川普阵营这几天陷入尴尬滑稽的境地。过去几个月,川普的团队一直攻击拜登认知有问题,说拜登老年痴呆,“low-IQ individual”,两句话都将不完整,散布经编辑的假视频,显示拜登如何痴呆。这等于降低了公众对拜登辩论表现的期待值,降低了拜登的门栏。这几天川普恐慌,改口了。川普说,他观看了拜登当年作为副总统候选人和Paul Ryan的辩论,拜登如何摧毁了Paul Ryan,说他不会低估拜登。
“Well, all I can say is this: I watched him with Paul Ryan, and he destroyed Paul Ryan,” said Trump. “So I’m not underestimating him. I’m not underestimating him. It is what it is. We’ll see what happens.”
川普的可能的副总统候选人,北卡州长 Doug Burgum 说,我们看到拜登今年在国情咨文的表现(当时拜登谈笑风生,冷静对待共和党议员MTG的闹场),需要的时候,他会挺身而出。 “This guy has got the ability,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We have seen him in the State of the Union this year, that, when he needs to, he can step up.”
在2016 和2020总统大选年,每次辩论后,川普的民调就下降。2020年,川普找借口,回避了第二场线上辩论。
川普团队已经开始为这次可能川普输了辩论找借口:这几天他们散布阴谋论,说如果拜登表现好,是因为他会吸毒,因为CNN主持人偏向他。并散布谣言,说这几天拜登躲在戴维营,不是为了准备辩论,而是为了测试哪种药物好。
川普自己声称,有可能他故意在辩论中输给拜登,让拜登继续留在竞选活动中。
“Maybe I’m better off losing the debate," Trump quipped in an interview with Real America’s Voice earlier this month. “I’ll make sure he stays. I’ll lose the debate on purpose, maybe I’ll do something like that.”