Advisers worry whether 'happy Trump' or 'angry Trump' will show up for debate | US elections 2024

Donald Trump's campaign is concerned about the former president's mood ahead of his debate against Kamala Harris. People familiar with the situation say they fear that a moody Trump could engage in the kind of self-sabotage that alienated voters in the 2020 presidential election.

The campaign's internal refrain is whether they'll get a “happy Trump” or an “angry Trump,” people said, as they count down the days to what may be the final presidential debate of this cycle.

Tuesday night's televised debate is widely seen as a defining moment in the restarted 2024 campaign. Since Joe Biden dropped out of the race after a campaign-damaging debate performance crystallized fears about his age and mental acuity, Harris has turned the campaign on its head.

But Harris' upward trajectory appears to have peaked, and Trump's advisers view the debate as their best chance to regain momentum after weeks of being sidelined from the news cycle. Their hope, the people said, is to revive the Trump who was quick on his feet during the debate against Biden.

Their concern is to make Trump angry. If Trump gets frustrated on stage, it could bring out his worst instincts and lead him to make personal insults, as the recent attacks on Harris have done, which have become increasingly personal and extreme and have angered some of his own supporters.

Trump has had problems with black women in positions of power in the past. The campaign is bracing itself for him not to repeat recent comments questioning Harris' race or making overtly misogynistic comments, or more generally, to break out into the long and rambling tirades that have become a typical feature of his rallies.

The concerns about Trump's mood that day reflect the fact that the campaign team sees the debate as the best opportunity for Trump to try to restart the race after weeks of defensive action against Harris – and is taking into account the risks involved.

Trump's senior advisers continue to insist they have multiple strategies in place against Harris, but in reality their plan right now is to hope for a Trump victory to regain momentum.

This campaign strategy – or lack thereof – reveals the serious predicament Trump and his campaign find themselves in. With less than two months to go before the election, he is struggling to land effective attacks on Harris.

In recent weeks, the Trump campaign has come to the realization internally that nothing they did in the run-up to the debate had a significant impact and would have weakened Harris' gains, which keep her on par in the polls in key swing states, as the Guardian previously reported.

Trump has managed to stand out from the media coverage to some extent in recent weeks. For example, he made headlines after the Democratic Party Convention when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsed the Republican candidate.

But in reality, there was little good news for Trump, and his own vice presidential nominee, Ohio Senator JD Vance, generated only negative headlines. Harris' choice of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, on the other hand, was well received by Democrats and cemented the idea that Harris now leads a united and rejuvenated Democratic Party.

While Trump struggles to create a narrative against Harris, the general attitude within campaign management is to write off the regular program, which will make no difference in the election outcome – and look forward to a debate that might make a difference.

Hoping that Trump does well in the debate could be worthwhile. Trump can be a tough opponent and has set back his opponents in 2016 and 2020 with an avalanche of disorienting false claims.

The campaign also believes that Trump could use the debate to make his criticism of Harris' policies clear to a national audience in prime time. He accuses Harris of allowing waves of illegal immigrants and not cracking down on crime. This criticism has so far not been heard.

The reasoning is that even if the television networks refuse to broadcast Trump's rallies or critical statements against Harris on a daily basis, they will still be forced to broadcast Trump and his attack lines when he has the floor.

Trump's advisers also welcome the fact that microphones are muted when it is not a candidate's turn to speak, saying it deprives Harris of the opportunity to check his statements in real time and make witty remarks of her own.