Kristen Holmes, Alaina Trine, CNN
(CNN) — After meeting with members of Congress on Thursday, former President Donald Trump spent time at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, participating in what two advisers described as policy consultations with a small group of advisers as well as Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Eric Schmitt of Missouri.
Among the topics discussed were democracy and how to answer inevitable questions about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and Trump's response to the riots incited by his supporters that day.
While the Trump campaign maintains that the meetings were not “debate prep,” advisers to the former president acknowledged that they could ultimately be helpful when Trump faces off in the first debate against President Joe Biden, hosted by CNN on June 27 in Atlanta.
The policy debate was first reported by The New York Times.
Advisers have been careful to use the term “debate prep” when it comes to Trump, instead pointing to a range of interviews and events, including answering questions from friendly audience members at recent events, as examples of how the former president is gearing up to take on Biden.
“President Trump conducts countless tough interviews and delivers lengthy standing rally speeches every week, demonstrating elite stamina,” Jason Miller, a senior adviser leading Trump's efforts ahead of the debate, said in a statement.
The Atlanta debate between Biden and Trump, scheduled for less than two weeks, will be a historic early showdown that will set the tone for the final months of the 2024 campaign.
The two also accepted an invitation from ABC to hold a second debate on September 10.
According to a CNN news release, the June 27 debate will be held without an audience at the network's Atlanta studios, an unusual move for a presidential debate. The first televised presidential debate, between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960, took place in a television studio without an audience. Debates were not held again until the 1976 election, and since then have been held in front of a live audience with instructions to keep quiet except at the beginning and end of the debate.
CNN's Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will moderate the debate for the network.
CNN Wire
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