Hillary Clinton solicits debate “ideas" from donors
NEW YORK — Speaking to wealthy donors at a fundraiser on Monday evening, Hillary Clinton asked for some advice about going head-to-head with Donald Trump.
“I want any of your thoughts or ideas about how I should debate Donald Trump, just to name one thing,” she said. “Seventy-one days left in the campaign and I am not taking anything, anyone or any place for granted. This is the most unpredictable electoral season that I certainly can remember and I am running against someone who will say or do anything.”
Clinton mentioned the upcoming debates, the first of which is scheduled for September 26 at Hofstra University, in her remarks at a private event in East Hampton on New York’s Long Island. Clinton is on her second day of a three-day fundraising swing there and reporters traveling with her -- and waiting in the basement of the host’s home -- overheard what she was saying.
“I do not know which Donald Trump will show up,” Clinton said. “Maybe he will try to be presidential and try to convey a gravity that he hasn’t done before or will he come in and try to insult and try to score some points.”
The Democratic nominee is a self-proclaimed “wonk,” who prides herself on learning the ins and outs of policy from the people that she meets on the campaign trail. Her allies consider her command of policy and disciplined preparation to be two of her strengths on the debate stage.
Speaking on CNN earlier Monday, former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who was recently named as a co-chair of Clinton’s transition team, suggested that her campaign might rely on more than one person to play Trump in their debate prep.
“When you’re preparing, you’ve got to have somebody who comes with an aggressive Donald Trump answer and you have to have somebody -- maybe it’s a different person, maybe it’s the same person -- who comes with a more understated Donald Trump,” said Granholm, who played the part of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for Vice President Joe Biden in 2008.
The Clinton campaign has kept mum about who they are considering tapping for the role, and about many of the details about how Clinton will prepare. A spokesman for Clinton, Brian Fallon, told the Washington Post that Clinton’s team is “fully expecting to have [their] hands full” with a candidate who specializes in showmanship and isn’t afraid to delve into the personal.
The potential for fireworks means that the first face-off between the two nominees is expected to draw a big audience and, on Monday, Clinton suggested that she knows that the stakes are high.
“Somebody said to me, ‘remember, there will be about 100 million people watching and 60 million will be paying attention to the campaign for the first time,’” Clinton said. “There will be a lot of new impressions to be made that night.”