Trump Compliments Biden Before Debate, Stuns Podcast Hosts

During a recent podcast appearance, former President Donald Trump surprised the hosts by expressing praise for President Joe Biden.

“I assume he’s gonna be somebody that will be a worthy debater. … I don’t want to underestimate him,” he said when he appeared on an episode of the “All In” podcast, which is hosted by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks, and David Friedberg.

“All I can say is this: I watched him with Paul Ryan, and he destroyed Paul Ryan. Paul Ryan with the water, he was chugging water left and right … and he beat Paul Ryan. So, I’m not underestimating him. I’m not underestimating him. It is what it is,” he said.

But in the past, he was not so flattering of the president’s debating skills.

“Crooked Joe Biden is the WORST debater I have ever faced – He can’t put two sentences together!” he said on his TruthSocial account when he accepted the debate against Biden which will be on CNN.

“I would strongly recommend more than two debates and, for excitement purposes, a very large venue, although Biden is supposedly afraid of crowds – That’s only because he doesn’t get them,” he said.

There are those who think that the shift in demeanor is a result of the presidency’s standards being set so low that simply staying awake would be seen as a triumph.

CNN political analyst Van Jones, who served under former President Obama, cautioned that one misstep during the debate could spell the end of the president’s tenure.

“This is the entire election, as far as I’m concerned. The entire world will be watching,” he said in an interview with CNN’s Jim Acosta. “If you are a carbon-based life form, you’re going to be watching. If you’ve got a functioning brain stem, you’re going to be watching.”

“Because if Biden goes out there and messes up, it’s game over. If he walks out there, and a week later he’s lower in the polls, it’s panic in the party,” he said. “But if he goes in there and he can handle himself against Donald Trump — a runaway train, a locomotive, a raging bull — then this guy deserves another shot to be president, because that is tough.”

Jones characterized debating against the former president to be a tough task that is not something a normal person could do.

“You couldn’t do it. I couldn’t do it,” he said. “If you can stand toe-to-toe with a runaway train like Donald Trump for an hour and a half, you are fit to be president, period, point-blank.”

“This is the whole presidency in a bottle in a week,” he said.

CNN has announced updated guidelines for the upcoming presidential debate featuring President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

These include the potential inclusion of a third-party candidate on the debate stage. Biden seems to have secured all his desired terms for the debate, which Trump has accepted.

The debate, scheduled for June 15, will run for 90 minutes with two commercial breaks. During these breaks, candidates are prohibited from interacting with their staff, as per CNN’s report.

“Both candidates agreed to appear at a uniform podium, and their podium positions will be determined by a coin flip,” the network said.

“Microphones will be muted throughout the debate except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak. While no props or pre-written notes will be allowed on the stage, candidates will be given a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water.

“Some aspects of the debate – including the absence of a studio audience – will be a departure from previous debates. But, as in the past, the moderators “will use all tools at their disposal to enforce timing and ensure a civilized discussion,” according to the network,” it said.

The network stated that while it’s not impossible for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to participate in the debate, it is also not considered likely at this time.

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