Prominent supporters of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have started showing up in the media filing center, hoping to shape the narrative well before the debate even commences.
There will be even more showing up after the debate to provide their hot takes, a tradition that lead to the interview becoming known as the “spin room.”
Among those appearing before Biden and Trump take the stage were U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, an Atlanta Democrat, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Congressman Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican who is among the lawmakers reportedly in the running to serve as Trump’s running mate.
Newsom told a crush of reporters that he thinks the 2024 presidential contest starts in earnest tonight-- and that he’s in Atlanta to make the case that Biden should be the clear choice for voters.
“It’s the easiest choice of my life, it’s the difference between light and darkness. Their records are not even comparable,” he said. “The Biden administration has delivered where Trump failed on every major issue.”
Corey Lewandowski, who served as a Trump campaign manager in 2016, told reporters that Trump was unlike Biden and didn’t need intense preparation ahead of the debate.
“But you know, this notion that we have to prepare Donald Trump to stand for 90 minutes, that did not happen,” he said. “Debate prep is about talking about issues and having conversations, and sure those things happen every day and have been for probably the last eight years he’s been running for office.”
This was originally published on our Live Updates page.
