Donald Trump set to slam Joe Biden on three key issues during crucial June debate
The first presidential debate on June 27 will be a critical moment on the political calendar as President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump fight to win over American voters.
Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, agreed last month to hold two campaign debates - the first on June 27 hosted by CNN and the second on September 10 hosted by ABC.
The debates could be particularly important in a year when voters are mostly underwhelmed with their choices and have expressed concerns about both candidates' performance in the White House.
In this month's head-to-head showdown, Trump and his team are likely to make jabs at Biden's age and competence, while Biden's team is expected to remind voters of Trump's often-incendiary rhetoric and why they voted him out of the White House in 2020.
John Ellis, a political analyst and founder of News Items, explained to Daily Express US which issues each candidate is likely to focus on come the debate on June 27.
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Ellis said exclusively to Daily Express US: "Trump will focus on inflation, immigration, and the 'success' of his administration. He will also denigrate Biden as old, weak, and pathetically out of touch with the real world.
"Biden will focus on job growth, 'MAGA-madness,' abortion, and the threat of chaos under a revisited Trump administration. Aside from job growth, Biden will use most of his time reminding people that they (supposedly) dislike Trump more than they dislike him."
Ellis added that this year's election essentially comes down to two separate races.
He said: "The election is actually two elections. The first is Biden vs. inflation, which Biden is losing and will lose. The second is Trump vs. Trump, which Trump lost in 2020 and could do so again in 2024.
"So, that's how the debate is framed: 1) Trump makes inflation the issue, and 2) Biden makes Trump the issue."
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June's debate will be closely watched as it caps a busy and unsettled stretch, following Trump's conviction in his criminal hush money trial, foreign trips by Biden to France and Italy, the end of the Supreme Court's term, and Hunter Biden's conviction in his federal gun trial.
This comes as a recent national poll shows Biden and Trump virtually tied ahead of November's election.
The national poll from Emerson College Polling released earlier this month shows Trump leading with 46 percent of the vote, compared to Biden's 45 percent. It remains to be seen whether those numbers will change following the debate.
CNN said that its debate would be held at 9pm ET in its Atlanta studios with no audience present in a break from recent precedent. Moderators will be anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, CNN said.
ABC has not offered details on where its event in September would be held, but the network said it would be moderated by anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis.
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