Former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) has explained why President Joe Biden must “come out like a junkyard dog” during his first presidential debate against former President Donald Trump.
Biden “has to absolutely be willing to get down and fight with this guy in a way that shows people he’s strong, what he says is not as important as how he says it,” McCaskill said on MSNBC’s “The Weekend.”
Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Trump and his campaign have for months tried to depict Biden as being in cognitive decline, basically “that he can’t walk or talk,” noted McCaskill.
But now Republicans have pivoted to baselessly warning the president may use drugs to boost his performance at the debate, she said. “They’ve gone way out of their way to make this man look incompetent,” said the former senator.
Biden has “got to leave the presidential, dignified Joe Biden at the door and he’s got to appear at that podium as scrappy Joe from Scranton that’s willing to take on big guys that are not there for the little guys,” she urged, saying he has “an opportunity to clear the air about whether or not he’s strong enough to be commander-in-chief for another four years.”
CNN is hosting Thursday’s first 2024 debate between Trump and Biden, which takes place in Atlanta.