There will be many candidates looking for a breakout moment in Thursday night's Democratic presidential debate, but former Vice President Joe Biden won't be one of them, according to Symone Sanders, senior adviser to the Biden presidential campaign.
"There's no question that a number of folks will be looking for a breakout moment tonight," Sanders told CNN's "New Day." "The voters know who Joe Biden is. He served honestly and was shoulder-to-shoulder with President (Barack) Obama. I think tonight his strategy and goal will be to let the American people know exactly where he stands on the economy, on healthcare. I know we're to get into immigration. Why he's in this race."
Sanders, before joining the Biden campaign, worked for another candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, but she wouldn't speculate how the Vermont lawmaker is preparing.
She also said Biden isn't focused on any other candidate, but instead is looking at speaking directly to the public.
Sanders said she wouldn't give away Biden's debate prep strategy, as there are 11 more debates, but he is focused on his record and "really getting down, because, there's only a minute. Each candidate only gets a minute."
"He doesn't need to take shots," she said. "That's not the kind of campaign we're running. A lot of people might take shots at him tonight. Sen. Sanders may be one of them. But what he will focus on is being laser-focused talking to the American people. Letting them know where he stands."
There were some reports that Biden had been studying other candidates' debate styles, said Sanders, but she denied that.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.