Trump team prepares him to keep his cool
of mock debate setups candidates traditionally use to get ready for the high-pressure events and hasn’t tapped anyone to play Clinton in his prep sessions. But aides say he is studying written briefing material on domestic and international issues and is also talking through topics with advisers.
“He’s a formidable, well-prepared candidate with a formidable, well-prepared team,” said Navarro, a professor at the University of California, Irvine.
Some Trump aides are more concerned about Trump’s disposition on the debate stage than his command of the issues, according to Republicans who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the private debate preparations.
In particular, Trump advisers are trying to steel him for the likelihood that Clinton will aim to get a rise out of him on live television in front of what both campaigns expect to be a record-setting audience.
The Republican has long lashed out at critics in deeply personal ways, especially after a perceived slight. Clinton has raised that habit as evidence that Trump is too thin-skinned to be trusted with nuclear weapons and other life-and-death decisions that cross a president’s desk.
Voters seem to share Clinton’s concerns. According to a new APGfK poll, just 30 percent of registered voters say they consider Trump at least somewhat qualified to be president. Only 24 percent consider him at least somewhat civil, while half consider him at least somewhat racist.
Trump backers say the real estate mogul is prepared to stay steady no matter what Clinton throws at him.
“We’re going to see the debate prep making sure that she’s not going to be able to pull him somehow off the message,” said Rep. Chris Collins, a New York Republican who is one of Trump’s most loyal backers in Congress. He spoke shortly after joining other supportive lawmakers for a meeting Thursday with Trump political director Jim Murphy.
Collins said the Republican nominee understands the importance of presenting “President Trump to the American public.”