Debate - How Trump Should Open

Yeah, go ahead, make the TLDR jokes ...

If I was advising Trump (and I had some magic formula that would allow him to stay on task and on message .. ugh) here is what I would tell him about the debate on Thursday.

NEVER SAY HUNTER BIDEN'S NAME! NEVER!

There is a large segment of our population that will give Joe a pass on ANYTHING he did with or for Hunter because they believe it's ok to do anything as long as it is out of "love" and "helpfulness" for your child. If Trump goes after Hunter, by name, he runs the risk of gathering sympathy votes for Joe. (Regardless of the complete corruption that surrounds all of this).

Here is what I would tell Trump to do:

** In the 1st minute of his 2 minute opening, lead with this:

Joe Biden, and his BUSINESS ASSOCIATES, formulated and executed a plan by which they sold the power, influence and prestige of the Office of the Vice President of the United States to foreign governments and corporations from around the globe. Ukraine, China, Russia, Romania, Iraq, Iran etc., all received powerful endorsements, in-person consultations and/or political action directly from Joe Biden, as Vice President of the United States, that served to not only enrich the foreign governments and corporations directly at the expense of the American people but they also served to enrich Joe Biden and his BUSINESS ASSOCIATES personally.

Joe Biden, and his BUSINESS ASSSOCIATES, ran a pay-for-play scheme that had the net effect of hanging a "for sale" sign on the door of the Vice President's own office. This is corruption on a grand scale that came at the direct expense of the American people, and had I not been elected President, this corruption would have resulted in the downfall of our nation. Joe Biden, and his BUSINESS ASSOCIATES, used the United States and her people as pawns to be leveraged for their own financial gain.

** In the 2nd minute of his 2 minute opening, I would have him follow up with this:

In stark contrast, the Trump administration has accomplished the following foreign policy achievements:

Terminated NAFTA and replaced it with the United State/Canada/Mexico trade agreement
Terminated the Paris Climate Accords
Terminated the Iran Nuclear deal
Moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem
Restructured Trade with China
Avoided a war in Iran
Avoided a war, and re-engaged, with North Korea
Bolstered allied payments to common defense in NATO
Brought troops home from Syria
Brought troops home from Afganistan
Brought troops home from Iraq
Shifted the placement of defensive missiles to Poland
Placed travel restrictions on China to combat COVID
Placed travel restrictions on Europe to combat COVID
Placed travel restrictions on countries who harbor terrorism in order to protect the homeland
Normalized relations and created peace agreements between Israel and: Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, etc.
Normalized relations between Bosnia and Serbia
And, in doing all of that, also received 4 nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize

** I would close with this:

Joe Biden had 47 years to accomplish those tasks. The Trump administration had 47 months ... and ... the Trump Administration got it done without lining the pockets of our family or our business associates WITH MILLIONS OF ILL GOTTEN DOLLARS and WITHOUT HANGING A "FOR SALE" SIGN ON THE FRONT OF THE WHITE HOUSE.

*****

That is how I would open.

Biden has to refute it. He has to. In doing so, HE has to pin it on Hunter. Trump NEVER pins it on Hunter, he forces Joe to do it. At that point Joe looks like he's throwing his own kid under the bus, and Trump never has to even mention Hunter's name.

Biden will also say he didn't have "business associates" involved in this. The EASY come-back (almost a lay-up if he plays it right) for Trump is, "if those weren't YOUR business associates that you were meeting and greeting, and helping to get out from under investigation (Ukraine reference), who's business associates were they"?

Again, this forces Joe to blame Hunter ... and ... more importantly ... forces Biden to make the choice of either throwing Hunter under the bus OR denying, in the face of his own video tapes and pictures, that he ever met with any of these foreigners.

If he says they were Hunter's associates, the follow up (and it doesn't matter what Joe answers, because the damage is just in having to ask the question itself) is easy, "so ... as Vice President of the United States, you never questioned meeting a plethora of foreign nationals, who had unknown ties to your own son, and then having that influence used to help manipulate foreign policy and business ventures to the detriment of this this country"?

*****

If Trump could just control himself, and stay on message, this could be the most epic cross-examination in history ... because every answer that Biden gives just makes the hole even deeper for him.