How to Win in an Election Debate?

As the first debate between the two rivals for the U.S. presidency approaches, the abilities of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in this debate are being discussed by newspapers and radio-television stations in the country. Both the Democratic and Republican candidates have been preparing for this televised debate for a long time, especially in the last two weeks. The Wall Street Journal reports that Mrs. Clinton's practice sessions have been conducted with the help of a team of advertising and political strategists, and her weaknesses have been addressed through regular practice. According to Jennifer Palmieri, communications director for Hillary Clinton's campaign, 'these kinds of practices usually involve focusing on the weaknesses of the opponent, including Donald Trump's behavior in response to various political and non-political issues, which is accompanied by showing clips from previous debates in the primary elections.' Less has been published about Donald Trump's preparation to confront his experienced rival in the first televised debate, and it is said that the Republican candidate will continue campaigning until 48 hours before the debate. This means that Mr. Trump, a businessman and former 'showman' who has drawn countless viewers to televisions since entering the U.S. presidential race, will not have much practice for the debate. Donald Trump stated in a radio interview: 'Of course, I will have some practices, but I am not keen on overdoing such preparations.' Such statements and news from the Democrats' campaign have suddenly been interpreted as Hillary Clinton's vulnerability, increasing pressure on her campaign team. The managers of the Democratic candidate's campaign are confident that Mrs. Clinton will present the image of an informed and powerful president in this first confrontation with her bold rival. On Friday afternoon, it was announced that Mrs. Clinton would go to North Carolina on Sunday, 24 hours before the debate, to engage directly with the people and officials of Charlotte regarding the tensions and violent confrontations arising from the death of a Black citizen. Such a move could be interpreted in public opinion as a confidence boost for the Democratic candidate. Reuters reported that the first debate of the three scheduled debates will take place under conditions where Mrs. Clinton's lead in the polls has diminished, and Donald Trump has narrowed the gap with her, even surpassing her in some crucial states. Reuters emphasizes that history teaches us that a poor performance in a televised debate can change the course of the race for the White House for a candidate and may even divert it. According to the latest Reuters poll, about 20% of voters are still undecided about their preferred candidate and have not yet made a decision. This percentage is high at this stage of the election campaign; in the previous election four years ago, this figure was about 12%. In any case, it is expected that at 9 PM on Monday (Eastern Time) September 26, millions of viewers in the U.S. and some countries around the world will watch this first televised debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. In 2012, the first televised debate between Republican candidate Mitt Romney and Democratic candidate Barack Obama had a final viewership of just over 46.2 million; however, this time, a new record is expected to be set.