Trump signals he’s ‘concerned’ about debate: Ex-RNC spokesperson

Former Republican National Committee (RNC) spokesperson Tim Miller suggested former President Trump has indicated he is “concerned” about the debate, pointing to his demands for President Biden to take a drug test ahead of time.

“I do think that what we can see publicly is that Donald Trump is concerned about how this debate is being framed up as you lead into the debate,” Miller said Monday on MSNBC. “That is why he’s doing all the weird stuff about Joe Biden being on drugs. It’s worth reminding everybody that he tried this exact same playbook in 2020.”

“But he already tried this ‘Joe Biden is on drugs’ thing. It didn’t’ work then,” he added.

Trump on Monday called on Biden to take a drug test ahead of Thursday’s presidential debate, suggesting he could dismiss any well-received performance by Biden as thanks to performance-enhancing drugs. The former president said he would also take one.

The former president and his allies have frequently attempted to characterize Biden as an old, feeble man who is unfit to serve a second term. They made the drug allegation earlier this year in an attempt to downplay Biden’s State of the Union speech, which was generally well-received.

Miller then pointed to Trump’s claim at a weekend rally that he did not call America’s fallen soldiers “suckers” and “losers” while speaking with his former chief of staff John Kelly while on a trip to France in 2018.

“To me, that also shows he’s worried about the debate,” said Miller. “He’s thinking about what Joe Biden’s attacks might be on him, and he’s trying to take the air out of the balloon ahead of time.”

“So I think there’s a lot of evidence that Trump feels … is concerned about the debate. How that manifests in his weird mind, and whether he’s prepping or not, I’m not sure, but I think we can see plainly that he’s concerned,” Miller added.

The Hill reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.

The Biden campaign pushed back against the baseless drug allegation on Tuesday.

“Donald Trump is so scared of being held accountable for his toxic agenda of attacking reproductive freedom and cutting Social Security that he and his allies are resorting to desperate, obviously false lies,” a Biden spokesperson told The Hill.

Trump and Biden will face off Thursday night in a debate hosted by CNN, marking the first debate between them since the 2020 election. Only the two candidates made the debate requirements, meaning independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other White House hopefuls will not be joining them.

The debate is largely expected to be a pivotal moment. Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, both face scrutiny over their fitness for office, their age and temperament.

Biden and Trump are neck and neck in the national polls, though Trump has a slight 1.6 percentage point lead over Biden, per a national polling index by The Hill/Decision Desk HQ.