Donald Trump praises Joe Biden’s skills days before the first debate: ‘I don’t want to underestimate him’

Donald Trump v/s Joe Biden is going to get a bit more serious this week as the two leaders prepare for their first debate of this election cycle hosted by CNN. Many people around the US have their eyes on the upcoming debate as it may help them make their decision for the elections.

Former White House doctor Ronny Jackson recently demanded that President Biden take a drug test before the debate. This comes as Trump has previously claimed that Biden uses performance-enhancing drugs and would take them before the upcoming debate as well.

Donald Trump says he’ll lose on purpose as he credits Joe Biden’s debating skills

The timing of the debate is perfect for Trump to swing people back in his favour after Fox News polls this month revealed that he was behind Biden. In a surprising turn of events, now the former POTUS is claiming that he might lose the debate 'on purpose' just so that Biden is not replaced as the Democratic candidate. During an interview with Steve Gruber, Trump shared that Democrats polling revealed he does better against almost everyone.

According to him, if Biden loses the debate on Thursday, there may be a possibility that he will be replaced. In a bid to not let that happen, Trump told Steve that he may lose the debate on purpose to ensure he stays, reports HuffPost. He said:

Maybe I’m better off losing the debate. I’ll make sure he stays. I’ll lose the debate on purpose. Maybe I’ll do something like that.

In a surprising turn of events, Trump has gone from implying that Biden may lose to he’s a worthy opponent who will be well prepared, reports NBC News. Praising his talents days before the first debate, Trump said in an interview with the All-In podcast:

He beat Paul Ryan pretty badly (in 2012). And I assume he’s going to be somebody that will be a worthy debater. I would say I don’t want to underestimate him.

This comes after Trump has spent years disparaging Biden. He previously remarked that his opponent ‘can’t talk, can’t walk, can’t find his way off a stage’ - referring to the viral videos of Joe Biden appearing to be freezing on stage. The sudden change of heart after his remark that he may lose intentionally is certainly raising eyebrows.

How is Donald Trump preparing for the first presidential debate?

The first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump is being held earlier than the traditionally held debates. CNN will be hosting it live tomorrow evening (June 27) and both the leaders will have approximately 90 mins to make their case. As everyone has their eyes on the debate, Trump was asked how he is preparing for it during a recent episode of The Chris Stigall Podcast, according to CNN. His answer might indicate that he has not been preparing in the same way one would expect.

As a response, Trump told Chris:

People say how are you preparing? I’m preparing by taking questions from you and others if you think about it.

We had a great meeting just now in Philadelphia with the… at the shop. You saw that with all the wonderful people. And we just left Faith and Freedom in DC and that was incredible. We had an incredible crowd.

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Sources Used

HuffPost: Donald Trump’s Wild New Debate Claim Has People Saying, Hmm, OK

NBC News: From 'WORST debater' to 'worthy debater': Trump changes his tune on Biden's skills

CNN video: Trump describes how he is preparing for the CNN debate