Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel offered his viewers a comedic glimpse into the preparations for Tuesday's highly anticipated debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. On his show, Kimmel referenced a New York Times report detailing Harris's rigorous training regimen at a Pittsburgh camp, complete with a replica debate stage, TV lighting, and a Trump stand-in advisor employing “full Lee Strasberg method-acting mode.”
“Is she trying to win an election or a Tony Award here?” Kimmel joked on Monday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, poking fun at the elaborate nature of Harris’s debate preparations.
The debate, airing on ABC at 9 p.m. ET, marks the first face-off between the two presidential contenders in the 2024 election cycle. It will also be Harris’s first debate as the Democratic presidential candidate, while Trump has already had a previous debate against Joe Biden before Biden exited the race in July.
Kimmel humorously questioned how one could prepare to debate Trump, referencing the former president’s history of controversial and unexpected behavior, including when Trump altered a map to show Hurricane Dorian’s impact on Alabama in 2019. “You can’t debate that,” Kimmel quipped to his laughing audience.
The host also highlighted the various bets being placed around the debate, including the color of Trump’s tie and the odds of him using phrases like “Comrade Kamala” and “witch hunt.” Notably, betting odds favor the likelihood that the two candidates will not shake hands before the debate begins. “I would go heavy on ‘No’ because those two are not going to shake hands,” Kimmel added, suggesting that Harris might opt for a cheeky pinch instead.
This first head-to-head meeting between Harris and Trump follows the same rules as Trump’s prior debate with Biden: no pre-written notes, no live audience, no sitting, no speaking with campaign staff during breaks, and muted microphones between responses. The Harris campaign has criticized the muted microphones rule, suggesting it protects Trump from direct exchanges, which Harris’s team argues puts her at a disadvantage.
Trump’s tendency to interrupt and dominate discussions is well-known, with Kimmel referencing the former president’s frequent courtroom scoldings for speaking out of turn during his civil and criminal trials.
As the two candidates prepare to clash, Kimmel’s humorous take has added a light-hearted perspective to what is expected to be a critical and closely watched moment in the 2024 presidential race.
Source: independent.co.uk
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