Trump's 'rightwing cult members' are unwittingly helping Biden ahead of debate: expert

Former President Donald Trump's outspoken followers are unwittingly helping his political foe in the upcoming presidential debate by bombarding President Joe Biden with insults about his age, according to The Guardian political columnist Margaret Sullivan.

Conservatives' constant attacks on Biden's mental sharpness have only succeeded in easing the criteria for success the 81-year-old incumbent must meet when he faces off against Trump on CNN Thursday night, Sullivan argues.

"Biden may make some missteps in the debate, but he’ll be well prepared and focused on appearing vigorous, as he was in his high-energy State of the Union address in March," Sullivan writes.

"He won’t become a compelling TV star or a great public speaker between now and Thursday, but he doesn’t need that."

Sullivan makes a compelling case for the likelihood Biden will do well against Trump, at whom she takes several pointed jabs, by pointing to two rules from which she believes he will benefit.

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CNN's decisions not to host a live audience in the studio and to silence mics when it is his opponent's turn to speak both bode well for Biden, Sullivan contends.

"There is no studio audience to create a disruption or cheer Trump’s wild utterances; thus, the debate will not turn into one of those fake 'town halls' packed with rightwing cult members posed as undecided voters," Sullivan writes.

Of the mic decision, she adds: "This limits Trump’s habit of relentlessly interrupting."

Given these terms, Sullivan professed herself uncertain whether Trump will make an appearance or become a no-show.

"It’s surprising that Trump agreed to the debate at all – and it’s still possible that he’ll back out, no doubt citing how 'rigged' the entire world is against his noble greatness," Sullivan quips.

Should Trump make an appearance, he'll face off against an opponent his followers have told the MAGA world is barely alive.

"Many viewers are probably expecting him to be infirm and inarticulate," Sullivan writes. "As one right-leaning acquaintance of mine put it: 'If the choice is between the orange guy and a corpse, I’ll go with the orange guy.'"

The debate therefore provides Biden yet another chance to rebut "incessant" messaging and remind Americans about his stark contrast to Trump, Sullivan concludes. That's a contest Sullivan believes Biden wins.

"It’s between a traditional, pro-democracy president with a strong record of accomplishment versus a twice-impeached would-be autocrat with 34 felony convictions – and his own alarming set of gaffes, memory lapses and campaign-trail ravings about sharks," Sullivan writes.

"The choice, of course, is not that at all."