Biden preps at 'debate camp' ahead of Thursday's faceoff
MIAMI — Joe Biden has ramped up debate preparations to include marathon practice sessions with longtime advisers, and a familiar face who helped ready the former VP for his most high-profile faceoff a decade ago.
Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm has joined a dozen senior Biden confidants at a hotel in Wilmington to ready him for this week’s multi-candidate scrum in Miami.
It was not clear yet what role, or roles Granholm might be playing in the current practice sessions. The Thursday debate Biden headlines includes three female contenders — Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris and Marianne Williamson. But Granholm, who cannot endorse in the Democratic primary because of her role as chair of American Bridge, is familiar to the role having stood in as Sarah Palin during Biden’s 2008 vice presidential debate rehearsals.
Biden’s kitchen cabinet, including deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield, senior adviser Symone Sanders, policy adviser Stef Feldman as well as longtime advisers Steve Ricchetti, Bruce Reed, Mike Donilon and Ted Kaufman, spent nearly 11 hours with the former vice president in a windowless conference room Monday in the most intensive practice session to date.
The group only took occasional breaks including for lunch and dinner, which were delivered to the venue.
Until this week, Biden’s preparations largely centered around reading detailed policy briefings books assembled by his team, and informal discussions to sound out potential strategies.
Ron Klain, Biden’s first chief of staff as vice president and a veteran debate adviser who aided Hillary Clinton with her 2016 debate preparations in the primary and general election, has also returned to the fold.
Biden is expected to remain at what the team calls “debate camp” through Wednesday before traveling to Miami Thursday. Aides and the Democratic frontrunner himself have been downplaying expectations for a major substantive clash in the two-hour debate.
“It’s a little bit of exaggeration calling it a debate. I mean there’s not much time,” Biden told reporters earlier this month.
The format, with 1-minute answers and 30-second responses, “won’t allow for anything in-depth,” a Biden adviser said.
Advisers are also readying for his rivals to focus their attacks on Biden.
“We know candidates are looking for breakout moments in these debates. VP Biden doesn’t need a breakout moment,” the adviser said. “Any attacks from others during the debate will simply contrast with the vice president's positive message about his agenda and his emphasis on the extraordinary stakes of this election.”