Donald Trump preparing for debate with help from Matt Gaetz, Tulsi Gabbard: Sources
Former President Donald Trump's advisers may have publicly insisted he doesn't need any debate prep, but the former president is preparing more than he's letting on, sources tell ABC News.Trump is holding informal policy sessions with a small team of advisers, including GOP Rep.Matt Gaetz and former Democratic Rep.
Tulsi Gabbard, who once challenged Vice President Kamala Harris on the debate stage in 2019, the sources said.Gaetz has been firing questions at Trump around some of the more challenging issues, such as his legal troubles, including his federal indictments on election interference and retaining classified documents, criminal conviction in the New York hush-money case and stance on abortion, according to the sources.Two people familiar with Trump's preparation also told ABC News that Trump has been briefed on Harris' past debates, including the headline-making moment when she hit back at former Vice President Mike Pence with the words, "Mr.Vice President, I’m speaking." That exchange went viral then, and Trump has privately told his allies he won't let that happen to him.Republican presidential nominee, former U.S.
President Donald Trump, participates in a Fox News Town Hall with Sean Hannity at the New Holland Arena on September 4, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesMORE: Cheney endorsement tests just how many Republican votes Harris can getSources told ABC News that Trump's recent press address on Friday has left some on the GOP side with pre-debate concerns.While Trump has continued with his campaign schedule, his movements on Friday puzzled some Republicans.
Trump, following his appeal of the $5 million a federal jury awarded writer E.Jean Carroll after finding him liable for sexually assaulting and defaming her, came before the cameras rattling off -- in often vivid detail -- the accusations of sexual misconduct from multiple women over the years.
All of which he has denied.Meanwhile,...