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By Kaitlin Lewis
Night Reporter
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Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that President Joe Biden is starting from a "disadvantage" in facing former President Donald Trump during the first 2024 presidential debate on Thursday.
Clinton, however, has low expectations for Trump's performance, according to an op-ed published by The New York Times on Monday.
Biden and Trump, presumptive presidential nominees in November's election for the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively, are scheduled to face off live at 9 p.m. EST Thursday at CNN's studios in Atlanta. The debate, moderated by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, will not occur in front of a live audience to "ensure candidates may maximize the time allotted," CNN said in a news release previously shared with Newsweek.
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It is the first of two debates scheduled between Biden and Trump before voters head to the polls in the fall, and comes before either major political party has officially nominated its candidate for the White House. The Republican National Convention is expected to select Trump as the GOP presidential nominee in July. The Democratic National Convention will make its official nomination in August.
Ahead of Thursday's event, Clinton, who has debated against Biden and Trump, wrote a scathing review of the former president's past debate performances. During the 2016 election, ahead of Clinton's loss in the general election, the former secretary of state said that Trump "unleashed a blizzard of interruptions, insults and lies that overwhelmed the moderators and did a disservice to the voters" during her three debates against the former president.
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Clinton also said it was "a waste of time to try to refute Mr. Trump's arguments like in a normal debate," and accused the former president of wanting to "rant and rave in part because he wants to avoid giving straight answers about his unpopular positions, like restrictions on abortion, giving tax breaks to billionaires and selling out our planet to big oil companies in return for campaign donations."
"These ploys will fall flat if Mr. Biden is as direct and forceful as he was when engaging Republican hecklers at the State of the Union address in March," Clinton added, referring to the president's address before Congress, which received a generally positive reaction from voters.
The former secretary of state added that prior to her debates with Trump, she "prepared intensely" to "find a way to cut through Mr. Trump's antics and help the American people understand what was really at stake."
"Unfortunately, Mr. Biden starts from a disadvantage because there's no way he can spend as much time preparing as I did eight years ago," Clinton continued. "Being president isn't just a day job; it's an everything-everywhere-all-at-once job. Historically, that has led to weaker first debate performances for the incumbent."
Biden, 81, is the oldest sitting president in U.S. history and has faced several questions regarding his age, mental capacity and ability to serve another four years. The president is often mocked online for even minor gaffes while speaking or for videos that are edited to make Biden appear confused at public events.
After the president has delivered a strong performance, Trump has suggested that Biden was "jacked up" on illicit drugs. In a post to Truth Social on Monday, the former president joined calls for Biden to take a drug test before Thursday's debate.
A report from the Pentagon published in January found that during Trump's presidency, the White House Medical Unit did not comply with federal guidelines and provided prescription drugs—including stimulants—to ineligible staff members.
Voters have also voiced concerns over Trump's age, 78, and some close to the former president have suggested that his memory and mental sharpness may be on the decline. Journalist Ramin Setoodeh, author of the Trump biography Apprentice in Wonderland, told MSNBC earlier this month that the former president "has severe memory issues."
Clinton said in her op-ed that viewers "should try not to get hung up on the theatrics" of Trump's debate performance and instead encouraged voters to pay attention to the former president's policies, rhetoric and plethora of legal challenges. Trump last month became the first former U.S. president to be criminally convicted and is facing three other indictments while running for reelection.
"This election is between a convicted criminal out for revenge and a president who delivers results for the American people," Clinton concluded. "No matter what happens in the debate, that's an easy choice."
Steven Cheung, Trump campaign communications director, told Newsweek in a statement Tuesday night that Clinton "is a sore loser who still obsesses over her devastating loss in 2016 when her coronation for president was shattered by millions of Americans rejecting her candidacy."
"Instead of being ashamed, embarrassed, and accepting of her defeat, she has now allowed Trump Derangement Syndrome to rot her brain as she devises ways to stay relevant when the world has passed her by," Cheung added. "Joe Biden should look over his shoulder because if he's not careful, he might get Hillary'd."
Newsweek reached out to Biden's campaign via email for comment Tuesday afternoon.
Update 06/25/24, 11:30 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional comment from Trump's campaign.
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