a source tells nbc news biden's personal lawyer bob bauer is playing trump during the debate sessions, reprising his role from 2020. >> to be honest it's hard to say some of the things he says, some of which are very fact free. >> reporter: it's a stark contrast from former president donald trump who is holding informal policy discussions with advisers. no mock debates, while still holding public debates. the former president is fund-raising in louisiana after campaigning in pennsylvania over the weekend, mocking his opponent for not leaving camp david. >> he's sleeping now. they want to get him good and strong. >> reporter: trump teasing he's chosen his running mate and said the person will likely attend the debate in atlanta. >> do you know who your vice president is? >> in my mind, yes. nobody knows. >> reporter: among the top debate topics, the economy, immigration and reproductive rights. >> what both candidates need to do is talk about what they're going to do for the american people, how they're going to show up as leaders. >> gabe, biden aides are telling you they're preparing

at camp david for days of private prep, led by former chief of staff ron klain, personal attorney bob bauer slated to play trump in mock debates. with biden's campaign focusing on framing trump as a threat to democracy and abortion rights. speaker how is the debate prep going? >> reporter: trump sources say he is getting briefed on various policy topics by several senators and is preparing to counter president biden on inflation and immigration. the former president has for months challenged biden to take a cognitive test, but suggested on thursday biden was a skilled debater. >> i assume he's going to be somebody that will be a worthy debater. yeah, i would say so. >> okay. >> i don't want to underestimate him. >> reporter: in the fundraising, trump outraised biden in may after trailing the president for months. the former president's efforts got a $50 million donation from billionaire timothy mellon, one of the largest single contributions ever. sources close to former president trump tell me they know the money rates will only wrap up this summer, and his team is considering that as he m

bob bauer, the president's personal lawyer, standing in for donald trump. the intense sessions a stark contrast to trump, who has been holding campaign events, policy meetings with adviser, and doing media interviews. >> and people say how are you preparing? i'm preparing by taking questions from you and others, if you think about it. >> reporter: but trump has also been reflecting on his past performances on the debate stage against biden, especially that first one. >> i'm not going to answer the question, because. >> why won't you answer that question? >> because the question is -- >> you want to put a lot of new supreme court justices -- >> -- radical left -- >> will you shut up, man. >> reporter: trump now telling "the washington examiner" he was very aggressive in that debate, but suggesting he learned a lesson, saying the second time around "was different, and i got great marks." and thursday of course, there will be another difference. the candidates will only have their mics turned on when it's their turn to speak. there also won't be a studio audie

you have got bob bauer filling in the role of donald trump in the debate prep.aving bob bauer on andrea mitchell talking about playing that role. let's take a listen. >> you try to give the candidate that you are working with a real feel for what it's like to be debating that particular opponent. and so you have to look at how someone like donald trump or whoever that might be actually performs. sort of -- what are they willing to say? to be honest, it's hard to say some of the things that he says. some of which are, you know, very fact free. and it's hard sometimes the take on that tone just because it's not natural tone for me but then you are playing a role and trying to make the experience as realistic for the person you are working with as possible. >> is that realism with respect to trump that i think going to be at play. the environment is going to be very different from 2020. trump is a different character in his particular presidential drama. how -- how do you guys expect to go at this or how have you been going at that aspect of the prep, bob playing t

bob bauer, welcome to the saturday show. >> thank you very much.d to be here. >> before we get into your book i want you to put on your old hat is a former white house counsel under president obama. as we speak right now, we are all waiting for the supreme court to hand down a decision about-- on former president trump's claim of immunity. they can give him partial immunity. they could give him full immunity. they could say no, you don't have immunity. my overarching question for you as a former white house counsel, the impact of this ruling on the presidency, especially if it's partial immunity or full immunity? >> you are asking the right question. the immediate impact, people are wondering that given this case, given potential outcomes of this case, if those cases will go to trial this year. but the question you're asking, the long term, is a question of paramount importance for future presidencies. so there's no doubt about it. there's a long history of wrestling with that issue beginning with the office of legal counsel opinions, in 1973, and

bob bauer played donald trump in joe biden's 2020 mock debate sessions and nbc news just learned he isis time around at camp david. he is president biden's personal attorney, former white house counsel to president obama and law professor at nyu. we discussed the upcoming debate, the living -- looming supreme court decision on the immunity claim and his new book, the unraveling, reflections on politics without ethics and democracy in crisis. bob bauer, welcome to the saturday show. >> thanks very much, i'm pleased to be here. >> before we get into your book, i want you to put your old hat on as former white house counsel under president obama, as we speak right now, we are waiting for the supreme court to render, hand down a decision on former president donald trump's claim of immunity, they could give him partial immunity, they could give him full immunity, they could say, no, you don't have immunity. my overarching question to you as former white house counsel, the impact of this ruling on the presidency, especially if it is a partial immunity or full immunity? >> you're asking the r

sources are telling us at cnn that president biden is likely to pick his personal lawyer bob bauer to play trump in these mock sessions that he's going to be going through preparing for the debate. what does that tell you? >> well, listen biden obviously has a team of people around him who were very familiar to him, who have prepped him for debates prior, people like ron klain, people like bob bauer and that's a team of people he trusts. that's a team of people who really i think have served him well in the past. if you look at those past debates, he pretty much worn than the last and bates against donald trump. and it really i think sealed the momentum he had in that 2020 rates. they're looking for that momentum again here they expect donald trump to be donald trump for all this talk about all the sort of prep and policy briefings he supposedly in donald trump will likely show up as donald trump, which is somewhat on who tends to be meandering in terms of his speech disjointed in terms of his speech. very disjointed overall in terms of what his arguments in living in the past, right.

. >> and we of course know that the president's lawyer, bob bauer, did play the role of donald trump last time around, i were still waiting on word on exactly who is going going to be playing that role again, it could once again be bob bauer, but the broader strategy here for the biden team is looking for every opportunity to draw a contrast with donald trump on every issue like reproductive rights, which is something of course the white house and campaign talk about a lot draw that contrast and also trying to paint donald trump is having been politically divisive threat to democracy. and we know that the campaign is hoping that at the end of the night, the audience will have been donald trump, as chaotic and divisive and seeing president, president biden as sort of the alternative steadier version of that. now, we know that one campaign official has said, you know, president biden has been punchier recently in his remarks going after donald trump. and they are hoping that that is the version of president biden that is going to be appearing on the debate stage next week all right? >>

playing the part of michael trump is storm white house counsel bob bauer. the president looking to focus on abortion rights and what his campaign says is trump's record of undermining democracy. trump saying his yet to be named running mate will be at the debate and that he's made his choice but hasn't told anyone who it will be. >> have you decided on a vice president? >> in my mind, yeah. >> reporter: sources tell nbc news the focus has been on three top contenders. florida senator marco rubio ran against trump in 2016. >> what we are dealing with here, my friends, is a con artist. he is a con artist. >> reporter: ohio senator j.d. vance adamantly opposed trump. >> i'm a never trump guy, i never liked him. >> reporter: north dakota governor doug burgum. >> would you do business with donald trump? >> i don't think so. >> why? >> i think it's important you're judged by the company you keep. >> you wouldn't do business with him? >> no, i wouldn't. >> reporter: sources say the campaign wants a candidate who could be the future of the republican party. >> that

it's very hard. >> yeah, you mentioned bob bauer. let's play a cliff.ea mitchell, about debate prep. take it away. >> to be honest, it's hard to say some of the things he says. some of which are very fact free. and it is hard sometimes to take on that tone, just because it is not an actual tone for me. but you are playing a role. you are trying to make the experience as realistic for the person you are working with as possible. >> you mentioned something there that is critical. fact checking. that is hard to do under any circumstances. live, off-the-cuff, knowing it. it is my understanding that president biden will, nor will former president trump have campaign advisers or anyone around them that they are able to speak to during commercial breaks. that means you have to have all this right there to be able to fight back. how hard is that, how do you prep that? >> well, it is incredibly hard, and it is incredibly hard based on what i said a couple of minutes ago. because these men passed the baton off to each other. when they debate about inflation, dona

biden's personal lawyer, bob bauer is playing trump during the prep sessions. >> to be honest, it's hard to say some of the things that he says, some of which are, you know, very fact-free. >> reporter: it's a stark contrast from former president trump, who's holding informal policy discussions with advisors but no mock debates while still holding public events. the former president fund raising in louisiana after campaigning in pennsylvania over the weekend, mocking his opponent for not leaving camp david. >> he's sleeping now. but they want to get him good and strong. >> reporter: trump teasing that he's already chosen his running mate and says the person will likely attend the debate in atlanta. >> in my mind, yeah. >> do they know? >> no, nobody knows. >> reporter: among the top debate topics expected, the economy, immigration and reproductive rights. >> what both candidates need to do is talk about what they're going to do for the american people, how they're going to show us as leaders. >> reporter: people familiar with president biden's debate prep say it's taking into account whe

and it has been interesting that we have heard from bob bauer. he's the president's personal attorney, who actually played trump in these mock debates back in 2020, he has described getting into that character and preparation for these practice sessions. listen to what he said whenever you do this, you want to strike a balance between trying to approximate the experience but it's not an opportunity for theatrical that's a distraction so you want to find some balance between recreating the experience and not attempting to, if you will, audition for saturday, no so here, bob bauer, they're describing less of an impersonation, more but character study as they work to get biden prepared for whatever may come his way from trump. >> now, baur is just one of quite a large team of advisors who will be at camp david this week participating in the preparatory sessions. it's all being led by ron klain, who is president biden's former chief of staff, but perhaps more importantly, he is the most seasoned democratic debate coach has done this for president oba

. >> attorney bob bauer will be standing in for trump during mock debate sessions, yelling insults atrying to get under his skin. >> you are playing a role, you're trying to make the experience as realistic for the person you are working with as possible. >> michael: really? the guy who plays santa claus at the bad mall, this is your trump? i don't know if he can replicate the unhinged madness of debating donald trump. the only biden staffer who could pull that off is that dog that keeps biting everyone in the face. but regardless of how he prepares, there is one thing biden can be sure of: where exactly he's going to be on stage. >> we're getting more details today about the high-stakes debate stage will look. biden won the coin toss and chose to stand on the right side of the stage. why the right? there is actually a scientific reason. when there are two people on stage, tv viewers' eyes are drawn to the right side. >> michael: wow, thank you, science. hey, any news on a cancer cure? no? maybe whenever you're done debating left or right, possibly? and hey, it may usually be true tha

if you think about it, biden is holding 90 minute mock debates with his personal lawyer, bob bauer, playing role of trump. >> i think political debates are about two things. they're about message and moments. >> moments likely absent tomorrow include ones like this. >> the radical left. will you shut up, man? listen, who is on your list? >> the microphone of the candidate not selected to speak will be muted. another new change. no studio audience. trump telling the washington examiner. to me, the audience is easier because it's telling you what is going on indirectly, with applause or not. applause. this room is a sterile, dead room. the debate comes as a judge in new york partially lifts trump's gag order in his felony hush money case, a fundraising email signed by trump reads, will now be able to better defend himself tomorrow night. >> you have a race that's essentially tied in the in the polls at this point. and so i think that puts sort of equal pressure on both of the candidates, both in terms of the opportunity. the debate presents to them, but also the risks and this is all happenin

and bob bauer's here with me right now.s also the author of a new book, the unraveling reflections on politics without at the x and democracy in crisis. >> mr. brown, thanks for joining me. i really i really appreciate it. and here's the book right here so before we get into the bug, can you confirm you're playing trump this time around? >> i can't discuss anything related to the debate. >> oh boy, highly secretive. >> pardon me. it's you know, you know, how lawyers are not always very informative. no. adds a very joe well, i had to try so let's talk about it a little bit about your book. because in the 2020, you talked about the 2020 debates brock and this is what you say. you say, i guess donald trump played my part, lying in blustering and bullying by wade through the mock sessions to repair. i watched hours of tate's the 45th president as a businessman, 2016 candidate, and then an office we set aside special sessions during which i was expected to be at my trump worst as personally insulting in unhinged as trump can be.

trump is former white house counsel bob bauer who took on the same role back in 2020. the president looking to focus thursday night's debate on abortion rights and what his campaign says is trump's record of undermining democracy. tonight trump saying his yet to be named running mate will be at the debate and that he's made his choice but hasn't told anyone who it will be. >> have you picked a vice president? >> in my mind, yes. >> reporter: sources tell nbc news the focus has been on three top contenders. florida senator marco rubio ran against trump in 2016. >> what we are dealing with here, my friends, is a con artist. he is a con artist. >> reporter: before entering politics, ohio senator jd vance adamantly opposed trump. >> i'm a never trump guy. i never liked him. >> reporter: and north dakota governor doug burgum briefly ran against him for this year's nomination. >> would you ever do business with donald trump? >> i don't think so. >> why? >> i would -- i just think that it's important that you're judged by the company you keep, and i -- >> you just wouldn't do

during the 2020 election former white house counsel bob dower helped lead the response. bauer is out with a brand new book that tackles these issues. it's called "the unraveling." in it bauer examines the line between hard nose political combat and the politics devoid of ethics. quote, political actors bear responsibility to demonstrate ie the choices they make that politics can and should be an honorable and ethical calling. good politics can be played hard and passionately but also with respect for the limits beyond which it cannot go -- it cannot ethically go. not all the limits are clear. not everyone agrees on the limits. however, there has to be agreement that there are limits of some kind and that political actors are accountability for honestly confronting choices and accepting responsibility for those they make. joining me now bob bauer, president biden's personal attorney, former white house counsel in the obama administration. again, his new book, "the unraveling, reflections on politics on democracy and ethics without crisis." thank you so much for being here. i'm

democratic legal adviser who co-chaired former president barack obama election on administration, bob bauer is the author of a new book entitled "the unraveling, reflections on politics without epics and democracy in crisis. >> bob, i hope you don't take this wrong when i say we are both kind of old. and we have seen a lot. we have been around a lot. i remember when it first came to washington, d.c. i watched tim russet on "meet the press" and he would be interviewing a guy you worked for and rolling the camera, those guys, it was a thrill manila and 15-rounder. afterwards, as you know very well, they were friends and they would go and talk about how they got things done. talk about. i know your book focuses on this. the damage. the scar tissue on american democracy that we have both seen the past 30, 45 years. >> i'm not going to dispute your point about my age, joe. but let's say we are getting on. maybe not old but getting on. >> getting on. >> getting on, absolutely. i recall when i was younger vigorous fight that was reported in the paper between hubert humphrey and barry goldwater and

bob bauer who plays trump in an airplane hangar doing mock debates and finding ways to make him get enragedigrants coming here and hurting american women might resonate with suburban women. maria: thank you. showdown in atlanta, looking at bidenomics versus maganomics as they face-off in the cnn presidential debate. grady trimble is live with a preview. >> reporter: crews are getting ready for tonight. candidates are too and so are we. coming up, a preview of what to expect on the big night. ♪ say goodbye to daily insulin injections with omnipod 5... a tubeless system that automatically adjusts insulin to help protect against highs and lows. try it today. go to omnipod.com for risk information and instructions for use. consult your doctor before starting on omnipod. (♪) (♪) (♪) (♪) glp-1 drugs used in weight loss treatments are a global blockbuster, even with unliked and inconvenient injections. more human study results for lexarias patented oral delivery technology are coming soon. lexaria bioscience.

we know, that 4 years ago this role was assigned to bob bauer, the president's personal lawyer. he will reprise the role or whether someone else will be cast. biden campaign headquarters. and his advisers emphasize that the president’s normal work will not go away, he will simply carry out his duties while at the resort and at the same time prepare for the debate. joe biden's preparation for the debate suggests that the president will speak differently during the debate with donald trump. the president who ends his staying in richut beach, delaware, will be stationed at camp david starting thursday. trump, who sees strength and responsibility in a relaxed manner given the strict debate format, has also begun holding informal meetings to work out issues. strategy, including meeting with several republican senators during his trip to washington last week. i know that robert kennedy jr. also wants to come to the debate, let him come, i don’t mind, he’s such a debater himself, he has quite left-liberal ideas, let him come. only he needs to gain support in the polls, which is a crite

joining me know, bob bauer the personal attorney, former white house counsel in obama administration. his new book, the unraveling, democracy in crisis what a title. congratulations on the book. thank you for being here. i am struck by the fact that in the book you describe yourself as having a warrior mentality. you also question whether winning at all costs is worth it. i wonder how you walk the fine line between those poles when you know that the other side they are not afraid to go low. >> not a partisan issue is a bipartisan issue of what kind of politics we are going to have whether it is going to be true or is going to be politics which i call antipolitics. that treats the adversary as an enemy. something to be basically shunted for one side. as he pointed out in your opening, where there is no responsibility . releasing for some measure of honesty and fairness to the voters and politics around ethics is not democratic politics. i want to stress this. i think i and others in democratic campaigns have done this for quite some time i reject the premise that you can't compete hard

he was talking, bob bauer. >> the principle objectives are first of all, to approximate as closely asal, the opponent, is going to debate. what arguments are going to be made and how are they going to be made? this is not a "saturday night live" depression. you don't want to detract from prepping the candidate. >> bret: there is a lot of prep at camp david and a lot of people prepping. >> i think it is clear that joe biden wants to get out of this debate. he wants to talk about january 6th, the 2020 election. suck trump into that issue that hurts him with suburban voters and talk about a national abortion ban and donald trump just has to not take the bait on this. he can't do what he did in 2020 where he shouted over joe biden and made joe biden a sympathetic figure. i think he has to sit back, be a happy warrior, let joe biden talk and bury himself. >> dana: what do you think about the expectations, game, michael trying to say one side or the other how the candidate will do? what should they say? >> joe biden is certainly capable of delivering a speech in front of a teleprompter. he

. >>> next, former white house attorney, bob bauer joins us to talk about his new book that talks aboutand environment that has warning for democrats the upcoming election. upcoming election. for people who feel limited by the unpredictability of generalized myasthenia gravis and who are anti-achr antibody positive, season to season, ultomiris is continuous symptom control, with improvement in activities of daily living. it is reduced muscle weakness. and ultomiris is the only long-acting gmg treatment with the freedom of just 6 to 7 infusions per year, for a predictable routine i can count on. ultomiris can lower your immune system's ability to fight infections, increasing your chance of serious meningococcal infections, which may become life-threatening or fatal, and other types of infections. complete or update meningococcal vaccines at least 2 weeks before starting ultomiris. if ultomiris is urgent, you should also receive antibiotics with your vaccines. before starting ultomiris, tell your doctor about all of your medical conditions and medications. ultomiris can cause reactions su

bob bauer is one of the people prepping biden.e did an interview and what he said about how it's going. >> i would say in all of the debate preps, whether it was a trump debate prep or others i've done, you cannot be afraid of laying down on take table something your candidate preparing it for will like. that could be something that's personally insulting. that's something that can be completely false about a policy position they've taken. >> dana: we know that maybe a little bit of a strategy. one last thing here. nbc headline biden's debate strategy is be prepared for two different trumps. if he is more sedate the goal will be elicit the true trump. possibly they will both try to do that. >> yeah, it is interesting. i wrote my column last week in the journal on debate and talked to five republicans involved in debate prep for various candidates and three democrats. what was interesting they all agreed the question for biden was which trump was going to show up? would it be the wild trump we saw in the first 2020 debate interrupt

they are in that hanger and also apparently in a movie theater at camp david you have got bob bauer whopresident's former attorney who is married to anita dunn. is he playing donald trump. obviously from doug just told us regarding barack obama. everybody has got eyes. they know that joe biden is different than he was four years ago. in the back of their mind they're thinking can he full off you? are absolutely right. is he going through all the stuff. they are going through the bernie sanders and bernie through thebinders and memorizi. ultimately people are going to make their own decisions. we are all going to tune in to this channel on thursday night and see it. and we will know with our own eyes whether or not he is up to tchingt. >> lawrence: ainsley they talk about it in this n bsz piece. that biden debate prep strategy they are prepared for two different donald trumps. according to the advisers. biden advisers particularly combing through all of trump's recent comments. these people said in an effort to best identify what might get under his skin and what may trigger him the most

joining me now, bob bauer, president biden's personal attorney.at treats the law as something to be basically shunted to one side. or misused to hound or harass political opponents or as you pointed out in your opening, where there is absolutely no limit on the lies that are peddled to voters. no responsibility on the part of those who write the ads or cover the ads to really police them for some measure of honesty and fairness to the voters. to the question that you asked i want to stress this. i reject the premise that and i think i and others and democratic campaigns have done ç this for quite some time, i reject the premise that you can't compete hard. that you can't be strong in your convictions. that you can't be vigorous in your campaigns. and at the same time run them ethically and win. you can win. i was, with the obama campaign in 2008. the president won. president obama won. i was with the reelection campaign of president obama in 2012. he won. president biden in 2020. he won. so victory is possible. but the overall effect, it is someth

bob bauer, helping the president prepare. you offered your services when e you and i were talking the other day and i think i should point it out because when i mentioned that to a few people they said that's not a bad idea. maybe they should have amichae cohen in there, because you felt -- and joe biden doesn't talk like you do -- but you felt there were opportunities for joe biden not simply to prove he's a good president or has been a good president and has the public interest at mind, but to remind people exactly who donald trump is. what would you suggest? putting aside the energy and the tiredness, what would you suggest joe biden does in the next debate to remind people, and more importantly, put donald trump on the defensive? >> so, the from the very first question i would've come at donald trump with facts. something donald trump knows nothing about. there was not even on my new shut of facts and anything that trump says. he spews all sorts of nonsense and what you need to do is constantly remind the viewer that what

they have got people, bob bauer who is biden's long-time attorney, is playing donald trump.e is trying to throw everything at him that donald trump might say on thursday. because, let's face it. he is rusty. he hasn't debated anybody in public for four years. and david axelrod said yesterday, keep in mind, barack obama in 2012 when he was running for re-election. his first debate was terrible. he flailed. and so yesterday, david axelrod said the rust factor is real. neither of these guys are accustomed a few feet away grilling them. >> ainsley: he was talking about how donald trump didn't participate in in the. is he out there doing all these rallies. they are trying to throw him off. reading all these articles and watching all this video of everything that donald trump has said over the years because they want to try to trigger donald trump and get under his skin. >> lawrence: so, the bar is already set low for the current president. i found this quote to just be astonishing. this is from the former vice president dan quayle, he said if i were advising biden i will try to m

joining me now is bob bauer, appearing in his own capacity, not as the president's attorney, and as thenderful book. >> thank you. >> the way you describe your career and also what is happening right now. let's talk about what you see as the threats right now to democracy in the way our elections are conducted. >> there are a lot of sources of distress in the democracy, a lot of sources of strain on the democracy. one is what i call politics without ethics, which is politics is a hard driving business. it needs to be waged vigorously. there are enormous stakes. that's all to be taken for granted, to be understood. i'm not at all apologetic about the battles i have joined in. what i have observed over time -- i write about it. i try to explain it through my experiences and observations. this win at all costs, a form of anti-democratic politics. politics in which your adversary is your enemy. a politics in this you refuse to accept the outcome of elections. in this law is a blunt instrument to bludgeon your opponent with. if those democratic norms are worn away, then we don't have a true

. >> peter: biden's personal attorney bob bauer who played biden in last debate trump not giving anything>> what do you think biden's weaknesses is in the debate. >> i can't speak to that. >> peter: president biden isn't speaking to that or anything any time soon either, his debate prep appears to be fully immersive at camp david which is different than trump's approach. is he going to be out on the campaign trail tomorrow visiting the city that president biden has gone to more than anywhere else. philadelphia, shannon? >> shannon: okay. peter doocy, live at the white house. thanks, peter. we have new information tonight about the killing of a 12-year-old girl in houston. allegedly at the hands of illegal immigrants. the latest in a series of high profile crimes that appear connected to the border crisis. senior correspondent mike tobin has the details. >> just 12 years old, court documents say jocelyn nungaray was lured under a bridge in houston. her killers were with her two hours before she was strangled and dumped in a bayou. suspects 2 #-year-old franklin pena and jose martinez. and

trump's former white house counsel bob bauer who took on the same row in 2020. the president looking to focus the debate on abortion rights and what his campaign says is trump's record of undermining democracy. trump is saying his yet to be named running mate will be at the debate and that he has made his choice but has not told anybody what it will be. sources tell nbc news the focus has been on three top contenders. each with a history of being critical of tropical florida senator marco rubio ran against trump in 2016. >> what we are dealing with is a con artist. he is a con artist. >> before entering politics, ohio senator jd vance adamantly opposed tropical and north dakota governor -- briefly ran against trump for this year's nomination. >> would you ever do business with former president donald trump? >> i do not think so. >> why? >> i just think that is is -- it is important you are judged by the company you keep. >> reporter : all three vp contenders are loyal allies of the former president. sources say the campaign wants a candidate who will not oversha

trump is former white house counsel bob bauer,wk in 2020. the president, looking to focus thursday night's debate on abortion rights and what his campaign says is trump's record of undermining democracy. trump saying his yet to be named. running mate will be at the debate and that he's made his choice. but hasn't told anyone who it will be. i decided for your vice president is top in my mind. yeah. sources tell nbc news the focus has been on three top contenders, each with a history of being critical of trump. florida senator marco rubio ran against trump in 2016. what we are dealing with here, my friends, is a con artist, he is a con artist. before entering politics, ohio senator jd vance adamantly opposed trump. i'm a never trump guy. i never liked him. and north dakota governor doug burgum briefly ran against trump for this year's nomination. would you ever do business with donald trump, i don't think so. why i would, i just think that it's important that you're judged by the company you keep, and i. you just wouldn't do business with him

in terms of the preparation i think, you know, right now we're told that bob bauer is, in fact, playing trump in debate prep, in mock sessions. it's a pretty expansive team who's helping the president. i was told brian dees, the former head of the economic counsel will be advising the president ahead of the messaging on the debate. they're trying to bring in experts who can work with him on ways to, you know, talk about the -- the administration's accomplishments. but also importantly i think they see this as a really important way of speaking about what voters would get in a second term. you know, that's not something that president biden has spent a lot of time on, you know, in terms of really painting what that picture would look like in a second term, and i think that's one of the big things that they're trying to accomplish in this debate. >> ken, you're right to point uta pretty big team with the president at camp david, which stands in stark contrast to the very limited one in 2020 because of covid. also, we should note donald trump has yet to make any cicero references. so both

security adviser jake sullivan, campaign manager julie chavez rodriguez, and former white house counsel bob bauero is reprising his role as mr. trump as he did during debate prep in 2020. campaign officials say the final stretch of preparation will include 90-minute mock depp bates. but until then pouring over material. the president also honing responses to inevitable jabs from his now two-time rival, including possible references to his being a convicted felon. president biden making the most of his time balancing the fresh urps of his day job while campaigning for re-election. one issue continuing to weigh heavily on him politically, the israel/hamas war, as rifts between the president and prime minister benjamin netanyahu on israel's handling of the war continue to spill into public view, joe. >> all right, allie, thank you so much. >>> for his part, donald trump taking a different approach ahead of thursday's debate making multiple public appearances this weekend. dasha burns is in philadelphia where the former president held a rally. dasha, good morning. >> reporter: joe, good morning. that

it is likely to be biden attorney bob bauer.fic practice rounds against a stand-in. his campaign says he will deliver a discipline debate performance rooted in policy. is thomas in florida on the democratic line. caller: good morning. host: what do you think about these debates? rado they matter? caller: they matter greatly. ears ago -- the president is an entertainer. is why ronald reagan worked out so well. people. for2024 host: you are running? caller:host:want to bring up if you are on that the bait stage? caller: taking care of the homeless people and the old ople that brought us here. host: floridayotalk about the et factor. !&they created presidential debe bingo cards you could play along with when issues or phrases are brought up■ño card. phrases like make america great again, backbone, soul of the nation. january 6, one of the topics immigration is one of the topics. the crime issue, and veterans are some of the topics. two different cards you could choose from. i.÷ david in georgia, republican, good morning. caller: i

security advisor jake sullivan, julie chavez rodriguez, as well as the president's personal lawyer, bob bauer, who is reprising his role for former president trump like he did for biden's debate prep in 2020. all of these people are mining their experiences, their expertise to help the president prepare for this big moment. they are poring over policy material with him to better help him create this contrast on the debate stage on thursday between what a second biden presidency or a second trump presidency would look like. they are also helping him hone in on possible attack lines or responses to what the biden team sees as the inevitable, those personal jabs and president trump on the debate stage on thursday. we heard from biden campaign co- chair mitchell andrew who talked on meet the press about how the biden team is preparing the sharp attack lines of their own, suggesting that the president concedes on the felony conviction in his hush money trial. >> the fact of the matter is that the sky is blue sometimes, and donald trump is a convicted felon. the american people have to sit in that

his name is bob bauer. he's president biden's personal attorney. he talked yesterday about what it took to get in the character of trump for these mock sessions, listened to what he said do you do trumpet pressure? >> do you sound like donalds rob, are you talking to your normal whenever whenever whenever you do this? you want to strike a balance between trying to approximate the experience but it's not an opportunity for theatrical that's a distraction. so you want to find some balance between recreating the experience and not attempting to, if you will, audition for saturday night so not an impersonation, more of a character study. no, it's presumed to that bower will play trump again in these mock debates and certainly president biden want to be very prepared before he hits the debate stage down there in atlanta all right. >> we're all looking forward to that. thank you so much. kevin lived dag even mechan, the debate rather happening here in atlanta let's talk more about the debate. debate preps, joining me right now about these very different

other from biden's inner circle include smart and anything done, his personal attorney bob bauer andty advisor jake sullivan. meantime team trump is taking the opposite approach. there shunning formal preparations for what they call policy conversations on the campaign trail. >> president trump is out there, he's talking with people you doesn't need to be caught up in campaign are wherever for six or seven days, cramming for a test. >> trump's team criticized biden for taking all this out -- time away from the white house and predicate his muscle memory will kick in after 50 years in politics. they also suggested if biden has a good night it would be from interference from cnn's moderators or perhaps performance-enhancing substances. >> he's, you know, probably going to be sold without a wrong like he was at the night of the state of the union. >> i expect he's going to be up on energy drinks or whatever they're going to give him. and he did -- he was overly aggressive at the state of the union. >> biden's team views that that as a sign that trump's team is never. >> they can't have

we previously reported that the president's personal attorney, bob bauer, is likely it to play that stand-in role. >> and here's how he described his approach to the role. the last cycle in 2020 whenever you do this you want to strike a balance between trying to approximate the experience but it's not an opportunity for theatrical that's a distraction. so you want to find some balance between recreating the experience and not attempting to, if you will, audition for saturday night the debate on thursday will be 90 minutes long, beginning at 9:00 p.m. which is the same start time is the president's state of the union address, which is seen by some as a sort of corollary for the preparation, i'm told by one source at the working days at camp david, are long. >> they break for three meals a day in a group style setting, and many seniors, staffs sleep in cabins, overnight with other staff and advisors commuting locally as they tried to leave no stone unturned to, in the words of one adviser wolf expect the i expected, yeah. >> good advice of d david chelyan, you're political director, what what