>> i'm going to sub-l in paris. and this is cnn the stage is set the day is here and just 15 hours, joe biden and donald trump will be squaring off and what could be the most fateful presidential debate in us history. >> good morning, everyone. >> cnn this morning his live in atlanta. it is 6:00 a.m. here on the east coast. i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us when president biden and former president trump take this age tonight here at cnn's world headquarters in atlanta, a sitting president and an ex-president will be debating for the first time ever. and it is just shy of four years since they last song each other face-to-face before joe biden beat donald trump. and in a modern first, trump refused to stand on stage and hand power to his successor at the inauguration. >> so help you god. so help me god. congratulations, mr. president trump, flying away from the white house in his helicopter, leaving washington for the last time as president, i remember watching that helicopter fly over us as we stood on the lawn as president biden was inaugurated, it was happening right at the time at the same time that joe biden was standing on that stage alone. they're both now trying to return to the oval office and we want to remind you there is no love lost between these two men. they do not like each other and tonight, they are going to stand just eight feet apart from each other. still, the rules candidates microphone will be turned off if it's not their turn to speak. it may prevent contentious exchanges like this one i'm not here to call out his lies. everybody knows he's a liar, but you i just want i want to make sure that you wanted lasting it lasts, for instance i want to make sure. can you let him finish, sir? he doesn't know how to do that. >> joining us on this most consequential of days, cnn senior political analyst mark preston and cnn senior white house correspondent kayla tausche, the former white house communications director kate bedingfield, jonah goldberg is the co-founder and editor in chief of the dispatch, and we also have cnn political commentator sure. michael singleton joining us as well. good morning to all of you. you on what is going to be a very consequential de mark. let me start with you. you are one of the people who worked so hard to make days like this come to fruition on behalf of cnn. in addition to all of the editorial work that you do as well the rules, the format are a huge focus, but for a reason, not necessarily just because i'm not focusing on the process here right. when we were talking about two men who are going to interact with each other that way. how this is actually going to physically play out. they're gonna be as about as far apart as you and i are right now. >> first of all, let me say, i apologize for putting us in this situation today i take no responsibility. what happens that like 1044 or when this debate is over tonight, you know, this is really gonna be interesting to your point. these are two folks often in politics, you will have politicians on opposite ends of the spectrum challenging each other. but behind the scenes, they can be friendly, right? i mean, there is some comedy. we're not going to see that here tonight. and even though those mics will be will be muted just remember inside the debate stage, they can hear each other. so the question will then be, can, you know, joe biden or donald trump if the other one tries to knock them off their game, tries to confuse them a little bit, even though they can't be heard by the viewers, will we see that happen? yeah. kayla tausche, take us inside the biden campaign and the biden white house on this most consequential day, which donald trump to the expect to show up and how were they in particular, considering the rules? thinking about and i know this has been part of it how to basically provoke the other guy two into a moment. sure. that's damaging. well, i know that in the words of one adviser, expect the unexpected you have to prepare for every single version of donald trump that could potentially be on that stage. but i know that the rules are figuring prominently in the way that president biden and his team are preparing. mark just mentioned that too. that response time that has been a big factor in the mock debates with moderators. putting very strict time constraints on the president. they don't want him to get into a situation where he's just about to make a great point. and then the mics go dead and he's not able to get there. and so they want him to distill that message into a shorter period of time and that's something thing that has been a focus for some of these mock debates that scheduled today. i'm told is fluid with the potential for one more mock debate before the president, his team come to atlanta and then there's also, he might do an entire mock debate today. and then i was told last night at 10:00 p.m. but there's a potential to do another mock debate today. is that a good idea? mean that's normally candidates are why it down hanging out. i think it just depends on how he's feeling. i mean, there's, you know, if he's feeling energetic, if he's feeling like he wants to go through one more run through will make him feel calm then, right. it's really i think you just have to gauge where your candidates energy level is and where their head is. jonah goldberg. so first of all, there's there's three of you are sitting with us in many ways, you represent the three pieces american political thinking. we were surprised to be clear because my bonds we have two republicans. but as we've seen in these elections, i mean these people keep voting for nikki haley, jonah, you have expressed that you're not supportive of donald trump's sure michael basically worked for him, but but jonah, i just kinda wanna go to you on in that as i'm thinking about this day. and the reality that the three of you represent an underscore the historic nature of the de can be kind of hard to wrap our heads around. but in many ways this was election is going to be different from any we have had before. stakes are in some ways very much higher at what is, what are the stakes on that stage tonight and your view? >> yeah. so i'm generally you very much a skeptic about the importance of presidential debates. but i actually think this one matters. i mean historically, there's a lot of data to show. they don't tend to matter that much. they tend to emphasize stop hi, all intelligence, stuff over substance, you know, the the one that everyone always talks about is kennedy versus nixon. and everyone says, well kennedy, won because he had makeup and nixon looked like he woke up in a motel room and like it's like, okay, you're making my point. this things emphasized style over substance. this is about reassuring people for two candidates that people have a lot of misgivings about, right? for biden, it's not misgivings necessarily about his character is misgivings about his age is whether he's up to the job and for trump, it's misgivings about dear god, are we going to go back to four more years of the kind of chaos on him being in our head space, again, can i handle that? can i make peace with that? or is it going to be four more years of him tweeting like an escape monkey from a cocaine study and so like i need to give, this is why your mic here he has to be reassuring to a certain extent to give people permission to voting against biden. and whether he can do that or not. i have no idea envision that the cocaine case a look. i think the past four years under president and biden, the previous four years under donald trump showcase series, is integration across our country. and now i think you have a lot of democrats who aren't enthusiast casting about the president you've got too many republicans, you aren't enthusiastic about donald trump. and i think the question tonight is, can either one of these men showcase that if given an opportunity, they can address some of the most critical issues at most, voters are concerned with a for president biden, he needs to showcase that he can continue going for another four years. yeah, he made me a little older, but season he's experienced. he knows how to do the job for donald trump. it's all about the temperament. if people perceive them as being the chaos guy, again, they're going to say, you know what, i'm going to step back and i'm going to probably give my vote to downward joe biden, last word cake. >> yeah. i just think this is also a powerful moment from immediate landscape perspective. i mean, so much of this campaign, so much way people consume information now is so siloed. you kind of choose where you want to see your candidate and how there aren't, there just aren't that many moments where the two of them are onstage together in a side-by-side comparison. so it's going to be really powerful, exciting night. you know, president biden very well. how do the personal dynamics of this? he does not like donald trump donald trump as someone who tried to not just an election i can from him? yes. yes. and and fundamentally tried to alter the fabric of the american constitution. know, he he absolutely dislikes donald trump i think for him, part of, part of what he's trying to put on display tonight as we've discussed you, here is an energy. and so in some ways, i think the kind of the net, just a personal animus like, oh, i'm gonna go out and try to embarrass donald trump, but just kind of feeling a sense of the stakes is a good thing for him. it kind gives him that extra fire that i think if it's on display tonight for the american people will be a good thing for him, all right, well, we're gonna find out soon enough. all right. our panel sticks around coming up next, a critical supreme court ruling on a board portion accidentally posted online prematurely, and the co-chair of the biden campaign is here to tell us about the president's last-minute strategy for tonight's big debate baked in america, as biden and trump meet and only cnn has complete coverage with unrivaled access and exclusive pre and post of beit analysis. >> follow cnn for every countless moment followed debate night in america, tonight, it's 7:00 p.m. you've got better things to do than clean out clog gutters, falling filter today. and never clean out clog gutters again, we filters technology keeps debris out if you're gutters for good, guaranteed. colleague 33 lee filter today or physically filter.com nothing dems my light like a migraine with nortech ott. >> i found relief. >> the only migraine medication that helps treat and prevent all-in-one to those with migraine. >> i see you for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura and the preventive treatment of episodic migraine in adults don't take if allergic to nortech odi team allergic reactions can occur even days after using most common side effects are nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain it's time. we all talk to a 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before president biden and donald trump take the stage the court is also this morning grappling with an astonishing breach of protocol, according to bloomberg news, the supreme court appears poised to take temporarily allow abortions in medical emergencies in idaho after a document was posted on the court's website and then quickly taken down. the court has acknowledged inadvertently posting the document. they say that they have not officially rendered a decision in this case. our panel is back and kate bedingfield, the abortion decision in question would be a victory for abortion rights supporters there, of course, saying, well, this is just a delay of something that they view as a terrible policy because again, we're talking about women going to emergency rooms and idaho and they're having medical situations for themselves, whether or not they can be denied treatment is the question at hand. but let's talk talk about how this issue is or isn't likely to play out on stage tonight. i mean, how much of this do you think is going to be what president biden is trying to talk about? i will i think the abortion issue writ large will be huge piece of what biden's tried to talk about because it's an issue where there's a clear through line from donald trump having been president the united states to the situation that we're in now where women are being denied healthcare across the country. so it is a incredibly potent argument for him to make about the consequences of donald trump presidency. it's a good argument for him to lay at the feet of donald trump, who has tried because trump recognizes this is a political loser for him and for the republicans, trump has sort of tried to give six for an answers to this, but he has bragged about putting the three justices on the court who overturned roe and biden can really be aggressive. and i also think this case illustrates gives biden an opportunity to say we shouldn't be here. we shouldn't be here. and the reason we're here is because of donald trump. so i think this will be very, this will be very prime target for i agree with kate. i think that may be one of the more stronger moments for president biden on this issue republicans have got to figure out a way to change tone on this, casey, i've advised a whole bunch of members of congress, other state legislatures that this issue will continue to seed victory in races that we could potentially went and donald trump continues to say, well, it should be returned back to the states. well, that has occurred and it's not moving in the right direction for republicans. and so i've advised his campaign he needs to go further and say states should have referendums allow the voters to vote on this issue because we've seen in ohio, we've seen in kansas, we've seen in wisconsin even counties in kansas, for example, i think 80%, that one for trump voted with democrats to protect reproductive rights. this is an issue that most americans do not want government encroachment on, and republicans need to respect that jonah goldberg, i want to touch briefly on the immunity question here because the court they want to keep a perception that they are above all of the politics, all the things that we're talking about today. >> there's no question in my mind anyway that they know what's happening tonight. they can they can read the room, so to speak what do you expect in terms of this immunity decision and how how do you think it's going to impact the race? what we see here tonight, if at all? >> yeah. so i expect that they're going to get as close to a unanimous decision on this as possible. i can see thomas maybe dissenting, but that's what robert wants to do. this is historically unified court, despite all the demagoguery about this court, they've had 49 unanimous decision so far this year and the court i think is going to claw back a little of jack smith's requests. but at the same time, there is no way this court is going to give donald trump what he thinks he you get, which is total and complete immunity to kill all my photos. right? even even trump's lawyers didn't argue that in court. they said there were certain things that he was that he was not immune four. so i think it's gonna be it's gonna be sent back and lower courts with some instructions maybe to pair it back a little bit. but jack smith is going to still be able to prosecute on most of the stuff, incredibly high-stakes all the way around, panel is back in just a few moments, but coming up next on cnn this morning, we've got new reporting on how president biden is preparing to debate with less than 15 hours to go and how each candidate might handle talking about the january 6 capitol riots at tonight's debate the cnn presidential debate tonight at nine live on cnn and streaming unmet this forth. we're throwing a 4 for the 4th celebration, spotlighting 4 power sofas that will charge up your relaxation. 4 best-selling mattresses, four bedroom sets worth dreaming about. and for 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audience in the room, just the candidates and the moderators. kayla tausche, you have some new reporting this morning about some of the dynamics that the president has been thinking about because of the, i mean, this is just an incredibly unusual situation. there are questions. are they going to shake hands? yeah. because of how much they don't like each other, how will each man address the other or what have you learned? well, there's so much deep dislike between these two presidents that it's hard to imagine what the opening of this debate will look like. and so in asking about the opening protocols all some of the decorum, the biden team says that they haven't exactly plotted that out, that it's going to need to be more of a play by ear situation became time decision game time decision because in 2020, it was the covid era, the podiums were socially distanced. we were in a time of fist bumping and testing the entire audience before they could sit there. they all had to be masked. now they're going to be a mere eight feet apart. and so how awkward is it to enter the room and to shake his hand or to not shake his hand. that's the thought process that's going through the biden team. but certainly, i think there would be some relief in a collective exhale if they're an opportunity to avoid that interest fraction altogether. and then there's the question of how president biden will address donald trump back in 2020. there were several moments where he's simply just called him donald. there was a moment in the second debate where they were talking about abortion and biden said that the overturning of roe v. wade was on the ballot trump repeatedly interrupted him despite there being muted mics and that debate. and he said at one point, donald, would you just be quiet sort of a tone down version of the first debates would shut up man. and at that point it sort of encapsulated the fact that he was trying to address them in a more diminutive way. but this time around there's a difference because of january grace six and i'm told that there might be some instances where the president finds utility and mentioning that trump was in the driver's seat on days like january's six, he had the keys to the castle and he chose not to do anything. so there could be some moments where we do see biden mentioning that trump was president and that in that moment, trump failed the american people in that role. so that's what's a little different about that. and then there's the question about how he reacts when trump inevitably goes after his family. that's happened a few times in 2020 many commentators said that it didn't serve donald trump well because it gave biden some moments that went viral. and this time around it's expected to come up again and one adviser that i spoke to use them, mike tyson quote to describe the prevalence areas everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face and they wanted to make sure drew that biden had the ability to absorb the first punches in private to take some of the worst possible comments that could be lobbed at him about his family and to really think about them and absorb them and then be ready to come back fighting so that his first punch in the face does not is not for all of us, not for millions of people on america to be watching. all right panel join us. i'll be back in just a moment, but coming up next year, an inside look at joe biden's debate strategy with biden campaign co-chair cedric richmond plus a one-on-one conversation with republican thank congressman byron donalds on why he's supporting donald trump this november et me introduce you to class 500, the intuit is and easy to use trading app that gives you a glimpse into the future of futures trading. >> see a trading opportunity. you'll be able to treat it. he two clicks once your account is open no matter what kind of trader you are, plus 500 has you covered with a tailored solution so download the app and start trading futures 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to function in such circumstances not at all. >> mr. truth and i and i want you to know that also. i will not make age an issue of this campaign. i am not going to exploit for political purposes. my opponent's youth and inexperience so tonight is not gonna be the first time that age will be front and center at a presidential debate. >> but it's the first time that we're going to see the issue hangover. both candidates, 81-year-old joe biden's 70, eight-year-old, donald trump. it is, however of particular concern for president biden. polls show that age is consistently a top concern for voters about him. and with millions expected to tune in tonight, it's not only going to be biden's biggest opportunity to showcase vigor and stamina if he can, it's also his best moment to communicate the message that those around him them have been trying to emphasize in the leadup to the debate this election is most certainly not about age joe and that other guy are essentially the same age. >> let's not be fooled but what this election is about, it's about the character of the person leading our country and trying to me now is biden campaign co-chair cedric richmond. >> cedric, thank you so much for joining us this morning. how do you expect president biden is going to take this head-on with the first real moment where millions since of americans are going to be tuned in well, i think he's going to do his best and i think he's going to show to the american people that differences between the two candidates. >> and it's not about age, it's about the ideas, it's about the vision, it's about who cares for who donald trump wakes up every morning i'm trying to figure out how to benefit donald trump, president biden wakes up every morning, weren't about the american people. how to fight inflation, how to help the economy. all of those things that are facing can people and i think you're going to see that tonight. >> of course, the trump campaign has been reprising something that they've used in 2016 and 2020 by preemptively please suggesting that there will be substances enhancing president biden's performance tonight. how do you even one congressman said, oh, he's gonna be doing mountain dew. how do you respond to that while i was in congressman donald trump was president he liked 20,000 times. >> so this is just par for the course of former president trump and his backers. and so you will see president biden, you will see his character. and no matter how calm former president trump is it won't stop the fact that he will continue to make up stuff and he will continue to make it all about himself. and i think people are going to see that so byron donalds is a trump supporter who has been working on outreach to the black community and he held an event at here in atlanta where president trump called in and i know the biden campaign responded to this last night. >> i'm hoping to get your personal take on it. let's just show what happened, how the former president donald trump spoke at this event. let's listen shifts that happened the black support, i think by representatives will tell you this. the black support has gone through the roof? yes. >> i guess they equated to problems that they've had. but since this has happened like the mug shot, that's the number one. i'm shot able he's of course, talking about his criminal conviction. >> your response. >> i think it's absolute foolishness, but it's typically donald trump african-american, especially african american men, do not gravitate to because you are a convicted felon. it's what black men care about, is the economic prosperity and opportunity that they have in their community. and what's going to help them support a family? what's going to help them with entrepreneurship? so while donald trump talks about those like min are going to like me because i'm a convicted felon, i have a mug shot. i sell cheap go tennis shoes. president biden is going to to reiterate that unemployment in the black communities at all time low entrepreneurship is at an all-time high. he's close the racial wealth gap, the closest ever been. and so that's what you will see. and i think that that's one of the greatest examples of how the two individuals approach things. again, this is about donald trump. hey, i'm a convicted felon. so black men are going to like me. and president biden, who says i want to empower black men. i want to help them create businesses. i want to help them achieve their wildest dreams and create an amass all the wealth they can. and i think that's a clear difference. >> do you think that president biden should call donald trump a convicted felon on stage tonight. >> well, he has before and look at it it looks like a duck walks like a duck quacks like a duck. it's a duck. he's a convicted felon, and that's just who he is. and by the way, he's a twice-impeached convicted felon. and so it wasn't joe biden that did that it was 12 american patriots who served as jurors that found him guilty unanimously on 34 counts and so i'm not sure if the president will or not, but i certainly will. he's a convicted felon so one of the things we've been talking about as well this morning is the degree of personal animosity and how each one of these candidates are going to deal with the other as they've, they take the stage for the first time since they last met on a debate stage. >> age president, then president trump did not attend president biden's inauguration. should president biden shake donald trump's hand? does he deserve that well, that's up to president biden and i'm sure there's no love loss de i wouldn't shake his hand. >> i was in the capital when he sent insurrectionist, the proud boys and others to the capital but channing hang mike pence looking for leader pelosi. all of those things i was there that day and because of that, i don't think i would, but president biden has consistently he rises above pettiness. unlike donald trump. so i would leave that up to him, but what i've been through with the former president, i certainly would not. >> all right. citric richmond, co-chair of the biden campaign. so very grateful for your time this morning. thank you. good luck tonight. >> all right. there is one issue that is certain and we were just talking about it to come up tonight, that biden and trump could not discuss the last time that they debated, and that was the events of january 6. and these two men could not look at this day anymore differently. donald trump has been consistently portraying convicted rioters insurrectionists, as heroes they had a release the j6 hostages. >> they've suffered they had a release i call them hostages. some people call a prisoner's, i call them hostages. released the j six hostages, joe, release some joe. you can do it real easy joe the biden camp has been preparing to challenge trump on the role that he played. >> in the capitol riot. they just put out this ad ahead of tonight's debate fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore it should have been stopped. that's neglect of duty as a sheriff. it's awful to watch police officers getting attacked that's not supporting this badge and this uniform. i have no desire to work with somebody who divides. that's not what america is, but i work with anybody who unite it's remarkable. i want to remind everyone something that got us too, that de, to that riot at the capitol building. >> and it was a moment from a debate between donald trump and joe biden when donald trump was pressed to condemn the white nationalist proud boys, who then we're at the cattle on that day and many of them are currently involved in prosecutions. around it, let's watch that moment i'm willing to do anything i want to see you, sir. >> do it, say do you want to call him? what do you want to call them? give me a name. give me a process. like me to condemn proud process and ripe problem jonah goldberg. yeah look, i i think donald trump disqualified himself from public life. >> never mind public office by screwing up our ability to talk about the peaceful transfer of power. and i think is it should be a non-starter as an argument. i think donald trump had a lot of better policies than joe biden but that alone seems to me, it'd be a debate ender. unfortunately, it's not a debate ndr for everybody and i think it's the kind of thing i think i don't think joe biden is very effective when he talks about threats to democracy. it sounds too self-serving. but just letting the videos ron and letting surrogates do it, i think is very effective at the margins. and that's what's going to get to decide this election. is voters at the margins. >> sure. michael singleton, donald trump has handled this at rallies in a way that is very focused on his maga base. he is playing, he plays a version of the star-spangled banner, where at the beginning of the rally it says please rise for the january 6 hostages, not the american flag. in fact, yet, if we have it, let, let, let's play it. just remind people that this is there are a lot of people who are going to be tuning in for the first time tonight to this election, many people have been tuned out. they may not have seen that this is what donald trump does on the campaign trail watch ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the horribly at unfairly treated. january 6, tass ditches this spirit from the hostages, and that's what they are his hostages. >> they'd been treated terribly sure. michael, there he was saluting the people that ransac to the united states capitol chanted hang mike pence when it comes to this debate tonight, is that the person that they want, the american people to see? i really hope not. i mean, again, this election is going to be won or lost on the margins. and i was on capitol hill der in january 6, this makes a lot of people very uncomfortable case, even many republicans just simply do not like this. i think if you're donald trump, the base that may enjoy those sort of theatrical, if you will, at a campaign rally, they're going to remain with donald trump. he needs to figure out a way to talk directly to the american people. and acknowledge there are a lot of people who didn't really horrible and despicable things on that day. now, will he do that? probably not. but i think he needs to be careful and not do what we just saw in that cliff. >> you know, we talk about the margins. i mean, jonah talked about it in her michael did as well, and they're absolutely right and tomorrow morning, donation the world we'll be talking about this debate, but the reality is the elections going to really be decided just a handful of states. so the margins or even smaller than the national margin from about the margins in states like georgia, where we're sitting right now, wisconsin maybe nevada certainly by north carolina so these margins are really tight. and even though we're gonna be talking about issues tonight, there will be issues that's going to be the baseline of the debate. the reality is, it's joe biden going to come with a strong performance in energetic performance, or whatever you want to call it. i enough that people are going to have confidence is donald trump as we keep on saying, we're going to go off the rails and people going to be screwed. yeah. well, look, i think joe biden is incredibly animated by this argument. i mean, he is somebody who truly views what donald trump did in aiding and abetting january 6 as a threat at to our country, moving forward. so it's an argument that he is personally animated on. i think he will be ready to engage and to push trump. i mean, if you actually watching that clip chris wallace is pushing trump and saying white supremacist, it's actually joe biden who says proud boys and gets donald trump to say proud boys, sorry, stand back and standby. so i think biden will be aggressive at getting trump to respond to the specifics of what he's done. and i also think there's kind of this received wisdom that this is an argument that elites care about. it's not really an argument that voters care. do they, do they think about january 6 in the same way? and i think that they do. i think there is a fundamental rejection of the idea that america is no longer a place where there's a peaceful transfer of power. i don't think swing voters are sitting around talking about it in constitutional terms. but i do think they say that's not america, that's not what we do. and i think there's some power in that just very quickly. i think there's one way for by them that he could get be effective but this is this, just call the utter bs of calling these people hostages all of these people had legal representation. they had facts and evidence brought in court, and they were tried and convicted in court. they're not hostages. and as a grotesque slander on the american criminal justice system to call problem that. >> kayla, you wanted to jump in as she was talking about how president biden may approach this. >> i'm just curious, how you think president biden can change the message so that it actually resonates with voters because he's given no fewer than 4 teaches on this topic on democracy, different backdrops, whether it's independence hall, university of arizona union station, various times of day where he has tried to get this message across to the american people to help them understand the urgency of the situation it didn't resonate then, but why do you think it resonated in 2022? i mean, it was democrats had a much better than expected midterms in part on the back of that argument, i mean, joe biden delivered that speech on democracy a week or two before the election in the fall of 2022? and a lot of the data post-election people said, my concerns about democracy, we're a big driver for me going out to vote. so i think there's there is evidence that in fact it is landing with some of those swing voters. and so i think he absolutely has to make an aggressive case night. he has to he has to be putting donald trump on the defensive and that will be his task tonight to put donald trump on his heels. all right. kayla tausche. thank you so much for being here today. i really appreciate it. all right. the rest of the panel will be back in just a few minutes, but up next here are the rules that will make tonight's cnn presidential debates so unique plus trump backer, ally byron donalds joins us live. the florida congressman will tell us what he thinks donald trump has to do tonight for his campaign. >> tonight. the stage is set for the most anticipated event of this election. biden trump, the weight only cnn can bring it to you. this cnn present national debate tonight. it nine live on cnn and streaming on max and the furniture business. >> things move fast. ziprecruiter helps us hire qualified candidates who gba, we needed a project manager yesterday, we posted a job and ziprecruiter and had our guy on-site and five days, he was qualified and 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welcome back to cnn this morning, donald trump will be back in georgia today for the first presidential debate right here on cnn. >> this is a state that he lost by less than one percentage point in 2020 and it's also where he now faces criminal charges. it's actually in this very county for his efforts to overturn his election hamas four years ago. and it's trump looks to try to sway voters in the battleground. this battleground state the governor of georgia, brian kemp, had this advice 4 and last night thank former president trump as a great opportunity to really be forward thinking, not looking in the rear-view mirror and not focused on the past, but stay focused on the future contrast joining me now is florida republican congressman byron donalds, a top supporter of donald trump's in november thank you so much for being here. >> good to be with you. so let me start right there with what the governor said. he urged president trump to be forward looking and to not be focused on the past. do you expect that's what we'll see from the former president's name. >> i do. if you've been on the trail at the president, i've been on a trail with him. have you listened to everything that he says? he's been talking a lot significantly a lot about what's going on in our country, inflation, the border foreign policy all the issues that really matter to the american people are economy been able to grow and thrive people be made, being able to get ahead. that's been his focus yes. of course. he'll talk about what happened in lower manhattan. he'll might talk, so talking about 20:20, but the focus has been the future for the american people and the reason why we must have a change in the white house from joe biden to donald trump. >> so you were actually hosting an event on behalf of the president in atlanta, uh, here and he called in to the event and you of course, are trying to work on generating us before it, especially among blacks, black men. 4, the former president, i want to just play for our audience who may have not seen it. what the former president had to say. take a look since that happened, the black support, i think by representatives will tell you this. >> the black support has gone through the roof i guess they equated to problems that they've had but since this has happened like the mug shot, that's the number one mug shot or voltaire so he of course was talking about his criminal conviction. >> i cedric richmond with the biden campaign was just here. he called that absolute foolishness. what did you make of the president's comments? there is president trump, right? well, i will tell you what he was responding to was i think the gentleman that was so my right in that shot, he's the one that brought it up and said that yet in atlanta here and a lot of places around the country, but specifically in atlanta, there were black men who said, wow, they're going after donald trump. >> well, let me look into this more i mean, i honestly how bad can you be if they're going after him like this? what happened in lower manhattan? how bad can it be will happen in lower manhattan was a violation of his constitutional rights? alvin bragg and judge marsha never even allowed any original indictment. what the underlying crime is. the jury pool did not have to agree on what the criminal the criminal law was so find him guilty, even a supreme court has just came back in another case a few weeks ago and said that juries are not allowed to do that. you have to agree on an element of a crime that did not happen? i've been a lower manhattan people are watching what happened. they see the unfairness, they see that it is political because even that charge and talk to legal scholars that charge has never been brought against a hey, body would never be brought against anybody except donald trump. so i think when i'm going to just place, it's clear. yeah. when you were looking at the justice system, we all agree nobody is above the law donald trump's not below the law either. and i think that you do have black men in particular, but men, other women in our country who saw what happened there. and they say, man, this is political it is not fair. and so why are we trying to criminalize donald trump simply because he's running for president. that's not right. the american people, i think agree with that. >> yeah. all i was going to say was, you know apart from there are a lot of argument in our lawyers and had all the arguments about the specifics of the case, but the sentiment that you are getting at, you do believe that there is an identification among the black community the way he said, because of this, i don't believe it. i've heard it from people in my in my travels through the country here in atlanta, i've heard it again, yeah. yesterday, there are people who are saying this is not right. so if they're going to go after him like that, well, frankly, what else is he trying to do for the country because then they're listening to what he's talking about. what it means to actually have a growing economy getting inflation under control, building general relational generational wealth for families. they're listening to his message in part because of what's happened through these problems going to all proceedings. i think if you were to ask democrats today, they would admit that this lawfare strategy has backfired against them. >> congressman, we were talking earlier in the show about january 6 and how this is the first time that these two men will confront each other face-to-face in the wake of that. and we showed at some of the footage from donald trump's rallies, he calls those who have been convicted or jailed because of their roles, hostages. do you think he should call them? hostages on the stage tonight? is that a message for the millions of americans that are going to be perhaps tuning into this race for the first time. >> well, i'm not going to speak to what he's going to say on a stage. i've heard them say a lot of different things. about some of the january 6 detainees, some of which are still sitting in a dc jail, still haven't been afforded their day in court. if you talk to those inmates and all the things that have happened to them, the fact that there are legal, they've been investigating their case on again, legal writings to their attorneys, that stuff was taken from them in a dc jail, a violation of constitutional rights. the fact that you have the u.s. attorney ndc, who's using obscure law and charging it up massively to try to get the maximum amount of jail time for people who and i'm not talking about the blue are fighting with police officers, are not talking about that i'm not talking about people who were breaking windows. i'm not talking about that. i'm so mad. people who are at the capitol, where might be walking through the capital. i was on the floor that day, january 6 was a very it's tough day for our country. i've fully acknowledge that i was there, but at the same time, we're going to go back to the justice system. it's gotta be fair and evenhanded. we got to be consistent with the rule of law, the application of law, and there is a legitimate argument that the u.s. attorney in the district of columbia has simply overcharge people who were on capitol hill on january 6 meanwhile, other violent crime in washington, dc it's either not being prosecuted or they are decreasing the charge that's not right. >> all right. congressman byron donalds forces morning, congressman. thank you very much for your time. i really appreciate it all right. the rules for tonight's debate could play a pretty significant role in how this plays out. there's gonna be no audience in the studio for the 90 minute debate. candidates will have two minutes for their answers in a minute for rebuttal or follow up questions and each candidates microphone will be turned on only when it is their turn to speak green light on each of the podiums. we'll let the candidates know when their microphone is live. we want to show you exactly what that will look and sound like. watch so let's say i'm answering a question. my light is green and i'm speaking feels microphone is off and his green lights are not illuminated. he's going to interrupt me as i'm speaking. and this is what it will sound like. my volume remains constant while fills interruption can be difficult to understand so a poor fill mattingly, it is important to note that cnn shared that demonstration and all the rules with the campaign teams and both sides did agree to them. mark preston, i i'm actually really interested to know how this came about and sort of because obviously these are very careful in negotiations. i know you can't share a lot of the details, but the reality is that donald trump really came across the first debate of 2020. a lot of people will look at that and say, he hurt himself because of all the ways he was able to interrupt president biden. is there a chance that i mean, i think there had been this perception that the trump team was unhappy with this. that seems to be shifting a little bit. >> you'll look, i think that the trump team certainly doesn't want donald trump to come out like, sure. my code says at the end and just takes the train now off the rails and it burns burns up in flames. however, having said that, i think i do think that either candidate with the rules in place and they do need to be in place. otherwise, marketing everything. there is there is an opportunity to interrupt, to knock somebody off balance, make them not look as good on tv. >> yeah. >> yeah. i mean, i think joe biden's task, regardless, tonight is to drive the conversation to the places he wants it to go, the places where donald trump is politically vulnerable. i think i'm somebody who thinks that the mic being muted probably does accrue to trump's benefit if he's trying to be the more restrained version of oven something get a wide shot. all the heads are not there. all at least say but i actually, but fundamentally it doesn't change. joe biden's task, which is again, tried to put donald trump on the defensive on the things where he's vulnerable and to show the country that he would be a dangerous and unfit option for a second term. so whether what that means styling let's stick leave for trump and for biden will see tonight. but i think biden's task remains the same regardless, we've got 30 seconds quick. last point. yeah. no, i agree with that the downside is jumping get all the benefits from interrupting biden without any of the detriments by been seem interrupting biden. >> yeah. my audience benefits trump because he lives and breathes off of the audience reaction. i think this is going to be a good night for him. >> yeah, the audience we haven't actually dug in too much to the fact that there is not going to be an audience tonight, really going to, i mean, it's the first time in years, years, though i will say