Will Trump show up to the debate?

[Florida Man for Crime]

A lot of people seem to be assuming, for some reason, that he will show up.

But nah, he won't.

Trump's excuse will be that Biden has not taken a cognitive test or a drug test, and that Trump can't possibly debate someone who has not taken those tests.

[Agafin]

Trump will absolutely make the debate. Having seen his interview with Logan, he still seems sharp enough, though I'm not sure how much of it was rehearsed.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Trump seems to be looking for any excuse possible not to, but like with most things with him, we won't know until the last possible opportunity.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Mate,

Trump will be the first person there 4 hours before it starts.

[SnowLabrador]

Wouldn't surprise me if he didn't. He has no reason to debate when he's leading.

[Rand]

Republicans have attacked Biden’s age and perceived cognitive decline so much so that all Joe has to do is NOT wander off the debate stage to be seen as the winner. They tried a similar tactic in 2020 and it worked out so well for them that they decided to shoot themselves in the other foot this year.

[PeteB]

Trump absolutely has to show up at the debate and win decisively.  Any polling advantage he seems to be having will evaporate the second Democrats start airing  attack ads.  His only chance is to use the debate opportunity and directly contrast himself with Biden.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

My guess is that the convicted felon shows up, but unless Biden is obviously unfit to debate,  felon, rapist, fraud, and traitor walks off early on - probably the first or second time they cut his mic. He'll hold a press conference outside and denounce the "rigged" debate. It gives him a way to escape being called a coward for bailing, still gives him a chance to see if Biden can or can't handle it, and turns the whole thing into a circus focused on him (but not his crimes, failures, and evil).

[wnwnwn]

He will go. He needs to maximize his campaing before July 11.

[SnowLabrador]

Trump absolutely has to show up at the debate and win decisively.  Any polling advantage he seems to be having will evaporate the second Democrats start airing  attack ads.  His only chance is to use the debate opportunity and directly contrast himself with Biden.

The Dems are already airing attack ads. They don’t appear to be working.

[President Johnson]

Yes. He's too addicted to attention and bowing out now would make him look like a pathetic loser.

[GeorgiaModerate]

I believe Trump will show up for the debate.  

If he backs out now, after he was the one who challenged Biden in the first place, he looks like a coward and a weakling.  (If he had just declined the standard invitation, that would have been different.)  Trump does run a risk of doing badly and/or Biden doing well.  But I suspect Trump's ego will minimize the likelihood (in his estimation) of either of those two things happening.  So Trump's calculation of the situation likely comes down to:

A) If I go to the debate, there's a chance I'll look bad, but I'll probably actually do well, and in any case Biden will probably look bad.

B) If I skip the debate, I'll definitely look bad, and I pass up the chance for Biden to look bad.

If that's actually how he thinks, A is clearly the better choice for him.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

The reason why Trump lost he said that he won't tell Proud Boys to stand down and I hope Biden tells Trump the same thing in this debate it had also to do with his silly tax cuts for the super 🤑🤑 rich. That's why I voters don't want Trump back.

Chris Wallace asked Trump directly and he went to telling Biden to tell BLM to stand down

[Donald Trump’s Toupée]

Yes.

I would have voted No a few weeks ago because Trump is adamant about drug testing (and rightly so…). But Trump hasn’t said anything about that - if he pulled out of the debate he would have done it by now and not just mere days away from the event.

So yes. Trump shows up. But will Biden’s brain?

[JSojourner]

I am like 50% sure he will puss out. Because he’s a coward.