Trump, Biden head into first debate with presidency on the line

The president is sure to go heavy on previous claims that Biden鈥檚 son was involved in corruption in Ukraine. (File/AFP)
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  • What the 90-minute clash will have is a chance for Americans finally to see Trump, 74, and Biden, 77, go head to head

CLEVELAND: There鈥檒l be no handshake, but venom to spare when President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden meet in Cleveland on Tuesday for the first of three televised debates that could shake up an already volatile race for the White House.
Covid-19 restrictions will give the debate moderated by Fox News star Chris Wallace a streamlined look with a smaller audience. Naturally, there won鈥檛 be the once standard 鈥� even if occasionally forced 鈥� show of goodwill in shaking hands as the rivals go on stage.
What the 90-minute clash will have is a chance for Americans finally to see Trump, 74, and Biden, 77, go head to head.
With Trump claiming Biden is virtually brain dead 鈥� 鈥淏iden doesn鈥檛 know he鈥檚 alive鈥� 鈥� and Biden branding the president 鈥渁 toxic presence,鈥� it won鈥檛 be for the faint hearted.
Significantly behind in the polls, Trump is in fighting mode, embarking on an endurance-testing schedule of rallies in key battlegrounds several times a week.
Biden, though, comes hoping to press his advantage.
And he arrives aided by The New York Times鈥� publication of a report purporting to reveal the contents of Trump鈥檚 deeply secret tax returns 鈥� finding that the self-proclaimed billionaire and champion of the working class avoids paying almost all federal income taxes.
Trump, who fancies his skills as a verbal pugilist, is expected to hit hard and low.
For months he has painted Biden as senile. As the debate approached he increasingly focused on his claim that Biden takes performance enhancing drugs.
Biden has laughed off the suggestion, but Trump, a past master at getting slurs to stick to his opponents, is doubling down.
鈥淛oe Biden just announced that he will not agree to a Drug Test. Gee, I wonder why?鈥� Trump tweeted Monday.
Biden鈥檚 deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield responded in kind, saying that if Trump wants the debate to be conducted through 鈥渦rine鈥� samples, 鈥渉e can.鈥�
Trump, arguably, has little to lose. His hardcore support is already baked in and Americans are by now almost incapable of feeling shocked by his convention-wrecking style.
He also goes to Cleveland with what he hopes will be his own silver bullet 鈥� the nomination of conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.
If Barrett is quickly confirmed, as the Republican-led Senate expects, Trump will have managed to tilt the highest court firmly to the right for years to come.
Democrats are crying foul over the rushed timing on the eve of an election, but Trump expects the power play to energize many conservatives.
The president is sure to go heavy on previous claims that Biden鈥檚 son was involved in corruption in Ukraine. Last year Trump was impeached for using the power of his office to try and pressure the Ukrainian government into publicly backing that theory.
Biden, as frontrunner, wants to stay steady, but he has a reputation for losing his cool when challenged in public.
鈥淚 hope I don鈥檛 get baited into a brawl with this guy, because that鈥檚 the only place he鈥檚 comfortable,鈥� he said.
Biden will instead aim to keep his sights trained on the coronavirus pandemic, which polls show about two thirds of Americans say Trump handled badly.
He will also shoot back at the filling of the Supreme Court seat, saying that Trump鈥檚 plan is for the court to restrict abortion and reverse the Obamacare health program 鈥� two areas that could worry swing voters.
But the most fiery moments may come when Biden himself gets personal, painting Trump as a spoiled playboy who only poses as a friend of the white working class that helped him get elected in 2016.
Biden, who spent his early childhood in the rough-edged town of Scranton, Pennsylvania, is increasingly mocking Trump鈥檚 glitzy New York roots, calling it a 鈥淪cranton vs Park Avenue鈥� election.
Trump points out that Biden only lived in Scranton as a young boy and spent most of his life in Congress. But the Times report on the president鈥檚 ability to avoid almost all federal income taxes will give Biden a trove of new ammunition.