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YOU’RE WATCHING WGAL NEWS EIGHT IN COMMITMENT COVERAGE. 2024 TO NIGHT IS THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE RIGHT HERE ON WGAL, AND I’M JOINED BY BERWOOD YOST, A PROFESSOR AT FRANKLIN AND MARSHALL COLLEGE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. ALWAYS GOOD TO HAVE YOU IN. GOOD TO SEE YOU. YEAH. GOOD TO SEE YOU. SO THIS IS THE BIG DAY. AND I WILL TELL YOU A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR QUITE SOME TIME. I TALKED TO TWO CAMPS OF PEOPLE AND ONE CAMP. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO SAY WE’RE IN A VERY DIFFERENT PLACE THAN WE WERE FOUR YEARS AGO. HENCE COVID, HENCE THE PANDEMIC. SO THEY THINK THEY’RE GOING TO SEE SOMETHING DIFFERENT TONIGHT THAN THEY SAW FOUR YEARS AGO. THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE WHO FEEL THESE ARE THE SAME TWO CANDIDATES. THEY’RE GOING TO HEAR SOME OF THE SAME JABS, MAYBE SOME OF THE SAME INSULTS. WHAT DO YOU THINK GOING INTO TONIGHT IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT OR FAMILIAR FROM BACK IN 2020? I MEAN, WE KNOW THESE CANDIDATES, RIGHT? AND THE TRUTH IS, MOST PEOPLE OR MANY PEOPLE DON’T LIKE EITHER OF THEM. AND SO, YOU KNOW, I EXPECT THIS IS GOING TO BE A HUGE AUDIENCE. AND IT’S WHAT’S DIFFERENT TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION IS THAT, YOU KNOW, A DEBATE GIVES A POLITICAL LEADER AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK DIRECTLY TO PEOPLE UNFILTERED, RIGHT? THERE’S NO SPIN. PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO HEAR THINGS, JUDGE WHETHER THERE’S A CONNECTION WITH THAT CANDIDATE, HEAR THE THE IDEAS THAT THEY HAVE, THE THINGS THEY WANT TO DO MOVING FORWARD. AND I THINK THE DEBATE FORMAT, WHICH IS VERY DIFFERENT THAN WE’VE HAD BEFORE, IS GOING TO ALLOW THIS KIND OF DIALOG THAT PEOPLE WANT. THEY WANT TO HEAR, BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE STILL MAKING UP THEIR MINDS ABOUT WHO THEY’RE GOING TO VOTE FOR. WE’LL TALK ABOUT THAT FORMAT. HOW IS THAT GOING TO LOOK DIFFERENT TONIGHT THAN IT HAS IN THE PAST? NO STUDIO AUDIENCE, UM, THE CANDIDATES WILL BE RESTRICTED TO HOW LONG THEY CAN RESPOND. THE MIKES WILL BE TURNED OFF WHEN THEY’RE NOT TALKING. SO THAT’S GOING TO BE VERY DIFFERENT THAN ANYTHING WE’VE SEEN UNDER THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE COMMISSION STRUCTURE PREVIOUSLY. YEAH. NOW, DO YOU THINK THAT AUDIENCE IS GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE? THE LACK OF AN AUDIENCE WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE. DO YOU THINK SO? YEAH, BECAUSE IT NORMALLY SLOWS THINGS DOWN OR, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES YOU’RE PLAYING FOR THAT. YOU KNOW, THE CLAP, THE APPLAUSE, THE THE REACTION. AND YOU’RE STILL TRYING TO DO THAT. BUT I THINK WHAT YOU REALLY HAVE TO DO IS TALK TO THE CAMERA, NOT TALK TO THE AUDIENCE. SO THERE’S A HOST OF ISSUES. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE KEY ISSUE THAT PEOPLE OR I WOULD SAY THAT A HOST OF PEOPLE ARE GOING INTO TONIGHT REALLY FOCUSED ON THEY WANT TO HEAR THE CANDIDATES. LOOK, IF I’M IF I’M PRESIDENT TRUMP, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE ECONOMY PRETTY MUCH ALL THE TIME. PEOPLE ARE REALLY DISSATISFIED WITH PRESIDENT BIDEN’S PERFORMANCE ON THE ECONOMY. THEY THINK WHEN TRUMP WAS IN OFFICE, HE DID A MUCH BETTER JOB HANDLING THE ECONOMY. AND SO IF I’M HIM, I WANT TO BE A DISCIPLINED CANDIDATE. AND TALK ABOUT THE ECONOMY BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE HAVE JUDGED THE PRESIDENT’S PERFORMANCE IS NOT BEING GOOD ON THAT. IF I’M PRESIDENT BIDEN, I WANT TO REMIND PEOPLE ABOUT THE CHARACTER FLAWS AND THE CHAOS OF THAT. THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. I WANT TO COMPARE THE RECORDS, BUT I ALSO THINK I WANT TO HAVE A VISION. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT WHAT MY PLANS ARE FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS. I THINK THAT’S BEEN PART OF HIS PROBLEM TO DATE, THAT HE JUST HASN’T EXPRESSED THAT VISION ABOUT THE FUTURE. AND I THINK HE NEEDS TO GET THERE IF HE’S GOING TO MAKE SOME EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENTS WITH VOTERS. DO YOU THINK THAT THIS DEBATE, ESPECIALLY WITH IT NOW BEING IN JUNE, THE ELECTION IS IN NOVEMBER, DO YOU THINK THAT’S GOING TO MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE? DO YOU THINK IT’S TOO EARLY OR DO YOU THINK, NO, THIS IS JUST THE RIGHT TIME? WELL, I MEAN, NOTHING’S CHANGED. THIS RACE VERY MUCH IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS. IT STAYED REALLY STABLE AND SO I THINK HAVING THIS DEBATE RIGHT NOW MAY GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE THE TRAJECTORY OF THE RACE. I MEAN, IT’S IT’S GOING TO BE 11 WEEKS TILL THE NEXT DEBATE. SO THIS REALLY SETS THE STAGE FOR WHAT WE’RE GOING TO SEE. I THINK OVER THE SUMMER. IT’S AN IT’S UNUSUAL TIMING, BUT I THINK IT’S AN IMPORTANT PERIOD. AND CLEARLY BOTH CAMPAIGNS THINK IT’S AN IMPORTANT EVENT. I WAS GOING TO SAY, TOO, WITH PRESIDENT BIDEN AND WITH FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP COMING TO THE TABLE, DO YOU REALLY THINK WE HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE? BUT DO YOU REALLY THINK THIS IS GOING TO SWAY PEOPLE TO ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER, OR IF THEIR MIND IS ALREADY MADE UP, THIS IS WHAT’S GOING TO LOOK. MOST PEOPLE HAVE MADE UP THEIR MIND AND THEY’RE LOOKING FOR CONFIRMATION ABOUT THE CHOICE. THEY’VE ALREADY MADE. BUT THERE IS A SLIVER SLIVER OF VOTERS PROBABLY A QUARTER, IN FACT, WHO SAY, I’M NOT WILD ABOUT EITHER CANDIDATE, AND THEY’RE GOING TO BE THE PEOPLE WHO DECIDE THE ELECTION. AND THIS DEBATE MAY SPEAK TO MANY OF THOSE PEOPLE. IT’S A CHANCE TO DO THAT. WELL, I THINK WE’RE GOING TO STAY TUNED AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS. BERWOOD YOST, ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE YOU. GOOD TO SEE YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING IN. AND YOU’RE GOING TO BE WITH US TOMORROW, TOO, TO SPEAK ABO