Republicans are advising Trump not to be himself because they fear their felon candidate will self-destruct on the debate stage against President Joe Biden.
Via Rolling Stone:
One of the reasons the idea of ”self-destruction” in debates is so common among top brass in Trumpworld is that many of them thought it was happening to Trump in late 2020. Once again, his possible second administration (and his possible freedom from actual imprisonment) is also at stake. Republicans close to the former president have been advising him for weeks, and their message boils down to a more diplomatic version of this: For the love of God, please do it in the June debate. Don’t act so self-righteous.
One Republican who recently advised Trump on 2024 debate preparation explained their advice to the former president as: “Don’t be an angry asshole when you’re on the stage with Biden,” and “Don’t.” Don’t fall for the current president’s bait.
There’s a good chance Donald Trump can’t control himself. The worst advice anyone around him could possibly shout out is to tell him to act like a normal person. Since Trump is told to be normal, and I’m sure he has no idea what normal is, he’ll likely turn into a raving lunatic within the first thirty minutes of the debate.
If Biden really wants to piss off Trump, he could mention Michael Cohen or Stormy Daniels, and if he wants to totally blow Trump over, he could add E. Jean Carroll’s name to one of the answers . Mentioning E. Jean Carroll not only could lead to Trump’s defeat, but it could also have the added benefit of getting the former president sued for defamation again.
Some members of the media are always going to be fooled if Trump uses his inner, selfless, monotone voice in a debate. The chances of Trump maintaining the status quo are slim.
The question is not whether Trump can maintain the status quo, but how long it will take for him to get off track.
