What Republicans Are Hoping Trump Doesn't Do During His Debate With Joe Biden

Donald Trump’s Republican allies on Capitol Hill want him to play nice in his first 2024 debate with President Joe Biden on Thursday.

They’re urging the former president ― who frequently veers off script and goes on wild tangents during campaign appearances ― to stick to policy and contrast his plans for another term in the White House with Biden’s tenure as president and his handling of the economy.

And they want him to steer clear of talk about supposedly stolen elections, something he often brings up to supporters on the campaign trail.

“He should focus on looking forward,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said. “He should look on what our policy needs are, he should have a look at what it’s going to do to bring down the price of groceries, what he’s going to do to bring down the price of gasoline, price of energy. He should leave the past behind.”

“I would talk more about the future and how I’ll clean up Joe Biden’s mess,” added Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.).

Trump has been focused on other things before the debate kickoff, however. Over the weekend, he suggested, without evidence, that Biden is using medical supplements to get “jacked up” for their face-off. And on Monday, the former president again challenged Biden to take a drug test, adding that he, too, would “immediately” agree to take one if Biden accepts.

Trump, 78, and his allies have for months attacked the 81-year-old Biden as too old and unfit for the presidency. Polls have shown that Biden’s age and Trump’s felony conviction are issues for voters in the coming election, and both certainly might come up during Thursday’s debate.

Asked if Trump should bring up Biden’s age on the CNN debate stage, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), a top Trump ally, said, “You don’t