President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will face off in their first presidential debate on Thursday night. The debate will be familiar ground for both candidates. That's why Kevin Wagner said he expects both candidates to do much of what they've done before. “They're trying to project an image of strength,” Wagner said. “People tend to gravitate toward candidates who project strength, so I think both candidates will try to do that.”Stay up to date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25 Wagner is a professor of political science at Florida Atlantic University. He said projecting strength is something candidates focus on in every aspect, including how they dress and their body language. Wagner said how they say things can be just as important as what they say. “Make sure you use forceful language. Make sure you're decisive. Make sure you're clear and persuasive,” Wagner said. “And make sure you demonstrate knowledge of the important issues. All of those things suggest leadership,” Wagner said. History has shown that the less voters know about the candidates, the more important the debate is. IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD: LOCAL COVERAGE FROM WPBF 25 NEWS Given that, he questions how important this debate is. “In this particular case, where this is basically a rerun of an election from four years ago, there aren't many voters who don't have an opinion about these two candidates,” Wagner said. That being said, Wagner doesn't think either candidate can win the election based on the outcome of the debate. But he said someone could lose. “If there's a moment where a candidate does something particularly bad and gets talked about, that could be the only thing people remember about the debate,” he said. Get the latest news with the WPBF 25 News app, which you can download here.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will face off in the first presidential debate on Thursday night, in familiar territory for both men.
And to that end, Kevin Wagner said he expects both candidates to do much of what they've done so far.
“They're trying to project an image of strength,” Wagner said. “People tend to gravitate toward candidates who embody strength, and I think both candidates will try to do that.”
Keep up to date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25
Wagner is a professor of political science at Florida Atlantic University.
He said the focus will be on candidates appearing strong in all aspects, including clothing and body language.
Wagner said how you say it is just as important as what you say.
“Try to use strong language. Try to be decisive. Try to be clear and persuasive,” Wagner said. “And try to demonstrate knowledge of important issues. All of these things signal leadership.”
Wagner said history has shown that the less voters know about the candidates, the more important the debates are.
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Given that, he questions how significant the debate will be.
“In this case, it's basically a re-election of an election that took place four years ago, so there aren't a lot of voters who don't have an opinion about the two candidates,” Wagner said.
However, Wagner doesn't believe either candidate can win the election depending on the outcome of the debate.
But it's possible someone could lose it, he said.
“If a candidate does something particularly bad that gets talked about, that may be the only thing people remember from the debate,” he said.
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