Biden debate prep strategy: Be prepared for two different Trumps

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is preparing to face a few different Donald Trumps on Thursday's debate stage: the more bombastic and “unhinged” one known for his grievance-filled, stem-winding rallies, and a fairly disciplined version who largely refrains from tirades and sticks to policy.

If Trump is more sedate than incensed, the goal for Biden will be to elicit what his aides see as “the true Trump,” according to three people familiar with the president’s debate prep.

Biden’s advisers have been meticulously studying and combing through all of Trump’s recent comments, these people said, in an effort to best identify what might get under his skin and what may “trigger” him the most if he does demonstrate some self-control.

As president, Trump at times showed some self-restraint, a prospect that has made some outsider observers speculate about whether debate rules like the muting of microphones could ultimately stop him from saying anything too outrageous.

“If I were advising Biden, I’d try to make fun of Trump,” former Vice President Dan Quayle, a Republican, told NBC News in an interview. “Try to ridicule him. That will get him mad.”

Trump seemed to acknowledge the dynamic during a rally in Philadelphia this weekend, asking the crowd: “Should I be tough and nasty and just say, ‘You’re the worst president in history’? Or should I be nice and calm and let him speak?”

The entire debate may hinge on one candidate’s ability to throw the other off his game, a fourth person familiar with Biden’s prep said. The goal is to get “rally Trump” on full display, one of the sources said.

One way Biden may attempt to do that is to point out that Trump lost the 2020 election and then argue that Trump “snapped” afterward and