As part of his debate prep, President Joe Biden's aides are training him to "trigger," or get under the skin of, former President Donald Trump when they square off at CNN's forum on Thursday, three people familiar with the matter told NBC News.
Biden and several aides left Washington for the week and are reportedly preparing the president for the first presidential debate at Camp David in Maryland. Slated for 9 p.m. ET, CNN's Dana Bash and Jake Tapper are set to moderate the event from the network's studios in Atlanta, Georgia. Newsmax will be simulcasting the debate.
NBC's sources said Biden's aides are prepping him for all kinds of tactics Trump might employ, while sharpening his own attacks and insults ahead of Thursday.
"If I were advising Biden, I'd try to make fun of Trump," former Vice President Dan Quayle told NBC. "Try to ridicule him. That will get him mad."
The three people familiar with Biden's debate prep told NBC that the president might reference the 2020 election and suggest that Trump "snapped" and incited the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol Building. The thinking among Biden's allies, they said, is that Trump may lash out if he feels like a "loser" on the debate stage.
The New York Times reported that aides are trying to prepare Biden to stay on the topic at hand while also responding to Trump's policy proposals.
The 81-year-old commander in chief's cognitive fitness has been under increased scrutiny in recent days, following a pair of incidents that seemingly underscore his advanced age.
While attending the Group of Seven summit in Italy earlier this month, Biden wandered away from a skydiving demonstration before being guided back to the group of world leaders by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. After the G7 incident, the president appeared to freeze at a campaign event and was led offstage by former President Barack Obama.
The White House derided the G7 video clip as a "cheap fake" put out by conservative groups to make Biden look bad.
"That was definitely a cheap fake," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. "It was. This was widely fact-checked. That video was widely fact-checked, including by conservative media, on — on what had — what happened that — what occurred."
Some political commentators told the Daily Caller they wondered if the bar has been set too low for Biden going into the debate.
"I think our side has to make sure that we keep the bar off the floor because right now, merely showing up is a win [for Biden]," former White House press secretary Sean Spicer told the outlet. "This is a guy who's been in politics for 50 years, and we need to remind everybody, including journalists, that he prides himself on being a strong debater. And I actually think that, just like State of the Union, they will do what's necessary to get him ready and rested."
Trump has also seemed to adjust his expectations for Biden's upcoming debate performance.
"All I can say is this: I watched him with Paul Ryan, and he destroyed Paul Ryan," the former president said on "The All-In Podcast." "Paul Ryan with the water. He was chugging water outta left and right. I didn't think a human being would be able to drink so much water at one time. And he beat Paul Ryan. So, I'm not underestimating him."