are you gleaning particularly for that spin room the stakes are so high here even though we are so far from election night this race is so close and so the people that are campaigning for Joe Biden and the people that are campaigning for Donald Trump they recognize that any sort of blip or any sort of standout moment that gets traction on social media gets traction within the American News cycle it could really shape how American voters think and and sort of the choices they're going to be making over the next few months there's still plenty of time for either candidate to rebound or get things back on track if they do have a poor showing tonight but again the stakes are so high this race is so close there is an energy here it's only an energy you can experience if you're actually here on the ground being on the ground matters right now we're seeing the motorcades head on in we've got all the Secret Service and security around us and so we're getting a sense this thing is the time the clock is ticking down it's almost time to go and there is so much on the line when it comes to this debate and and really what's at stake here okay Katie Simpson thank you and thank you for explaining uh that motor cave we'll talk to you soon so there's no shortage of polling in this presidential election as always many of those polls are suggesting that there is a considerable number of UND ided voters incredibly given how much people know about these two men so for more on this we need a little help so we're joined by cbc's Ellen Morrow who's been tracking all the polling and the demographics that are in the sights of these two men so Ellen who possibly could these undecided voters be this time around well Adrian we're really talking about undecided voters in just a few key States who will decide this election places like Michigan Wisconsin Pennsylvania Georgia states that people are going going to be hearing about a lot uh over the next few months those key uh swing States and in terms of who the undecided voters are in those places polling is suggesting a number of things they're saying it's saying that uh undecided voters there tend to be younger and tend to be more likely to be Black Or Hispanic uh voters there was a poll done by the New York Times last month it suggested a tie between uh Donald Trump and Joe Biden uh within the margin of error when it came to voters between 18 and 29 and Hispanic voters it also suggested a growing number of of black voters willing to vote for Donald Trump this time around so why is that important well it's really tricky for the Biden campaign because those are the exact voters that helped get him to the White House in 20120 they're voters who are part of the sort of natural Democratic Coalition so the fact that people in those groups are less likely this time around or at least hesitant at this moment to say they're going to vote for Joe Biden again is really tricky for his campaign at this Stage IT suggests that he has not done a good enough job at this point of Shoring up his base those voters are frustrated on issues of the economy uh the war in Gaza just a sense that things are not getting better but that doesn't mean that they're automatically all going to flock to Donald Trump Trump there was a poll done by CBS that showed that feelings of anger and worry towards Donald Trump are keeping Joe Biden competitive in these swing state races and that speaks to perhaps the uh overwhelming reality of this election ading which is that there are so many Americans who just don't want either of these men to be president this group that's become known as the double haters they don't want to vote for either of these men they're not excited about this election they're was a Pew research poll that found that 25% a quarter of Americans don't have a favorable view of Joe Biden or Donald Trump and another poll suggests that as many as 20% of Americans either don't know who they're going to vote for if they're going to vote for a third party candidate or if they're going to show up for this election at all and that speaks to a whole other issue here which is turnout can either of these men when it comes to November get people out to the polls uh that's so interesting what you said about fresh like I I I was reading some analysis that says really for someone who's just turning 18 one of those young voters you're talking about the last time there there was a republican not named Trump uh running for the White House they were something like six or seven years old similarly Joe Biden has been around for them forever so I hear what you're saying about fresh I'm curious in terms of what they don't want what does the polling say they're actually caring about most in that long list you mentioned well the main thing for voters in swing States and overall is the cost of living it is inflation um people are hurting they don't feel like the economy is getting better another major issue for voters in these swing States is immigration now those are two tricky things for Joe Biden again because voters say uh in these polls these polls suggest that voters trust Donald Trump much more on these issues that are important to them so Trump is going to hammer Biden on both of those points tonight and expect to see Biden appeal to other issues that are important to swing state voters and that's the state of American democracy protecting American democracy and also uh abortion is going to be important and you're going to hear Joe Biden talk about that because that's an issue where he can go on offense and talk about his efforts to try to protect Reproductive Rights um but again those are lower down issues uh on the on the list of concern for voters in these key States Adrien all right Ellen thank you and we will see you on the national after the debate and we'll talk about how this all played out see you so let's go now to Brian stelter uh Brian is a special correspondent with Vanity Fair he's in New York City he has covered and assessed presidents Brian I'm not going to say the years it's it's a lot of years that you've been doing this uh we're months away from polling day we're we're weeks away from the conventions why did they decide to have a debate in June just ahead of the July 4th week and it seems really early we are in the midst of Summer it is hot you know in New York and Washington even hotter in Atlanta uh it does seem in some ways to be a strange time of year and it is unusual for American politics but I think it's a very good thing because the reality is this election is well underway voters do need to hear from these candidates it is p time to have this debate and to answer your question directly it's because the Biden campaign and the Trump campaign wanted to have an earlier debate Trump had been out there for months promising to debate Biden any day anytime anywhere the Biden campaign come up with a strategy to offer two debates one really early and then one in September and Trump jumped in right away saying yes so we're in a situation that's mostly been set up by the Biden team because they believe this benefits them but we won't know if it actually did until after the debate tonight is it your sense Brian that a debate especially one so far out can actually have an impact on polls and maybe this is a strange way to phrase it but is it the the debate itself that alters views or is it the analysis of the debate that comes after it's absolutely both uh tens of millions of people will watch the debate tonight but other tens of millions will only watch the clips they'll only watch the reactions to tonight and tomorrow into the coming days so both are going to be tremendously important that is why that spin room is set up but in this day and age I think the spin room matters less than the viral video moments for months there's been a campaign on the right to claim that Joe Biden is uh is diminished as scile as incompetent and they're using out of context video clips to do so tonight is Biden's ultimate chance to counter to contradict that and to show that he is capable of doing the job so that's going to matter a lot I think that will actually even matter in November and to your point will this debate actually affect the polls a months from now I think the answer is actually a higher chance this year than most years for the following reason yes Americans know who these candidates are but this is a new impression tonight you know some people have been tuned out for years they've been fatigued by politics I know I am a lot of people in America burnt out by politics and tonight is a chance to tune back in so I saw something Brian that's kind of curious and polling today that that a few polls consistently suggests that people expect Trump to perform better than Biden tonight I'm not sure I remember the last time an incumbent is perceived as the underdog what does that tell you right it's partly that Trump is now the change agent which is such a strange idea this guy in his 70s who already was president who was impeached twice and is disgraced that he can be the symbol of change in America I mean give me a break but that is how some voters feel and you can see why because they're inundated by anti-biden Propaganda from right-wing media so I think that definitely has an impact and that speaks to the data that you're seeing it's also because Biden is not as visible a politician As Trump was when he was in office it's easier to ignore Biden if you're the average American out on Sixth Avenue ordering dinner right now so again people can still T tune out or opt out but this is going to be the key moment to tune back in and you know there's all this talk about whether Biden's using stimulants Trump is arguing that that Biden's going to be hyped up on drugs or medicine Biden's leaning into that he's tweeting tonight saying that he's all jacked up and ready to go so I think we're going to see both these candidates try to use humor to break through to people in what is otherwise a pretty depressing political climate yeah that they have to use humor I I mean if if if we know all of this Biden and Trump do as well so aside from using the humor and and leaning into the you know I'm older than the United States jokes how do they deal with this tonight I think it's by trying to meet people where they are and actually make make talk about the future so Mo most conversations about Trump are about January 6 about the attack about the aftermath about his lies about losing the election a lot of the conversations about Biden are also rooted in the past that's ultimately what voters you know get tired of what they want to hear in a general election is about their Futures not the politicians Futures but their futures whoever's better at that tonight I think has the advantage in November oh Brian fantastic again as with Ellen Morrow we'll be talking to you after the debate see you after you got it I'll be ready cheers so you heard Ellen talk about the double haters uh you heard Brian talk about the people who are really leaning in tonight so let's learn a little bit more about them Chris Aliza is the former CNN editor at large he's here with us now he's in San Diego Chris uh our our colleague gamur was just reporting about who this debate might really be for you know so what do Biden and Trump need to do tonight to win those people over the double haters well it's hard because the these people by definition don't like either of them so I think they're less likely to sort of trust what's coming out of their mouth I mean I think what you have to do in politics when people don't like you is make it less about you and your personality and more about what you'll do right what am I going to do for you how can I help you in your life achieve your hopes dreams and aspirations I think that's really important when you're talking about these undecided and double hater voters you don't want to make it about like I've done so many good things I've done this make it about them here's why on the economy on immigration on education here's why I am the better candidate and I would also say make it about a choice right this is not about Joe Biden versus uh perfect Republican candidate or Donald Trump versus perfect Democratic candidate it's about Joe Biden warts and all and Donald Trump warts and all so say look you may not love me but the other guy is way worse and so I think those are the two ways you can at least try to approach it I I feel like that was just a master class in how to handle politics it doesn't matter what country you're talking about I feel like there's some Canadians who might have heard that and thought I wonder if the leaders are taking notes about this um you know I think Chris quite naturally people hear there's a debate happening they don't think much about who's holding the debate what are the rules you know there used to be a presidential commission in charge of this not anymore does any of that matter so no because I think you're right and look as much as I'd like to think highly of of my American uh friends and Brethren I don't think they're super familiar with the commission on presidential debates or the rules of this debate right I I just that's the weeds that people like me get paid to follow but I don't think the average person pays attention I will say there is one rule that I do think it is worth keeping an eye on and that's the mute button we've never had this an American presidential debate before which is the moderators allegedly or someone in the back room uh a producer has a mute button where if the candidate is not supposed to be speaking right you have two minutes to talk a minute to respond to whatever the other candidate said and then you move on if the is not supposed to be speaking they are muted how that works because Donald Trump interrupted Joe Biden 140 plus times in the first debate in 2020 how does that work who's pressing the button how do you make that decision how do both candidates react to it like that's the one thing that I do think you should pay attention to because we've never had this before and Biden and Trump have never debated in that way before okay Chris we are I'm going to say 11 and a half minutes away I know you need to get your popcorn your notepad ready so have at it and thank you very much appreciate that thank you thanks for having me you bet so I really want to go to somebody very special now uh this is a man who's predicted the winner of nine of the past 10 presidential elections Professor Ellen lickman is a distinguished professor of history at the American University uh he's in Bethesda by the way um Professor I was based in Washington DC in 200000 I spoke with you then I do remember that the one prediction that cramps your record was you called for Al Gore you you were not alone in that right I was not wrong I proved Al Gore should have won that election it was a stolen election I proved it with my report to the United States Commission on civil rights you can check it out it's still on that website based on the intent of the voters Gore should have easily won Florida and been president and other political scientists have verified that all right so let let us call it 10 out of 10 then I hear you um you know I don't want to keep viewers waiting in a sense so let's not bury the lead do you at this point out have a prediction for November I do not have a final prediction my final prediction will be right after the Democratic Convention in August but I have a lot to say about this election first of all forget the polls forget the pundits the polls are snapshots they have no predictive value pundits are just talking off their heads they have no scientific ific basis that's why I developed scientifically the 13 keys to the White House and the way it works they gauge the strength and performance of The White House Party tapping into how elections really work six or more of the keys go against the White House Party they are predicted losers so one of the misconceptions of the pundits is Biden should step down in favor of a younger candidate well if that happens they lose the incumbency and they lose the contest key because there's no error parent so they start two keys down instead of two keys up with Biden running so where do the keys stand and what should your viewers be looking to remember six keys and the Democrats are out right now Biden is irrevocably down two keys the Mandate key because stems lost seats in the US House elections in the last midterm and the incumbency key because Biden is no JFK or Franklin Roosevelt so what are the Four Keys you should be looking at that could make or break the Biden election one third party and you want to look to see it's the only time I use a poll because I have to whether or not RFK Jr stabilizes at 10% or more secondly social unrest you know we saw some sporadic social unrest but the big question is will social unrest explode the way it did in the 60s or during the black lives mattera movement then we have the two shakiest keys the foreign slm military failure and the foreign slm military success Keys which are very dependent on what happens in the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine which are not going well right now for American interests so keep your eye on the big picture as gauged by the keys and one last thought is there anything that has surprised you about this election cycle yes I have been shocked that Donald Trump has survived the man has 34 felony convictions he was found by a civil jury to have assaulted hurt and defamed a woman he was found by a civil jury to have engaged in massive financial fraud his companies although not him were found to be running a criminal Enterprise any other candidate with a fraction of this on their record would be gone I remember years ago Herman Kain was leading the Republican campaign for the presidential nomination three women accused him of harassment no trial no proof no nothing and he was gone almost overnight that's what shocked me Alan lickman you are a remarkable man thank you very much for your insights appreciate that thank you take care let's go to another remarkable Soul CBC new senior correspondent Paul Hunter uh is in Washington Paul we are my math is terrible but we're about 7 minutes away now I get the feeling that we're we are all coiled like cobras ready to strike and take notes here but that the American elor electorate may not broadly be feeling the same way what is your gut telling you about how Americans are feeling going into this that they're tired of ugly politics Adrien that they are frustrated that these two are the only two realistic options for the White House and that they are weary of the election season already that is only now kicking into gear and they are glued to their TV screens iPhones tablets any means possible to see this show tonight a ton of eyeballs to see which of these two right the two candidates everyone knows so well which of these two is best suited to be in the Oval Office both presidents with major baggage your last guest was talking about some of that one deemed too old and frail the other too temperamental vulgar unpredictable and is a felon uh two with utterly different views of where to take this country and how to get there but both in a remarkably neck and neck contest for the most powerful job on the planet I think it's fair to say Americans are Beyond The Pale curious to see if Joe Biden can prove he's got the mental acuity for the gig and whether Trump deemed by so many to have been maybe the worst president ever whether he can demonstrate he can be trusted to give it another go he is a felon Biden trips on steps how are Americans feeling tonight Adrian I've heard from countless of them they say how did we even get to this point but the choice for voters is what it is we've talked often you know most Americans would rather have two other candidates fact is this is what it is these are who they are so it's edge of seat time for Millions okay Paul Hunter I appreciate that very much uh you're in Washington you're watching and we'll talk to you soon so where we sit about five minutes out now let's bring back Katie Simpson one more time for this debate Katie in all the time that you've been talking with Americans what what feels different now I would say that there is a deep sense of fear and it's different between Democrats and Republicans Democrats are deeply concerned that Donald Trump is reelected that he's going to fundamentally change the way uh that the rule of law is used in the United States and they're uh afraid that more rights and freedoms could be rolled back uh they're deeply concerned about that pointing to what happened with the issue of abortion on the other side of that there is a fear among some Republicans uh they are they are afraid that the American way of life is being completely undermined by Joe Biden and they point to Donald Trump's criminal charges and they argue uh following president former president Trump's lead uh saying that this justice system has already been weaponized Donald Trump has not presented any evidence to prove that he's being uh prosecuted because he is running for office but because he says that at his rallies because he says that and puts that out there on social media when you go and talk with Trump's supporters the hardcore supporters when you ask them you know are you concerned that he a convicted felon are you concerned that he's facing dozen of criminal charges and the answer that comes back without missing a beat is that Donald Trump is being targeted because he is running for office and it's a real there is a real sense of fear there so many times uh Republicans who support Trump will say things to me uh like if they can do it to Donald Trump just think what they can do to me and that is a line that Donald Trump uses again there is no evidence to support Donald Trump's claim that he's being prosecuted only because of that uh but again it doesn't matter that his core base of support believes that so there is a deep sense of fear there's a deep sense of dread when you live down here you really notice just how inundated everyone is with election campaign ads you turn on the TV you watch the local news the commercial breaks are essentially all campaign ads and they're so hyperbolic and they're so angry there's a there's a tone of anger in those campaign ads mostly there are some that that try to inspire hope voters are generally inspired by one of two things either hope or fear and right now in the United States fear really seems to be the prevalent sentiment uh that is driving these election campaign ads driving these Trends and it has gripped the American public at least that is certainly something that I'm noticing when we're out in the field talking to people all over the United States you know one thing I I didn't hear you you say there Katie and I'm just curious about it we I think in past election Cycles there was an obsession with correcting the record right sort of real-time fact checking I know that still happens to a degree uh trying to counter the the miss and disinformation does that have an effect anymore I mean do you hear people's counting the lies enumerating the lies anymore this is going to sound so bizarre Adrien but it it feels like no one can agree what a fact is anymore and if you uh if it's an opinion you agree with people jump on board and it's it's there's not that same concern or criticism okay well uh that's where we and his journalists we're going to try to work on that I know you do every day cbc's Katie Simpson in Atlanta so we are about a minute and 20 seconds away from handing it off to our friends at CNN now obviously we'll be simoc casting uh the debate that they are hosting uh you will have you will see Jake Tapper you will see Dana Bash these are the people who are asking the questions I'll be back uh just after 10:30 p.m. eastern time 7:30 Pacific with you know plenty of post debate analysis uh Paul Hunter Tia Mitchell Brian stelter will be joining us with their thoughts but keep in mind what what you're going to see in the next 90ish minutes or so is these two candidates will be standing 8 feet apart from each other their mics will be muted when one is talking the mic of the other will be muted everybody knows what happens with microphones there is no chance that some sound won't leak through but what you're likely to see on your screen is a split screen so as one candidate uh let's say President Biden is speaking former president Trump you will see his reactions on camera so watch to see do they play to the camera how do they use their facial expressions to convey what they cannot convey with their voice because they're afraid of not being heard they don't have an audience to play to there is a spin room after the debate fully expect to hear people claiming Victory on both sides that is the way it goes in politics but here now the historic rematch between President Joe Biden and former president Donald [Music] Trump we're live from Georgia a key Battleground state in the race for the White House in just moments the [Music]