Coaching Joe Biden debate against Donald Trump

Rather than playing Monday morning quarterback after the first presidential debate, I have written this post to show how I would coach Joe Biden's debate against Donald Trump. After the debate, I can then easily show what I recommended and what he actually did during the debate.

I think this is a good exercise since I use this when I coach candidates who are going for high-stakes job interviews, sales calls or speeches.  It is something I recommend you do if you want to handle a high stakes situation with both confidence and competence. 

We are close to the first presidential debate, and in this post, I will focus on how Joe Biden should debate against Donald Trump. Note this is not really a debate but an opportunity to get your points across. So I have prepared talking points that Biden must get across while being persuasive, hard-hitting, and entertaining. If he does that, Biden will win. It is not likely to move many voters but you want to get the voters motivated to turn out on election day. If Biden has a good performance, he will get the turnout he needs to win the presidency. At least that is what I think but that is what I thought in 2016. It did not turn out that way since Trump eked out an electoral college win.

Winning this type of debate will not change a single vote. But it will assure those who support Biden that he can get the job done. That is his main objective in this debate. 

Note, I will not post one on Trump debate talking points since I don't think he is coachable and will do what suits him as he has always done:  lie.  You don't need any talking points with that bulletproof strategy.

One thing Joe Biden has to be careful is not to respond to Trump's lies.  If he does that he WILL lose and be thrown off his game.  All Biden has to do is say calmly with a smile when Trump lies about him, "I am not going to dignify his lies" and then hammer Trump on why he is so unfit to remain as president. Biden just has to wear Trump down which is a strong possibility since Trump will not have his audience there.  Trump struggles mightily  when he is not talking to his audience. Biden just have to stay focused and let Trump expend all the energy and frustrate him with attack that hurts his myth of being a strong, competent and ethical leader.

Below are the key talking points to get across if I were coaching Joe Biden.

Opening
I want to make one thing clear right upfront. I agree with Bernie Sanders when he says that "Donald Trump is a pathological liar." Folks, it gives me no joy to say this about the president of the United States. He has demeaned the office so much that it may never recover after he peacefully leaves on January 20, 2021. So one thing I want the viewers to note is that only I have come here to debate. Donald Trump has come here to lie, insult, bully like he always does. When you look at how awful his record has been for the last four years, he has no choice but to lie about his record and everything else.  You already know all this but I have to make sure since the moderator is not going to be doing any fact checking. So pay close attention. He is not here to debate but to put on a show so you talk about him and not talk about issues that matter to you such as Covid, health care, jobs, justice and climate change. 

America First
Donald Trump promised America FIrst when he ran in 2016. And boy have they delivered. They exceeded all expectations.
We are first in most COVID cases.
We are first in most COVID deaths.
We are first in most people unemployed.
We are first in most money spent during COVID.
We are first in being the biggest laughing stock in the world.
Donald Trump and Republicans are very proud of this accomplishments.
They along with their right wing SCOTUS judges promise to deliver more firsts till your head keep spinning.

Five Words
Donald Trump recently demonstrated what a stable genius he is because he could cite five words like "dog, baby, diaper, bottle, candy.". Perhaps he can demonstrate it here, again.  

But the five words Donald Trump and the Republican party can't say even once because they don't believe in are these: Constitution, Democracy, Justice, Facts, Decency. 

Repeating "dog, baby, diaper, bottle, candy" a few times makes Donald Trump feel smart. Repeating "Constitution, Democracy, Justice, Facts, Decency" makes you feel safer that the president and his party will stand by their oath of office. 

Hoax
Folks, my opponent has been telling you about hoaxes since he wanted to become president.
First, it was Barack Obama's birth certificate.
Then it was the Mueller Report.
Then it was the Impeachment.
Then it was COVID.
Now it's the upcoming election.
The only thing that is a definite hoax is Donald Trump and the Republican party.

Cognitively Decline
Donald Trump goes around saying I have cognitively declined.
Folks, At least I know I am not the president.
Donald Trump, after close to four years, still does not know that he is the president.

"Sleepy Joe"
He has been going around calling me "Sleepy Joe." Folks, the only person who has been asleep on the job, is Donald Trump with more than 200K COVID deaths, an economy in depression, and environmental destruction because of climate change.

Lying
Donald Trump lies to the American people all the time. People have gotten tired of counting them. I will give him this; he is our national champion of lying.  
But he is no match when he goes up against international players like Putin, Un, Xi, and MBS. They are grandmasters of lying. 

THEY. CLEAN. HIS. CLOCK. EVERY. TIME.  

Putin -- lied to him about Russia's involvement in our election. He bought it hook line and sinker.
Kim Jong Un -- lied to him about denuclearization. He bought it again. Un still has all his nukes and more.
Xi -- lied to him about COVID-19. Trump bought his lies and even repeated it to Americans what a great job Xi is doing. Again he bought lies from a despot that has killed over 200,000 Americans.
MBS -- lied to him that he didn't kill Khashoggi. Trump bought his lie, thus endangering journalists everywhere.

Trump may win with lies over his base and scared Republican Congressmen and Senators, but he is always the biggest loser when he goes up against grandmasters of lies like Putin, Un, Xi. MBS, and many others.

Economy
Our economy is in bad shape, and it is all Donald Trump's fault.
Donald Trump has a successful track record of declaring bankruptcy,
His daddy gave him close to half a billion dollars, and he lost it all. 
Gone. 
Think about that.
He has had to declare bankruptcy something like five times, meaning I win, and everyone who invests in me loses.
When he became president, he inherited an excellent economy from President Obama and now look at where we are: unemployment greater than the Great Recession, a declining GDP, markets in turmoil, rising debt and deficits, loss of confidence.
We are not just dying from his incompetent response to COVID response. The American economy is dying from that too, and worst of all, people have lost hope about their future.
Kamala Harris and I will turn things around like the way Barack and I did when we took over in 2009.

Race
Donald Trump was a racist before he became president, but he has succeeded in Making America Racist Again.
He was racist when before he became president.
His racism helped him take over the Republican party with the birther lie about Barack Obama.
After he became president, he said there were good Nazis marching in Charlottesville.
He calls African countries as "s-hole" countries. 
He hates anyone who is non-white. 
He won't condemn a white teenager who killed two people who were protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake.
Donald Trump promised he was going to Make America Great Again. All he has done is Make America Hate Again. The only way to stop this is from voting Trump and the Republicans out of the office on November 3rd.
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Health Care
Republicans have no ZERO interest in coming up with a healthcare plan. ZERO.
But worse, they want to get rid of the plan that was passed by Congress. Millions of people depend on this for their wellbeing.

Without ACA, everyone suffers.
The cost goes up for everyone.
Health care gets worse for everyone.
Seniors will suffer the most since they will have to wait and wait since emergency rooms will be packed with the uninsured when they have an emergency.
Hospitals will be stressed and will be forced to close down.
We took a Republican plan that Mitt Romney passed in MA. But not a single Republican supported it when it came for a vote, but have worked relentlessly to repeal it.
Why?
They simply don't care about people because ACA benefits all Americans. They only care for their rich base who don't need ACA for their healthcare.
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Leadership
America no longer is viewed as a leader in anything
Just look at our Covid-19 response. If America had like it has always led, US and the world would be doing so much better.  Now we can't lead since we can't even take care of Americans.
Donald Trump had thee choices when he spoke to Xi on February 6, 2020: Lead, Follow or Lie.
He lied repeatedly and still keeps on lying about Covid-19.
But numbers don't lie; misery don't lie; hopelessness don't lie.
We are dying not because of Covid-19 virus but because of MAGA virus that Trump spread and keeps on spreading.

Taxes
We have an unfair tax system where rich and corporations pay little to nothing and middle class people are viewed as losers and suckers who have to support our government.  That is totally unfair. That is another thing we have lost in America with Trump and his billionaire cronies: Fairness. 
We can't have Donald Trump who says is worth over $10 Billion paying zero taxes.  Is that fair?
Is that what you want? Another huge tax cuts for his Mar-A-Lago mafia and you end up losing ACA, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans care, social security, education, etc. Trump and the Republicans believe that only the little guy who works hard pays taxes and rich guys like Trump can use all kinds of scams from paying little to no taxes. 
The only way we will have a fair tax laws that works for everyone is to get rid of Trump and the Republicans. Kamala Harris and I will restore fairness that has been the bedrock of American values since the beginning. 
A $10 billion dollar con man paying zero taxes is not fair wherever you live, especially Scranton, PA where I come from.

Killer Line
Donald, you can go to my website (joebiden.com) and see all my tax returns and see what a sucker I have been for paying so much taxes.
If you want us to believe you that you too are a big sucker like me and paid a lot of taxes, then Be the man and release all your tax returns before midnight.

We the Losers and Suckers
Look folks, when you are worth tens of billions of dollars and pay zero in taxes you can afford a $70,000 haircut. That reminds me of the time when I grew up in Scranton, PA. After my parents paid taxes and if they had any money left, they would give it to me to get a hair cut and made sure I tipped the barber.  They wanted me to look good so maybe a girl would go out on a date with me.  Folks do you know who paid for Donald Trump's $70,000 haircut? Losers and suckers like you and me. We paid $70,000 when he was not president. You know how much Donald Trump likes to scam little people. E, losers and suckers, will be paying million dollars for his haircut. 

Get to the Truth
I promise you if you elect me, I will release all of Trump's tax returns and see what fraud he has committed. And if he has committed fraud, then he is going to jail.  Donald, be the man and release all your tax returns tonight.  Be brave and release your tax returns. You can do this  even with bone spurs. 

Law and Order
The person who is the number one law breaker is Donald Trump.  If you are white, male rich and president you can get away with murder as he once said. And he has gotten away with a lot. According to his personal lawyer, he may have committed tax fraud. That's why he won't release his tax returns.   He has obstructed justice and he was impeached.  But unlike Trump, we don't have William Barr and the Republican Congress to protect him.  So law and order starts with the president and you can't have law and order if he is the number one law breaker and spreads chaos.

Knock the Bully Out on November 3rd
Donald Trump has always been a bully. He knows how to bully people that are weak, scared and powerless. Just look how scared the Republican Congressman and Senators are of Donald trump. They would rather crap in their pants than to confront this Bully-in-Chief. 
Folks, you have the power to knock this bully out on November 3rd and he will never be heard from again and free the Republican party will once again become the party of Abraham Lincoln. 

Closing
I mentioned when I ran that this election is about capturing the soul of America.
What kind of America are we going to have?
A country that is based on Constitution, Democracy, Justice, Facts and Decency or country where Trump and the Republicans can do whatever they want.
Constitution can be trampled at will
Democracy is denying people to vote
Justice is only for rich and powerful
Facts are lies and 
Decency is weakness. 
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Here is what I will focus on if I am elected:
First, we need to get Covid-19 crisis under control.. This administration will go down as the most incompetent in the history for its response. When you have over more than 200,000 deaths, the Trump has failed miserably.
Second, we need to get Obama Care strengthened and I will do that. Trump and the Republicans will take it away from millions and that means it will raise cost for everyone for worse.
Third, we have to rebuild a better America that is fair for everyone, not people like Trump and his rich friends who think that winners are scammers and  tax payers and people who serve in the military are losers and suckers.

Trump did not make America Great. He told us that America can only be Great if losers and suckers like you pay your fair taxes and people like my son Beau serve in the military so scammers like him and his rich friends can walk away with millions and billions.  
That is Trumpmerica in a nutshell.
We work they play. 
Trump and the Republicans have turned America from being a Great nation to a failed state.
The election comes down to a simple choice: What kind of America do you want?
Trumpmerica or America.  
You decide. 

If Joe Biden comes prepared and do some of the things I suggest in this post, he will make his points clearly, emphatically and entreatingly and show he is ready to lead and turn things around from day one. 

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Jay Oza is an author, speaker, executive coach.  He makes people thrive on high stakes stage whether it's for a job interview, a sales presentation or a high-stakes speech. He is the author of a practical  book Winning Speech Moments: How to Achieve Your Objective with Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere. You can get this book on Amazon for 99 cents for a limited time. Please download the free speech checklist that you can use to help you create a winning speech for any situation.

Please contact him if you would like to discuss how we can work together even if you are budget constrained due to the current economic situation. If you are interested in inviting him to give a Zoom talk on job Interviewing or high-stakes speaking. You can reach him at [email protected].

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