buildup. high stakes, mistake or break, you name it. but in this incredibly tight race between two presidents, each of whom casts the other as a danger to democracy, it does seem that the cnn presidential debate in four days might just live up to the hyperbole. let s face it, how many people in america haven t made up their minds between 81-year-old joe biden and 78-year-old donald trump, and which of these two men can exceed those all-important expectationses certified by the presses? if trump did some advanced spin by denigrating cnn s moderators. they thought i would say, no, i don t want to do it because cnn is so, you know, it s fake news. i ll be debating three people instead of one-half of a person. howard: sometimes debates can be decisive, in the first one in 1960, richard a anybodies son had a 5:00 shadow, and jack kennedy looked young and vigorous. sometimes a good zinger can turn the tide with a tense president carter against a relaxed ronald reagan. there you
look, you are asking me to pick up the phone on an investigation that right now we don t know exists. no, i m not. of course you know it exists. you know mueller s looking at this. why didn t you just pick up the phone and find out if it matters so much to the president whether or not he s being looked at? find out. you know there s a difference between investigations, inquiries. there s a whole series of matters you look at before you get to the level of investigation. i m saying you could get the answer. i don t know what they are doing. i haven t made that call. that s the end of that line of inquiry. that s the end of that for now. with us to share the reporting, jackie collins of the new york times, manu ra ashgraju and mar katherine ham. what was mr. trump s lawyer suggesting there? remember, the president vented his displeasure at his own attorney general, saying i m being investigated for firing