From Washington Examiner
As Hillary Clinton is reportedly pulling out all the stops to prepare her for the first presidential debate against Donald Trump, the GOP nominee is taking a much more laid back approach.
For Clinton’s team, debate prep has included hours of digging into Trump’s past, according to a report published Monday evening by the New York Times.
Her team is also consulting with psychology experts as they prepare for possible debate attacks and countermeasures from the billionaire businessman. The Democratic nominee’s team is even reportedly in conversations with the ghostwriter behind Trump’s The Art of the Deal as they look to pinpoint the Republican candidate’s greatest weaknesses and insecurities.
“They are undertaking a forensic-style analysis of Mr. Trump’s performances in the Republican primary debates, cataloging strengths and weaknesses as well as trigger points that caused him to lash out in less-than-presidential ways,” the Times reported.
As to who should play the role of Trump in mock debates with the Democratic nominee, suggested sparring partners have included Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., longtime Clinton confidant and infamous firebrand James Carville and billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban.
Some Clinton aides have also reportedly suggested bringing in entertainers Jon Stewart and Alec Baldwin so as to prepare her for Trump’s infamous style and bluster.
Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon promised the Democratic nominee and her team are putting in the hours prepping for the first debate, which is scheduled for Sept. 26.
“She feels like it is a proving ground, that this is a job interview. I think she will approach the debate with a great deal of seriousness and a sense of purpose, and also keenly aware that Donald Trump is capable of anything,” Fallon said.
“We are fully expecting to have our hands full. It was his television personality that carried the day and made him a success at the [primary] debates,” he said. “What normally would make for low expectations in terms of a lack of substance and not sort of exuding that commander-in-chief demeanor has actually been turned on its head.
“She does her homework,” Fallon said.
In comparison, Trump’s approach is fairly low energy, as the GOP nominee has reportedly adopted something of a let’s-cross-that-bridge-when-we-get-their approach to the presidential debates.
For starters, the GOP nominee apparently has not put much effort into looking for a sparring partner, and has so far only floated the idea having his daughter, Ivanka, stand in as Clinton.
“Wouldn’t she be great at that?” the Times quoted Trump as saying. “Maybe.”
Though the GOP nominee has put in some hours preparing for the big showdown in September, the sessions have been “freewheeling” and unfocused, according to the report.
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