Inside Trump and Harris Preparations For Tuesday's Debate
Plus, Georgia Shooter's Mom Warned School About Her Son On Morning Of Attack
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Happy Monday everyone!
Rap superstar Kendrick Lamar will star in the most-watched 13 minutes in America next year: the Super Bowl LIX halftime show. The 17-time Grammy winner dropped the news with this video on social media, teasing his performance at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on February 9th.
He has big shoes to fill; the 2024 halftime show in Las Vegas starring Usher was the most-watched halftime performance of all time (123 million viewers), notching three Emmy nominations.
Mosheh & Jill
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📌 HARRIS & TRUMP PREP PLANS OF ATTACK FOR TUESDAY NIGHT’S FACE OFF
Vice President Kamala Harris is hunkered down in a Pittsburgh hotel — while Donald Trump is filling his days with campaign-related events — ahead of tomorrow night’s debate. While the two are preparing in strikingly different ways, both agree: their first in-person meeting will be consequential in such a tight race.
PLAYING BY THE RULES
Harris and Trump will debate tomorrow at 9:00pm ET in Philadelphia. It will run for 90 minutes, hosted by ABC News and moderated by anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis. It will be simulcast on several other news networks.
Here are the rules agreed to by both campaigns:
Each candidates’ microphone will be muted while their opponent is speaking.
Candidates will be given a pen, notepad, and bottled water at their podium.
Pre-written notes are prohibited.
The clock will be set to two minutes for answers, two minutes for rebuttals, and one minute for follow-ups/responses/clarifications, and two minutes for closing statements
Trump won the coin toss to decide either the order of closing statements or podium selection. He chose to give the final closing statement
Harris selected the podium that will be on the right side of viewers’ screens (Westerners read from left to right and tend to linger on the right. It is why late night talk show hosts always sit camera right.)
There is no studio audience.
HARRIS HUNKERS DOWN
The VP has been practicing since Thursday in highly choreographed debate prep sessions: there’s a stage, TV lighting, and an adviser who is “inhabiting” Trump, all the way down to his boxy suit and long tie.
Goals: The Harris camp wants to use the debate to regain momentum that has stalled after several strong weeks in August.
Strategy: Harris’ team is banking on Trump coming off as extreme. Her priority: intentionally provoke Trump and allow him to self-sabotage, while she maintains a calm and cool demeanor.
Line of attack: She will try to brand Trump as a wealthy businessman who only cares about helping other rich guys like himself, and is expected to say his rhetoric is the “same old tired playbook.”
In a break from Biden and Clinton, she will likely abandon the “threat to democracy” and racist/misogynistic narratives. Her aides believe it’s a waste of time to try to convince voters that Trump is a bad person, given how hard it is to find a voter who does not already have an opinion of his character.
Expected challenges: Harris is preparing for attacks on her policy flip flops, and how to balance praise for Biden with trying to distance herself from his record and sell herself as a candidate of “change.”
Debate team:
Karen Dunn, a lawyer who also helped Hillary Clinton prepare for her debates against Trump
Democratic consultant Philippe Reines, a longtime aide to Hillary Clinton, who is reviving his 2016 role playing Trump in debates.
TRUMP IMPROVS
Traditional prep is not Trump’s M.O. There are no stand-ins, no mock sets, no acting. Instead, his aides point to Trump’s many interviews, lengthy press conferences, and town halls where he’s taken questions from audience members and the press. This will be Trump’s 7th general election debate in the last eight years. He holds informal debate practices with policy advisers who are experts on issues that may come up during the debate. They discuss his policies and what he wants to enact in a second term.
Goals: Trump wants to put Harris on the defensive for the role she played in the Biden Administration’s policies that Americans are most unhappy about: the economy, inflation, immigration, foreign wars, and public safety.
Strategy: Trump says his debate strategy is simple: allow Harris to speak. His advisers have reportedly encouraged him to make a policy-based case, and focus less on personal attacks. One aide says he needs to be “happy Trump,” not “mean, bully Trump.”
Line of attack: Trump plans to portray Harris as too liberal, and will point out her reversals on a number of important policy issues like fracking and the border wall. Former Bush Senior Adviser Karl Rove says Trump needs to stay “disciplined.”
Expected challenges: The Trump camp is preparing for tough questions on his muddled abortion stance. Harris may also turn the age issue against Trump, calling for a fresh slate of leadership.
Debate team:
No one is playing Harris. Trump’s aides usually pepper him with questions.
FL Rep Matt Gaetz has been reportedly posing tough questions to Trump, including on uncomfortable subjects like his criminal convictions.
Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman and presidential candidate who memorably dismantled Harris in the 2019 Democratic presidential primary debate, has also been helping Trump.
CRITICAL CAMPAIGN MOMENT
Tomorrow’s debate is currently the only one scheduled between Harris and Trump. Tuesday will mark eight weeks before Election Day. It feels like a lifetime has passed since Trump’s debate with Biden in June: Harris replaced Biden at the top of the ticket, Trump survived an assassination attempt, both candidates named their running mates, and both parties held their conventions.
📌 MOTHER OF GA SCHOOL SHOOTING SUSPECT CALLED SCHOOL WITH WARNING
In a stunning update, the mother of the suspected Apalachee High School gunman said she called the school on the morning of the shooting, warning school counselors about an unspecified “extreme emergency” involving her son.
THE PHONE CALL
The 14-year-old suspected of killing four people during a Georgia school shooting last week reportedly apologized to his mother, Marcee Gray, on the morning of the mass shooting. His grandfather told the New York Post that he sent a text at an alarmingly early hour to his mother, saying “I’m sorry, mom.” It prompted her to warn the school.
Annie Brown, Marcee’s sister, told the Washington Post that Marcee texted her saying she spoke with a school counselor and urged them to “immediately” find her son to check on him. Her call logs show she spoke to the school about 30 minutes before he opened fire. The 10-minute phone call was placed to the school at 9:50am, per the Washington Post. Police were notified of the shooting around 10:20am.
SUSPECT & HIS FATHER FACE CHARGES
The Suspect (who we are not naming): He has been charged with four counts of murder and will be tried as an adult. Because of his age, the maximum penalty he could face is life in prison with or without parole (in 2005, the Supreme Court ruled no one can be given the death penalty for crimes committed before the age of 18).
Colin Gray (father): An arrest warrant for Gray’s father, 54-year-old Colin Gray, claims he provided his son with the firearm despite knowing he posed a threat to himself and others. He faces a maximum sentence of 180 years in prison for four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children.
❝
It’s a matter of looking and the relationship between what the child says and does and what the parent knows about what the child says and does.”
David Shapiro, former prosecutor, to the AP
NEXT COURT APPEARANCE
A grand jury will meet on October 17th, which will be followed by a scheduled arraignment before a trial begins.
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
📌 Miami-Dade police officer placed on administrative duty after Dolphins star Tyreek Hill hand cuffed before game (AP)
📌 “Sitting on a keg of dynamite” - Landslides are destroying multi-million dollar homes across California (CNN)
📌 Teen who came face-to-face with alleged Georgia school shooter speaks out (CNN)
📌 Former VP Dick Cheney says he will vote for Harris (NPR)
📌 Former President George W. Bush has no plans to endorse in the election (NBC)
📌 More than 5,000 public schools closed across the U.S. between 2017 and 2022 (AXIOS)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 US believes Iran has transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, AP sources say (AP)
📌 White House requests investigation after Israeli troops shoot, kill American activist at protest (NBC)
📌 Deal coming soon? CIA director says more detailed Gaza ceasefire proposal due in days (JERUSALEM POST)
📌 Brazil probes ice buildup in plane crash that killed 62 (REUTERS)
📌 Repeated takes, coaching on lines: Inside Hamas’s hostage video machine (WSJ)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
📌 Toxic debris from Maui wildfires could fill 5 football fields 5 stories deep. Where will it end up? (AP)
📌 PwC tells employees it will start tracking their location to enforce back to office attendance (INC)
📌 Boeing Starliner returns to Earth empty, months later than planned (CNBC)
📌 Tennis Channel ousts CEO, citing time spent advising Dr. Phil (WSJ)
📌 What you can expect when Apple unveils the new iPhone tomorrow (CBS)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 Italian Jannik Sinner keeps American Taylor Fritz from taking home U.S. Open title (ESPN)
📌 Taylor Swift returns to U.S. Open after singing God Bless America in 2002 (US OPEN)
📌 Selena Gomez reaches billionaire status thanks to her beauty brand (BLOOMBERG)
📌 The risk of fake influencers: Brands and creators are harnessing AI to mint synthetic influencers (AXIOS)
🗓 ON THIS DAY: SEPTEMBER 9
1776: The second Continental Congress formally adopted the name “United States of America,” replacing the “United Colonies of North America.”
1893: President Grover Cleveland’s child Esther was born in the White House. She was the first and only child of a president born in the White House. However, in 1806, President Thomas Jefferson’s grandchild was born there.
1971: Inmates seized control of the maximum-security Attica Correctional Facility near Buffalo, New York. 42 staff members were taken hostage. After four days of negotiations with the inmates, state police officers stormed the prison, killing 29 inmates and 10 of the captive correctional staff members.
1995: ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ by Coolio, reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.