As President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump head to the debate stage in Atlanta, it's important to remember that Trump, much like Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy, will speak about the American dream, not a bleak future of "limited resources," presidential historian Craig Shirley told Newsmax on Thursday.
"The two most successful presidents with young voters were John Kennedy, the youngest president ever, and Ronald Reagan, the oldest president ever," Shirley told "Newsline." "But they were successful because they talked about the future."
And that will resonate with younger voters, he predicted.
Shirley referenced the oldest president at the end of his tenure, which was Ronald Reagan at 77. That distinction will now fall upon Joe Biden, who is currently 81.
"No young person wants to know about a future of limited resources and limited opportunity, and sky-high inflation and gasoline shortages, and things like that," said Shirley. "They want to hear about the American dream."
And that, said Shirley, is "what Donald Trump is talking about, and Joe Biden is not."
Shirley also recalled the 1980 debate between President Jimmy Carter and Reagan.
During that debate, Reagan posed the famous question, "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?" Carter's answer was no. That November, Reagan won the election in a landslide.
"I don't know how anyone answers yes" this year, said Shirley. "It should be asked just it was in 1980 because it's the essential question of what type of presidency he's had, if he's had a successful presidency or [if] he's had a failure."
The debate, he added, "should be a referendum on his presidency and nothing more. I hope Trump hones in on that, hones in on the facts, hones in on the many myriad failures of the Biden administration. That's where the debate should be centered."
It also speaks "very ill" of Biden's presidency that he took a week off to prepare for the first debate, while Trump kept campaigning.
"Biden's preparation was insular, elitist, anti-intellectual, data-driven, and no outreach whatsoever, whereas Trump's was talking to people, getting their opinions, reaching out to people, drawing sustenance from people, very populist versus very elite," said Shirley. "I think that will serve Trump well tonight."
However, he predicted that the "elites" will declare Biden the winner.
"All Biden has to do is show up and not drool and he might be declared the winner," said Shirley. "We want a solid win. Donald Trump is a good debater. He's a good, very good speechifier, but the expectations for him are a little bit higher than they should be, where Joe Biden's are lower than they should be."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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