Moore: Trump has to be on ‘best behavior’ for final presidential debate

Stephen Moore, an economist and adviser to President Trump, said Sunday that the president needed to be “on his best behavior” going into the final presidential debate Thursday against former Vice President Joe Biden.

During a radio interview with John Catsimatidis on WABC 770, Moore said that small business morale was high despite the economic fallout from the pandemic, adding that “the economy is hot right now.” 

“It’s amazing that anybody’s thinking of changing horses right now when the economy is on this stunning recovery,” he said, referring to voters who may be inclined to vote for Biden. 

The economist said that most people agree with Trump on policy, but they don’t like his behavior, and he needs to change that. 

“A new Gallup poll shows that most Americans agree with what Donald Trump has done with his policy positions over Biden. They just don’t like his behavior,” Moore said.

“That’s why…the final debate between Trump and Biden is so important. Trump has to be on his best behavior and lay out to the American people the amazing things he’s done for American workers and businesses.”

The remark comes after the first debate between Trump and Biden in Cleveland, Ohio, last month which devolved into a raucous and chaotic affair characterized by repeated interruptions and cutting personal attacks.

While Biden appeared to give a halting performance at times, the main takeaway from the first head-to-head was the president’s brashness, with some Republicans saying Trump missed an opportunity to change course after polls showed Trump trailing the former vice president both national and in most battleground states.

The president also raised eyebrows when he declined to explicitly disavow the white nationalist group the Proud Boys. 

“Biden, especially in the first half of the debate, looked weak and it seemed that all the things Democrats worried about might come true,” Amy Koch, a Republican and the former majority leader in the Minnesota state Senate, told The Hill after the debate.

“But then Trump just overwhelmed and it was too much. It was over the top and rude and it felt desperate and bullying. He blew it.” 

John Catsimatidis is an investor in The Hill.