副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯在周一播出的采访中表示，她预计前总统唐纳德·特朗普将在周二的ABC新闻总统辩论中撒谎。
与此同时，特朗普竞选团队和代理人周一继续暗示，这位前总统在辩论中的策略将是把哈里斯与他们所说的她作为拜登-哈里斯政府领导人的政策失败和“灾难”联系起来。
随着时间的推移，直到两人在辩论中相遇，两位候选人都在努力扭转预期，预计这将是两个竞选活动的关键时刻，因为他们希望在预计将是一个关键时刻之前吸引选民11月比赛结束.
在早间节目主持人里奇·斯迈利的电台采访中，哈里斯说:“我们应该做好准备，他不会因为说实话而承受负担。”
“我们应该做好准备，他可能会说很多谎言，”她在周三哈里斯在新罕布什尔州的一次集会上接受采访时说。
“我认为他要撒谎，”她说。
在特朗普竞选团队和共和党全国委员会周一下午举行的新闻发布会上，特朗普竞选团队全国新闻秘书卡罗琳·莱维特表示，哈里斯“最终将被迫捍卫她在犯罪和边境等问题上的记录”。
特朗普竞选高级顾问杰森·米勒声称，哈里斯是白宫的主人，而不是总统乔·拜登，所以其他重大事件，如俄亥俄州的东巴勒斯坦出轨事件或夏威夷的毛伊岛野火，都是她的责任:“这些灾难中的每一个都是卡玛拉·哈里斯的责任。”
后来，在回答关于特朗普将对哈里斯采取的语气的问题时，米勒说，特朗普“将成为他自己。”
虽然哈里斯的策略一直专注于建立自己的存在，并为选民重新定义自己，但她现在计划优先攻击特朗普的记录，并在辩论中激怒他。
哈里斯告诉斯迈利，她“打算指出”特朗普“倾向于为自己而战，而不是为美国人民而战。”
哈里斯竞选团队还指出，这是哈里斯的新领域，因为这是她第一次参加总统辩论，而特朗普将是第七次。这是这对选手第一次交锋。
哈里斯继续躲在匹兹堡在一个灯光充足的舞台上进行模拟辩论，这个舞台是在她的酒店里建立的，以帮助刺激周二的环境。
据消息人士透露，她还依赖许多帮助希拉里·克林顿在2016年做准备的顾问，包括菲利普·雷恩斯，他代替特朗普，像方法演员一样扮演他的角色——戴着假发扮演特朗普。
特朗普竞选团队意识到哈里斯进行了广泛的辩论准备——前民主党众议员塔尔西·加巴德(Tulsi Gabbard)在辩论中为特朗普提供咨询，他在“福克斯和朋友”周一表示，“哈里斯不应被低估”，因为她做了“扎实的”辩论准备。
“她正在认真对待这场辩论，”加巴德说。“她会准备好背下来的台词，准备好背诵并以我认为非常有效的方式表达出来。”
加巴德说，特朗普“不需要”像哈里斯一样做准备，相反，他已经做了非传统的准备，包括通过采访和市政厅向美国人民发表讲话。
加巴德补充说，哈里斯的记录不言自明，特朗普“非常关注这些问题”。他将强调她作为现任副总统领导本届政府的角色。
不过，这位前总统准备的比他透露的要多，消息人士告诉ABC新闻。特朗普正在与一个小型顾问团队举行非正式政策会议，其中包括加巴德和共和党众议员马特·盖兹(Matt Gaetz)。
消息人士称，盖兹一直在围绕一些更具挑战性的问题向特朗普提问，比如他的法律纠纷。
Harris, Trump campaigns spin expectations ahead of ABC News debate
Vice President Kamala Harris said in an interview that aired Monday that she expects former President Donald Trump to lie during the ABC News presidential debate on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign and surrogates continued to insinuate on Monday that the former president's strategy at the debate will be to tie Harris to what they say are her policy failures and "disasters" as a leader of the Biden-Harris administration.
With time ticking down until the two meet for the debate, both candidates are working to spin expectations in what is expected to be a key moment for both campaigns as they look to appeal to voters ahead of what's expected to be aclose contest in November.
In a radio interview with morning show host Rickey Smiley, Harris said "we should be prepared for the fact that he is not burdened by telling the truth."
"And we should be prepared for the fact that he is probably going to speak a lot of untruth," she said in the interview recorded Wednesday while Harris was at a rally in New Hampshire.
"I think he's going to lie," she said.
During a press call held by the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee on Monday afternoon, Trump Campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Harris "will finally be forced to defend her record" on issues such as crime and the border.
Trump Campaign Senior Adviser Jason Miller claimed Harris is the one running the White House -- not President Joe Biden -- and so other major happenings such as the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment or the Maui, Hawaii, wildfires are on her: “every single one of these disasters are on Kamala Harris.”
Later, responding to a question about the tone Trump will take with Harris, Miller said Trump is “going to be himself."
While Harris' strategy has been focused on establishing her presence and redefining herself for voters, she now plans to prioritize attacking Trump's record and getting under his skin during the debate.
Harris told Smiley that she "intend[s] to point out" that Trump "tends to fight for himself, not for the American people."
The Harris campaign has also noted that this is new territory for Harris as it marks her very first presidential debate, compared to what will be Trump's seventh. This is the first time the pair have ever faced off against each other.
Harriscontinues to hunker down in Pittsburgh, engaging in mock debates on a stage with full lighting that has been established in her hotel to help stimulate Tuesday's environment.
She is also relying on many of the advisers who helped prepare Hillary Clinton in 2016, including Philippe Reines who stands in for Trump and approaches his role like a method actor -- playing the part of Trump while wearing a wig, according to a source.
The Trump campaign is aware of Harris' extensive debate preparation -- with former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who is advising Trump on the debate, saying on "Fox and Friends on Monday that "Harris should not be underestimated" given her "solid" debate prep.
"She's taking this debate seriously," Gabbard said. "She will come prepared with memorized lines, ready to recite and deliver them in what I think, a very effective way."
Gabbard said Trump "doesn't need to" prepare like Harris, and he has instead engaged in nontraditional prep that includes speaking to the American people through interviews and town halls.
Gabbard added that Harris' record speaks for itself and that Trump is "very much focused on the issues." He will emphasize her role as the incumbent vice president leading the current administration.
Still, the former president is preparing more than he's letting on,sources told ABC News. Trump is holding informal policy sessions with a small team of advisers, including Gabbard and Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz.
Gaetz has been firing questions at Trump around some of the more challenging issues, such as his legal troubles, according to the sources.
