How Trump And Clinton Are Preparing For Their First Debate

Debate prep. It’s finally time for a faceoff. Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump. And the challenges and strategies they bring into their first presidential debate.

They’ve debated all their rivals. Tonight, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump debate each other. Their meeting has already been called the most extreme contrast of personal, intellectual and political styles in America’s democratic history. Trump, the reality TV star. The bruiser in primary debates. The coarse humiliator. Clinton, the veteran of many campaign debates. The policy wonk now facing a street fighter.  This hour On Point, we’re raising the curtain on tonight’s presidential debate. — Tom Ashbrook

Anita Dunn, Democratic strategist. Former White House communications director and senior advisor to President Barack Obama's presidential campaigns. Managing director at SKDKnickerbocker.

Benjamin Ginsberg, Republican lawyer and strategist. Partner at Jones Day. Presidential debate adviser.

Sahil Kapur, national political reporter for Bloomberg News, covering the 2016 presidential election. (@sahilkapur)

Karen Tumulty, national political correspondent for the Washington Post. (@ktumulty)

Bloomberg Politics: Trump Weighs Aggressive Tactics Against Clinton in First Debate — "Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have been locked in a fierce election battle for months, but tens of millions of Americans will compare their presidential bona fides side-by-side anew on Monday. The first of three debates promises to be a national sensation, contrasting two vastly different New Yorkers who are recognized around the world. Clinton, known for her extensive experience in government, is more comfortable discussing substantive issues than pitching her candidacy, and Trump excels as a self-promoter and an unsparing critic of his adversaries."

Washington Post: What Clinton and Trump must worry about in the first debate -- "The first presidential debate of the general election is often the most treacherous — especially for the candidate who steps on stage with the presumed advantage. Which is why Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, the one in that position this time around, knows not to take anything for granted."

The Atlantic: When Donald Meets Hillary -- "Never has the dominance of the image over the word seemed more significant than this year, as the parties and the public prepare for the three general-election debates between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump that are scheduled to begin September 26 (as it happens, the anniversary of that first Kennedy-Nixon debate) and the one vice-presidential debate between Tim Kaine and Mike Pence, scheduled for October 4."