trump and biden take the stage in ten hours. we've seen them spar. last time around four years ago. a 90-minute contest this time that could have big consequences in november on election day. i'm harris faulkner and you are in "the faulkner focus." we're looking at the venue live right now in atlanta. and there is already a noticeable difference between the candidates and how they have gotten ready this week. president biden spent seven days doing mock debates with 16 advisors at camp david. we haven't seen him in a week. donald trump used multiple ways to prepare for tonight including very public events as he hit the campaign trail to talk and listen directly to voters. fox news chief political analyst brit hume said biden better be ready after spending a week away from the white house. >> the president, by the very nature of his or her job, his job so far, is cognizant of the details of the major issues. you have to deal with them all the time. so this level of preparation is unusual and obviously trying to get him mega prepared in the hope he can get through this encounter with donald trump and look like a vibrant man. >> harris: trump's 2024 national press secretary carolyn. >> i don't think it's getting enough attention how deeply concerning that is. the fact that the leader of the free world, the president of this country, cannot debate prep and also govern at the same time? we haven't seen joe biden in an entire week. we expect him to be prepared tonight i would hope after a whole week hiding away with advisors he will be ready to go. >> harris: take note of this. a "new york times" poll released yesterday now shows former president trump ahead four points nationally. it is within the margin of error. however, this is significant, as all of the previous polls have shown president biden as the frontrunner or the two of them tied. now trump is ahead by four points. the same poll also shows that voters think trump would do a better job of handling the issues that matter to them most. we'll hear each candidate's plan to tackle the hot topics tonight. americans are ready to tune in. 73% say they are likely to tune in and watch. both campaigns are playing offense off the debate stage. team biden rolled out a blitz that includes a full page print ad in usa today. 50 billboards across atlanta some taking direct shots at trump. trump's campaign will air two ads during the debate with biden tonight. senior white house correspondent jacque heinrich with more. ten hours. a little less than that now. >> a little less. we're all gearing up for that. the trump campaign is predicting interference from cnn's moderators and an energetic biden supported by performance-enhancing drugs. the biden campaign is predicting a slew of lies that they have a fact checked memo before anything is said. they list important trump lies to look out for on abortion, crime, economy, immigration and more. according to reports campaign staffers have been drafting jabs for biden reviewing trump's recent social media posts and appearances to gauge what gets under his skin the most. in recent days biden surrogates have been calling trump a loser during tv interviews. a term he hates and put up billboards welcoming him as a convicted felon. according to one report biden will make an early effort to try to deny the results of the 2020 election. >> he is not going to present the donald trump who has been out at his maga rallies on the stump. the problem for trump he will have to answer for all the things he has been saying at the maga rallies. >> in recent days trump's campaign has tried to reset expectations for biden after attacking his age and mental acuity saying they expect the president tonight will be ready after his week-long study session at camp david. they are not entirely abandoning the age issue with this new ad. >> do you think the guy who was defeated by the stairs makes it four more years in the white house? and you know who is waiting behind him, right? vote joe biden today, get kamala harris tomorrow. >> a new poll shows 16% of voters could change their choice for president based on the performances tonight. the debate will be 90 minutes long with mic's muted and donald trump gets the last word because biden chose the right-hand podium. the president departs for atlanta in the next hour. we haven't seen him for a week and looking forward to that. >> harris: that seems like a high number since we have been told all along most people know who they will vote for and they are watching for entertainment. something has changed that calculus. you put it at 16% according to quinnipiac? >> that's something when you consider all of the talk about they election is opinions are baked in and two people who served as president before and debated before. a shift there, harris. >> harris: thank you very much. let's get started again. fox top debate headline here tonight could change the narrative in a massive way. it comes from matt gorman, former campaign advisor to senator tim scott. he says also to put it simply debates move numbers in a way nothing else does. the narratives formed on thursday night may harden into concrete showing up and performing well in atlanta is crucial. in "focus" now jason chaffetz. former republican congressman of utah and fox news contributor. i was just talking to jacque. 16% of people could change their minds on who they would want to vote for based on what they think they know now. that is a shift. >> yeah, that's a little bigger than i thought it would be. the persuadeable middle is who you are talking with. i think the donald trump base is with donald trump no matter what. joe biden on the other hand has a problem because his base has been shifting from underneath his feet. so when they get into issues like gaza and israel, we'll find out how ire clad that relationship with israel really is. >> harris: the polling as we know it to be is a mix of everybody and people who don't even really check a box. they are independent. recent fox polling shows 50% of voters think former president trump will win tonight's debate. 45% say they believe president biden will win the debate. "new york post" argues the real winner will be whoever manages to avoid looking like and able to paint his opponent as this election cycle's chaos candidate. jason. >> i think there is a lot of truth to that. i think most americans believe that there is a degree of incompetence and cognitive decline with joe biden and why the expectations are low. he is a sitting president of the united states. he has been taking a nap for a week. i don't know why you have to have 16 advisors watch somebody take a nap. that's what he has been doing. the president has no excuse. he better hit it out of the park in order to show that he has got four more vigorous years on the toughest job on the planet. donald trump is like an energy bunny. he never stops. there is an expectation that donald trump will do really well and i'm sure a little quip here and there. joe biden, let's make sure he doesn't drool. but what other excuse does he have? what excuse does he have? he is well rested, he has been the sitting president and he has been there since 1972. if you haven't figured it out, mr. president, since 1972, you are telling us you need four more years? i don't think america is buying that. >> harris: he has been in politics for that long. i would say this, some of the things we're hearing from the trump camp is yes, he is energized and all of those things but there is caution from that first debate when the first two men met years ago that he not be overly that way. i wonder if the muted mic if that makes a difference. >> there is no way -- have you ever seen donald trump get through a debate without making some extra comment in the middle? no. i hope that we see the donald trump who just talks from his heart. you know what? the reason these are so unpredictable, the reason the audience will be so big is it's because the bantier back and forth. that's exactly what america wants to see. >> harris: i hope it is also for the issues. we have serious things going on in the country and the biden border crisis is a full blown disaster. voters are telling fox the issues they want to hear about. let's watch. >> all of the millions that have come across the border. what are you going to do with them? >> financially the country is not being run well right now. >> jobs, everybody needs work. right now they have a whole lot of immigrants out here from different places. immigrants are human and people but it is a lot of favor itism going toward the immigrants. >> entertainment at this point. >> harris: dan henninger says don't hold your breath. we'll likely see a quote trump/biden cage match. jason, you know, it isn't surprising to hear the border and say the top five but it is now when you ask people it is popping and that report about those 400 men who came across our border now from dhs and cbp from the border patrol we now know that over 100 of them they are looking at for ties to isis, an isis smuggling group brought all those people over. they want to know which ones are terrorists. i don't know that isis smuggles people who aren't interested in terrorism. that's fuel some of this. that is headlines today. it is hard to cover up 400 people. >> you start to hear about these murders and vicious rapes and other things. this new story coming out today in upstate new york. i think it will continue. when you have ten to 20 million people that have come here that are here illegally, this is going to be a daily drumbeat. there could not be a wider contrast between joe biden and donald trump than on the issue of immigration. joe biden -- for three years they told us the border was safe and secure and operational control. that was a lie. now the inner cities in particular are really feeling it. when your kids' school has three new students in it and can't speak english and the teacher is having to spend time with them, that impacts everybody. so it is not just crime, it is the total influx of this issue. it should be a tier one issue and a big choice for the voters when they go to the polls. >> harris: jason chaffetz, great to kick things off with you as our first guest. appreciate it. be sure to watch it here. pre-debate coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern and watch the debate here on fox and right after that the best analysis anywhere. 10:30 p.m. eastern. democrats and republicans are courting black voters big time ahead of tonight's debate. the critical voting block could be in play in a tight election. biden is losing them by double digits. people of color. interesting to see if they get into that tonight. critics unloaded on dhs secretary alejandro mayorkas after his comments when he was at the border yesterday. >> mayorkas has no clue what's going on at the border or consequences. they failed every step of the way. jocelyn would be alive today had joe biden implemented a secure border plan. >> harris: the governor is talking about 12-year-old jocelyn nungaray allegedly murdered by two illegal immigrants. some democrat lawmakers say biden's policies bear no responsibility. she is laid to rest today. our prayers with her mom and the rest of her family. sean duffy is here next to me in "focus" next. so i hired body doubles. 30,000 followers tina in a boutique hotel. or 30,000 steps tina in a mountain cabin. ooh! booking.com booking.yeah there's an old saying in the navy that the toughest job in the navy is a navy wife. and if you've made the deployments and you've been the wife at home, or you've been the spouse at home, you understand what i'm talking about. your spouse has earned the right to apply for a va home loan. the newday 100 loan allows you to borrow up to 100% of your home's value. so if you're in a situation where you need some help financially, give us a call. no, my denture's uncomfortable! dracula, let's fight back against discomfort. with new poligrip power max hold & comfort. it has superior hold plus keeps us comfy all day with it's pressure absording layer. time for a bite! if your mouth could talk it would ask for... poligrip. every day, more dog people, and more vets are deciding it's time for a fresh approach to pet food. they're quitting the kibble. and kicking the cans. and feeding their dogs dog food that's actually well, food. developed with vets. made from real meat and veggies. portioned for your dog. and delivered right to your door. it's smarter, healthier pet food. get 50% off your first box at thefarmersdog.com/realfood it's pain o'clock! let's do this! sorry, pain. i can't let you in. what? 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>> i think i answered -- i think i answered the questions because i talked about immigration. >> you didn't answer the question. are you politicizing this? >> the biden administration reached an agreement with leader mcconnell to address it. it is not about immigration. >> harris: she got the party started and when she clamped down she wanted the party to go away. some democratic lawmakers aren't even acknowledging jocelyn's murder. >> the research is that undocumented immigrants do fewer crimes than anyone else. >> are these crimes preventable if we didn't parole them into the country. >> i live in pittsburgh. >> there was a child who was killed -- >> i don't know anything about it. >> harris: we live in america and we know who that child victim is. pittsburgh, not a separate part of the country is it? sean duffy sitting next to me. conservative media watchdog. networks mostly silent on the bond killer for jocelyn's killer. the alphabet soup networks, all of them chose not to cover it. "the new york times" has published exactly one story on jocelyn's death. and this is how it's framed. the killing of jocelyn nungaray has become the latest crime seized on by republicans to attack president biden over his immigration policy. biden's border crisis and illegal immigrant crime likely to come up at tonight's debate. i hope so. sean duffy, former republican congressman from wisconsin and co-host of the bottom line on fox business. it's interesting to see what's happening on the left. when you ask them about it, they pretend like their cities are in different countries, pittsburgh, what continent is that on? >> yeah, but also the fact that we have a debate tonight. i hope immigration comes up. the problem is, you have cnn, it's in the bag for joe biden and you also have the two moderators in the bag for joe biden. i hope it comes up in a fair way that the american people want to know what the policy positions of both candidates are. i'm not holding my breath. i think they want to see questions come to joe biden that work for joe biden. that judge, how stupid can a judge be to engage in politics as opposed to dispensing justice. and mayorkas to say the crime belongs on the back of the criminal. that's true. but also the guy who let the criminal into our homes and communities to commit those crimes. joe biden is at fault. not just the criminal himself. >> harris: we expect the border to be a big topic. you and i are hopeful. it has to be a strategy, though. they have got to bring it up. i'm sure donald trump will. >> yes. >> harris: conservative group ad will also air shredding joe biden over illegal immigrant violence. we want to show you a clip now. >> it just keeps happening. lakin riley wasn't the first. in joe biden's america, sadly, she won't be the last. >> harris: effective? >> i think so. it feeds into the narrative that the american people already believe on the southern border. they've seen the mass of people coming across the border and the massive amount of people in their communities and hear about the crime. it plays into a narrative that americans already think is true. how does joe biden address it? it is his problem. trying to put it back on the shoulders of donald trump. the massive flow of 15 million people coming into the country is donald trump's fault? that's not going to work. >> harris: i want to touch on this. it is not just the massive flow of people trying to come here, it is the gaming the system by the drug cartels and actually when trump said this years ago, he got a lot of criticism, but they are coming. some of the worst of their countries. look at the guys from venezuela right now who are illegal immigrants crossed into this country and suspects in murders. it's pretty unbelievable. now this isis report. >> there is no way to vet millions of people who come into the country. it's impossible. when you talk to those with knowledge on the southern border you have renault high school graduates in charge of vetting. no vetting is happening at all which is why you can let the criminals come across the southern border. no one knows who they are. that's the problem. again, i think the cost is a big deal, too. whether the phones, the food, the housing, the transportation, but ron desantis in florida just asking the question if they are an illegal migrant he cut the costs of medicaid by 50%. >> harris: when you talk about the vetting, you know that it's bad when an isis smuggling ring actually side-by-side to the cartels now is in on the game at our border. gaming the system getting people into this country and fanning them out and we don't know where they are. former lieutenant governor mccoy says biden's open border infected america with a plague. it is called the u.n. calls it assault, rape and murder of girls and women due to their gender. rape where women's underwear hangs from tree branches and rape tents dot the route approaching our southern border. do you think the rapes stop when illegals cross into the united states? no. being victimized by migrants bringing it to your neighborhood and she goes on to point out the silence from all the women's groups on this. >> they care more about the democrat party than women's issues and protecting women. this calls them out very loudly on their position in the silence on it. i do think abortion will be an issue in this campaign season. but when you look at women in neighborhoods walking down the street and going for the run, going to a convenience store like jocelyn. when you aren't safe you see moms and dads and daughters across the country freaking out. i think the