Donald Trump and Kamala Harris debate prep strategies revealed: Here’s how each candidate is gearing up for their ultimate showdown

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are veering sharply in how they gear up for , setting up a showdown that reflects 💃not just two separate visions for t𝔍he country but two politicians who approach big moments very differently.

The vice president is cloistered in a historic hotel in downtown Pittsburgh where she can focus on honing crisp two-minute answer🦄s, per the debate’s . She’s been working with aides since Thursday and chose a venue that allows the Democratic nominee the option of mingling with swing-state ཧvoters.

Trump, the Republican nominee, publicly dismisses the value of studying for the debate. The form𝓀er president is choosing instead to fill his days with  on the premise that he’ll know what he needs to do once he steps on the debate stage at the National Constitution Center in Phil⛦adelphia.

“You can go in with all the strategy you want but you have to sort of feel it out as the debate’s taking place,” he said during a town hall with Fox News host Sean ღHannity.

Trump then quoted former boxing great Mike Tyson, who said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face🔴.”

Harris has said she is prepared for Trump to rattle off insults and misrepresent facts, even as her campaign has seen value in focusing on the middle class and the prospects of a better future 🥀for the count⛄ry.

“We should be prepared for the fact that he is not burdened by telling the truth,” Harris said in a radio interview𒐪 for💯 the Rickey Smiley Morning Show. “He tends to fight for himself, not for the American people, and I think that’s going to come out during the course of the debate.”

In her own preparation, Harris has the Democratic consultant Phili🍃ppe Reines, a longtime aide to Hillary Clinton, portraying Trump. She likes to describe Trump as having a “playbook” of falsehoods to go after Democrats such as Clinton and former President Barack Obama.

Harris has said she understands Trump on a deeper psychological level. She haꦫs tried in speeches like her remarks at the Democratic National Conventi💦on to show that she would be a stronger leader than him — an argument that gets at Trump’s own desire to project and show strength.

Trump’s June 27 debate against President Joe Biden shook up the election, with Biden’s disastrous p🥂erformance ultimately leading to him  as the Democratic nominee and endorsing Harris. Both campaigns know the first in-person meeting between Harris and Trump could be a decisive event in a tight race.

Trump is preempti🅷vely criticizing the ABC News debate moderators, claiming he will not be treated fairly. But he said he plans to let Harris speak, just as he did during his debate with Biden.

“I let him talk🥂. I’m gonna let her talk,” he said during t𝔍he Hannity town hall.

Trump aides said that this time would be no💃 different than the previous debate and that the former president would not be doing any more traditional prep. There are no stand-ins, no sets, no play-acting.

Instead, they point to Trump’s frequent interviews, including taking quest𓄧ions at lengthy press conferences, sitting for hourlong podcasts, and particip🐽ating in town halls with friendly hosts like Hannity.

Trump al♒so meets regularly with policy advisers who are experts on issues that may come up during the debate. During these informal s꧒essions, they talk about the issues, Trump’s policies while he was in office, and the plans he’s put forth for a second term.

“I have me🦩etings on it. We talk about it. But there’s not a lot you can do. You𒉰 either know your subject or not. You either have good policy or not,” he said in a New Hampshire radio interview.

Before the last debate Trump held sessions with notable Republicans like Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who at the time was under consideration to be Trump’s vice presidential pick. This time he has held sessions with Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman and Democratic presidential candidat✨e who is now backing Trump.

Gabbard, who is also now a member of 🐬Trump’s transition team, was brought in specifically to help Trump this time around because she knows Harris, having debated her when the two were running for the Democraticജ nomination in 2020. She also hosted a recent town hall with Trump in Wisconsin.

Trump, aides insist, intends to put Harris on the defensive. He wants to portray her as too liberal as he tries to tie her to Biden’s economic record and points out her re𒐪versals on issues such as a fracking ban that she no longer supports.

“We look forward for the opportunity f⛦or America🐻ns to see her on stage, incapable of defending her policies and flip-flops,” said Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. “The president’s proven he has a command of the issues, she does not.”

Harris’ team is banking that Trump will come off as extreme and that they can use the debate as a springboard to further build on the momentum that her short campaign has generated. The campaign plans to use the pre-debate weekend to hold 2,000 events with volunteers a꧃nd reach more than one million voters.

“With hundreds of offices and thousands of staff across the battlegrounds, we are able to harness all the buzz around the debate and break through to hard-to-reach voters,” said Dan Kanninen, the campaign’s battleground states d🦂irector, in a statement.