前总统唐纳德·特朗普在两人对决前一周，他提高了对总统乔·拜登的辩论期望，此前几个月，他一直将拜登描述为一个软弱、精神不健康的领导人。
“我认为他会成为一个有价值的辩手。...我不想低估他，”特朗普在“All In”播客的一集中说，该播客由硅谷企业家Chamath Palihapitiya，Jason Calacanis，David Sacks和David Friedberg主持，于周四发布。
特朗普提到拜登在副总统辩论中与前众议院议长·保罗·瑞安的表现，特朗普在2012年总统竞选中曾作为参议员米特·罗姆尼的副总统人选，特朗普罕见地称赞了拜登。
“我只能说，我看到他和保罗·瑞安在一起，他摧毁了保罗·瑞安。保罗·瑞安拿着水，他左突右突地喝水……他打败了保罗·瑞安。所以，我没有低估他。我没有低估他。事情就是这样。”
特朗普的评论偏离了他以前的言论，因为他的竞选顾问警告说，拜登可能会在周四表现过度，因为对他的期望很低，尽管特朗普本人也为这些对话做出了贡献。
“歪乔·拜登是我见过的最差的辩手——他连两句话都放不到一起!”特朗普在他的社交媒体平台上发布了他接受拜登辩论提议的消息。
“我强烈建议举行两场以上的辩论，出于兴奋的目的，一个非常大的场地，尽管拜登可能害怕人群——那只是因为他不喜欢人群。”
在特朗普和拜登同意对峙两次后，特朗普要求拜登在辩论前接受药物测试，声称如果他表现良好，那将是因为某种表现的提高。
“顺便说一句，我要求进行药物测试。我是。不，我真的是，”特朗普上个月在密歇根州的一次竞选活动上说。
“我不希望他像国情咨文一样上台。他嗑药了。他们说，“在那个漂亮的房间里的是乔吗?”晚上结束时，他会问，在哪?他累坏了，对吗?”特朗普继续说道，毫无根据地声称拜登在发表国情咨文时吸毒。
特朗普此前还提出，如果拜登在辩论中表现不佳，他将被取代为民主党提名人，他开玩笑说，他将“故意输掉辩论”，以确保拜登继续竞选。
“也许我输掉这场辩论更好，我会确保他留下来。我会故意输掉辩论，也许我会做类似的事情，”特朗普在拜访国会共和党人的当天接受“真实美国之声”采访时说。
然而，现在随着辩论的临近，特朗普开始让他的支持者对拜登可能超出预期的潜在方式产生怀疑，抱怨下周四第一场辩论的后勤工作和潜在的媒体报道。
在威斯康星州拉辛的最近一次集会上，特朗普批评了辩论主持人达纳·巴什(Dana Bash)和杰克·塔珀(Jake Tapper)，认为他们不会对他公平，并把他们主持辩论的有线电视新闻网(CNN)称为“假新闻”。
“我可能会和三个人谈判，不过没关系。我以前也这样做过，我会和三个人辩论，而不是一个人的一半，”特朗普先前说，继续攻击拜登的精神健康。
他还声称，拜登衡量成功的标准不是基于表现，而是仅仅基于完成程度。
“如果他站着，他们会说这是一场精彩的表演，”特朗普上个月在达拉斯对全国步枪协会大会的人群说。
周四之前，两位候选人都采取了不同的准备方式。当拜登蹲在戴维营，参加模拟辩论，并与顾问们一起完善他的信息时，特朗普一直在与他的副总统候选人和前政府官员举行政策会议。
第二场辩论由美国广播公司主持，将于9月10日播出。
Trump expects Biden to be a 'worthy debater' after spending months attacking his mental fitness
Former PresidentDonald Trumpis raising his debate expectations for President Joe Biden a week ahead of the two men facing off, and after spending months describing him as a weak, mentally unfit leader.
"I assume he's gonna be somebody that will be a worthy debater. ... I don't want to underestimate him," Trump said during an episode of the "All In" podcast, hosted by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks and David Friedberg, and released on Thursday.
Pointing to Biden's vice-presidential debate performance against former House Speaker Paul Ryan, who ran as the VP choice of Sen. Mitt Romney in his 2012 presidential campaign, Trump, in a rare moment, praised Biden.
"All I can say is this, I watched him with Paul Ryan, and he destroyed Paul Ryan. Paul Ryan with the water, he was chugging water left and right … and he beat Paul Ryan. So, I'm not underestimating him. I'm not underestimating him. It is what it is."
Trump’s comments are a departure from his previous rhetoric and come as his campaign advisers have warned that Biden may overperform on Thursday because expectations have been set low for him, though Trump himself has contributed to those conversations.
"Crooked Joe Biden is the WORST debater I have ever faced - He can't put two sentences together!" Trump posted on his social media platform when he accepted Biden's debate proposal.
"I would strongly recommend more than two debates and, for excitement purposes, a very large venue, although Biden is supposedly afraid of crowds - That's only because he doesn't get them."
After Trump and Biden agreed to face off twice, Trump called for Biden to be drug tested ahead of the debates, claiming that if he performed well, it would be because of some kind of performance enhancement.
"I'm gonna demand a drug test, by the way. I am. No, I really am," Trump said at a campaign event in Michigan last month.
"I don't want him coming in like the State of the Union. He was high as a kite. They said 'Is that Joe up there in that beautiful room?' And by the end of the evening, he's like, where? He was exhausted, right?" Trump continued, making unfounded claims that Biden was on drugs during his State of the Union address.
Trump also previously floated the idea that Biden would be replaced as the Democratic nominee if he performed poorly at the debate, quipping that he would "lose the debate on purpose," to ensure Biden stays in the race.
"Maybe I'm better off losing the debate, I'll make sure he stays. I'll lose the debate on purpose, maybe I'll do something like that," Trump said during an interview with Real America's Voices the day he visited with Congressional Republicans.
However, now as the debate inches closer, Trump has started to plant seeds of doubt with his supporters about potential ways Biden could exceed expectations, complaining about the logistics of next Thursday's first debate and potential media coverage.
At his most recent rally in Racine, Wisconsin, Trump criticized debate moderators Dana Bash and Jake Tapper, arguing they won't be fair to him, and labeled their network, CNN, which is hosting the debate, as "fake news."
"I'll probably be negotiating with three people, but that's OK. I've done that before where I'll be debating three people instead of one-half of a person," Trump previously said, continuing to attack Biden's mental fitness.
He has also claimed that Biden's metric of success won't be based on performance but on mere completion.
"If he's standing, they'll say it was a brilliant performance," Trump told an NRA Convention crowd last month in Dallas.
Ahead of Thursday, both candidates have taken different approaches to preparation. While Biden is hunkering down at Camp David, participating in mock debates and refining his message with advisers, Trump has been holding policy meetings with his vice presidential candidates and former administration officials.
The second debate, hosted by ABC, airs Sept. 10.
