Harris and Trump are preparing for the presidential debate in completely different ways

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are diverging sharply in their preparation for Tuesday’s presidential debate, setting up a clash that reflects not only two different visions for the country but also two politicians who approach big moments very differently.

The vice president is locked down in a historic hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, where debate rules allow her to focus on crafting snappy two-minute answers. She has been working with her staff since Thursday, choosing a venue that will give the Democratic nominee a chance to mingle with swing-state voters.

Trump, the Republican nominee, has publicly dismissed the benefit of debate preparation. The former president has instead chosen to fill his days with campaign-related events, assuming he will know what to do once he steps onto the debate stage at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

“You can approach this with any strategy you want, but you have to develop a sense of it as the debate progresses,” he said during a town hall meeting with Fox News host Sean Hannity.

Trump then quoted former boxing star Mike Tyson as saying, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.”

Harris has said she is prepared for Trump to hurl insults and distort facts, even though her campaign team has placed emphasis on the middle class and the prospects for a better future for the country.

“We should be prepared for the fact that he doesn’t care about telling the truth,” Harris said in a radio interview on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show. “He’s fighting for himself, not for the American people, and I think that will come out as the debate progresses.”

In her own preparation, Harris has Democratic consultant Philippe Reines, a longtime aide to Hillary Clinton, portray Trump. She likes to describe Trump as someone who has a “playbook” full of falsehoods to attack Democrats like Clinton and former President Barack Obama.

Harris has said she understands Trump on a deeper psychological level. In speeches like her remarks at the Democratic National Convention, she has tried to show that she would be a stronger leader than he is – an argument that speaks to Trump’s own desire to demonstrate and project strength.

Trump’s June 27 debate against President Joe Biden threw the election into disarray. Biden’s disastrous performance ultimately led him to withdraw as the Democratic nominee and endorse Harris. Both campaigns know that the first face-to-face meeting between Harris and Trump could be a decisive event in a close race.

Trump criticized the moderators of the ABC News debate in advance, claiming he was not being treated fairly, but said he wanted to let Harris speak, just as he did at his debate with Biden.

“I let him talk. I’ll let them talk,” he said during Hannity’s town hall meeting.

Trump’s aides said it would be no different this time than the previous debate and that the former president would not have more traditional preparations. There are no substitutes, no backdrops, no acting.

Rather, they point to Trump’s frequent interviews, in which he answers questions at lengthy press conferences, delivers hour-long podcasts, and participates in town hall meetings with friendly moderators like Hannity.

Trump also meets regularly with political advisers who are experts on issues that might come up during the debate. During these informal meetings, they discuss the issues, Trump’s policies during his time in office, and his plans for a second term.

“I have meetings about it. We talk about it. But there’s not much you can do. Either you know your subject or you don’t. Either you have good policy or you don’t,” he said in a radio interview in New Hampshire.

Before the last debate, Trump met with notable Republicans such as Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who was then being considered as Trump’s vice presidential running mate. This time, he met with Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman and Democratic presidential candidate who is now supporting Trump.

Gabbard, who is now also a member of Trump’s transition team, was brought in specifically to help Trump this time because she knows Harris. She debated with her when the two ran for the Democratic nomination in 2020. She also recently hosted a town hall meeting with Trump in Wisconsin.

Trump, his advisers say, wants to put Harris on the defensive, portraying her as too liberal while linking her to Biden’s economic record and pointing to her about-faces on issues such as a fracking ban, which she no longer supports.

“We look forward to the American people seeing her on stage, unable to defend her policies and her changes of opinion,” said Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. “The president has proven that he has mastered the issues, she has not.”

Harris’ team is betting that Trump will come across as extreme and that they can use the debate as a springboard to build on the momentum her short campaign has generated. The campaign plans to use the weekend before the debate to hold 2,000 events with volunteers and reach more than a million voters.

“With hundreds of offices and thousands of staff in battleground states, we are able to capitalize on all the excitement surrounding the debate and reach voters who are hard to reach,” Dan Kanninen, campaign director for battleground states, said in a statement.

Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.