Former President Donald Trump called President Joe Biden's bluff on holding debates, and he should emphasize that the American people are "under siege" with Biden in the White House, former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who ran against Trump in the 2016 primaries, told Newsmax on Saturday.
"I think it's a great message for Donald Trump to say not only anywhere, anytime, but what he basically should be saying is, I'll go anywhere to defend you, to look out for you," said Walker on Newsmax's "Saturday Agenda," adding that the message should be that the American people are "under siege" as long as Biden remains in office.
"I'll take this debate anywhere because Donald Trump knows that he's got a winning message, and Joe Biden's failed," said Walker.
Trump must also remember his audience in the first debate, being moderated by CNN, Walker said.
"Remember the town hall that President Trump did earlier this year," he said. "I think he dominated that even though the odds were stacked against him. He's got to remember his audience … I think in the end Donald Trump realizes his audience is at home. They're watching in states like mine in Wisconsin. They're watching in Arizona, watching in Georgia."
Four years ago, when Biden and Trump debated, Trump talked over Biden because he "wasn't making any sense," said Walker.
"Now they're going to have this format where they're going to go back and forth [and] they can ask all their crazy questions," but Trump should bring the topic back to the American people and what they care about, he said.
And when Biden talks, "just let him talk," said Walker. "I'm ok with the fact that only Joe Biden's microphone will be on because the more the people watch Joe Biden, the less they want to vote for him."
Walker said he also hopes that notes are not allowed on the debate stage, as that will give Trump an advantage.
"Joe Biden has a hard time even when he has a slip of paper telling him who the reporters are and what questions they're going to ask," he said. "In the end, the American people deserve to see the contrast. Donald Trump is on his game. He knows what he is talking about. If it's a referendum on high prices, the border, and public safety he's going to win."
Meanwhile, Trump must focus on big issues like the economy and the border rather than on personality issues, Walker said.
"[With] high prices, whether you're young or old or somewhere in between, these are a big deal in Wisconsin and these other battleground states," said Walker. "Increasingly, the border is an issue."
But if Trump makes the race "about personalities and not about issues tragically, that's part of the reason why, [he] lost in 2020," he added.
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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.
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