ABORTION
Biden will undoubtedly touch on abortion access during the debate. Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in 2022, abortion has proven to be a rich vein of election fervor for Democrats.
- The ruling rallied Democrats and abortion rights activists while leaving Republicans struggling when it comes to messaging around abortion.
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Biden will be arriving to the debate with a small abortion access victory under his belt after the Supreme Court dismissed a case challenging emergency abortions in Idaho despite state-level restrictions.
Like other Republican candidates, Trump has tread carefully on this issue, shying away from committing to a national abortion ban and repeatedly saying the issue should be left to states. He’s expected to be similarly non-committal at the debate.
DRUG PRICING
Biden has made drug pricing and health costs a central part of his reelection platform, highlighting:
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The Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) $35 insulin cap for Medicare patients.
- The ability to let Medicare negotiate drug prices.
When he first ran for president, Trump also promised to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices, but he eventually abandoned the pledge. Trump has been critical of the pharmaceutical industry, but the actual policies he put in place as president were much more minor. He also may say he wants to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act.
MEDICARE/MEDICAID CUTS
Trump landed in hot water earlier this year when he expressed an openness to cutting funding to programs like Medicare, saying in an interview there was “a lot you can do” in terms of cutting entitlements.
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He quickly had to clean up these remarks, clarifying just days later that he would “never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare.” The debate could be an opportunity for Biden and the moderators to zero in on his current thinking on the topic.
- Trump was also a proponent of Medicaid work requirements.
Biden vowed to reject cuts to Medicare and Social Security in his State of the Union address, and has hammered Republicans on the topic.
OBAMACARE
Trump has maybe given up on trying to repeal ObamaCare, or maybe not. But he’s railed against it repeatedly. Biden is likely to emphasize the law’s popularity and success at lowering the uninsured rate.
There’s also a major fight brewing in Congress next year about whether to permanently extend the law’s tax credits to help people afford insurance. It’s a $335 billion question, and we’ll be curious if Trump or Biden addresses policy in this level of detail.
