>> jesse: very special edition. fox news alert ♪ >> jesse: the stage is set and we're less than two hours away first presidential debate of the year. these two men hate each other. but hate will not win the debate. the lincoln douglas debates counted seven in total lasting over 21 hours. while the distinguished doug's also a hurled insults claiming that lincoln's radicalism destroy the union. the republicans respondent responded with whit which propelled him to the presidency where he saved the union. the kennedy nixon debate changed the way americans chose their president. kennedy was a long shot playboy mismatched against the two term v.p. as soon as the camera lights came on, kennedy's tan youthful complex fitted in a well-tailored suit with perfect posture looked presidential while nixon, still recovering from a bought of the flu and a banged up knee, appeared sweaty and pale and a poorly fitted gray suit, no makeup. 5:00 shadow. kennedy's charm was key. lincoln's calm story-telling key. and history has a way of repeating itself. very soon donald trump and joe biden will square off at cnn's presidential debate in what's the most consequential debate since. the nation is watching to see if joe biden has what it takes for 90 minutes and whether donald trump has the discipline to calmly tell the story about life in america under two presidents. democrats say this election is about the most important election of our life times. donald trump would be a dictator for life. now we don't even really know if they believe that but we know this. democrats are on the brink of a full progressive takeover of america. four more years under joe biden and kamala harris. many believe would cripple our sovereignty. our finances and our culture. donald trump believes joe biden is an incompetent and ignorant lifelong politician who is controlled by the extreme left and mismanaged the country into bolivian with open borders, inflation, and a stark deterioration in the quality of life. the former president is leading joe biden the majority of the national polls and is beating him in every single battleground, sand now wiped out biden's cash advantage. election markets say trump has a two to one chance of winning. which is why joe biden needed to change the momentum and threw down this early debate challenge. there's more pressure on biden tonight than trump. but the exceptions for biden are lower. he set those exceptions pretty low himself with his public performances and erratic speaking capabilities. but the media has played into the exceptions game, too. on the right and on the left. a good night for biden is hanging in there. throwing mud at trump and showing his base that he still has a pulse. trump a good night, he remains calm, charming and disarming and keeps the focus away from himself and on you, the american people. we expect a few jokes, colorful language good stories, some insults, perhaps some rambunctiousness with the moderators, the facts are on trump's side. if he can deliver those in a persuasive way, can he put biden away early. douglas brinkley is the presidential historian. how do you see historically the significance of this debate tonight? >> i think it's really important. i mean, you mention the kennedy-nixon back then. i mean and you said how sweaty nixon was and had the flu. nixon didn't even debate in '68 and he won. he refused to debate in '72 and he won. it's not always good to be forced into a debate. i was surprised that donald trump wanted to enter the arena this early. i think biden is the one that doesn't have momentum right now. and needs some; however, biden, i think, is going to be able to as the worry for biden is that he has those al gore moments where he seems to be sighing or rolling his eyes. trump's downside is if he seeming t ardent. it's about modification on both sides. >> jesse: it really is. you say trump may have been jammed into accepting this early debate challenge. after saying i will debate joe biden any time, anywhere, was he stuck? could he have then said well, wait a minute say a second is you are going to make us debate in june with cnn? no. could he have pulled that off. >> i think he could have pulled it off. nobody would have demanded a june debate. cnn has been the enemy for trump. he has played off of that relationship so he could say this is not a realistic proposal. but i think his sense of machoism or sense of i threw the gauntlet down and i don't want to back off perhaps got the better of him. however, if he does what he does and controls the stage, which he can do, biden seems to fumble the momentum for trump will keep going. i mean, desired effect, fundraising for both and then it's going to hit the spin rooms and we will see who wins not just the debate but the spin of the debate. >> jesse: trump is positioned for an early knockout in this election. if he does well. and then could carry that momentum into the rnc. and then really run up a lead. what if biden doesn't perform even up to these low section exceptions? >> biden would have to do something so atrocious not to be the democratic nominee. >> jesse: okay. >> they're locked in. biden harris. if something strange happened, maybe. this will be the last window because, we are rolling fast in august here. >> jesse: what if biden does well and is he high energy, big tempo and he gets a few shots in, and the media spins it as a big win. does this really changes the way the american people feel about the biden president after all of these years of inflation, of open borders, of chaos. are they going to say well he really made great points on the economy tonight. i'm really going to give him another look? >> i don't know about the american people, but it will help the democrats calm down. if biden can do what they felt he did at the state of the union, and do a kind of a good solid whatever -- then they will say he is the nominee. >> jesse: okay. >> there is still this anxiety maybe at the last minute we have to have a sw sw swish a radio. >> i haven't felt this i'm not going to say nervous because i'm not usually nervous. i might have had bad milk earlier. i feel the intensity about this debate. do you feel it. >> i do. you have for the first time a sitting president and ex-president. animosity towards each other sky high. >> jesse: are they going to shake hands? >> i think they have to shake hands. they may be asked that question what do you like about the other person? >> jesse: i hate that question. >> i don't think that will fly. i don't think anybody is going to do a fall answer on that. >> jesse: do you see the moderator jake tapper and dana bash making themselves a part of this debate? if they do that will be garbage. >> i don't think they will. they have to prove that they are fair brokers. now, it's going to get dissected. at some point they are going to pivot and double down on somebody if trump does badly he will resort to the fake news, i was set up kind of bit. if biden does badly then he doesn't have that excuse. so, i find there is more pressure on biden than trump and hence why biden has been spending so much time preparing at camp david and both of them, i think, have some jokes as you said or one liners in the end my kids tiktok generation. they are going to look at the lumsy moment the awkward moment or the punch as much as we all say we want to have this highfalutin debate there is a hunger for at least a couple of mudslinging scenarios. >> jesse: of course and if a fly lands on someone's heads, of course there is that. >> thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you, jesse. >> jesse: biden spent the week practices zingers and carving up la zan i can't. aside from 16 camp counselors no one has seen or heard from the president since. democrats don't know what to expect tonight. obama world and clinton world have been rushing to the media to feed joe talking points. and you can just kind of feel the bed-wetting a little. the jitters even hitting close to home. >> so on my way to atlanta, you probably have heard, you know, about the debate. i had to turn the tv off. i couldn't take it -- i couldn't take it anymore. so, you know, i just have to thank you for your support. >> jesse: michaelah rosa a former press secretary for first lady jill biden a democrat. he joins us now. 16 advisers taking a week off to prep at camp david, memorize lines and rest. why does he need so much prep? >> well, i truly don't think he does i think it was what he was prepping for. look, he has been debates than any candidate in history. run circles on anybody on policy and substance and the records can you impair and assimilate to expect the unexpected? what does that feel like? what does that sound like? what does that look like? and that's what he is not used to. so, if signature, i hope that time was spent preparing creatively, 16 advisers, yeah, a little over the top i only listens to two or three anyway jess i only listen to two of my producers, the rest of them over my head. mike, again, you are saying he is the best debater ever. the most experienced living debater in america right now. he has done more. is he more experienced and you say he is good. you say he is really good. he has debated trump twice he knows what trump is about. again, if you know your record i'm sure is he familiar and remember trump's record. what are they drilling into his head, exactly? >> >> well, hopefully is he preparing to, you know, counter punch, he is showing, practicing his delivery. i don't think it's more about like the record. i mean, i think, look, he is going to defend his record. hopefully is he prepared to counter punch donald trump, because donald trump is a great counter puncher. he should be prepared for that he is going to have to be doing the fact-checking. >> jesse: stays nimble, working on his hand speed and movement and reaction time? >> yeah. you nailed it in your entry. this is all cosmetic for biden, the biggest test for the president is all presentation. he needs to show he is agile. he needs to show is he nimble, he needs to show strength. and he needs to show that he can contextualize where we were four years ago. what he inherited and where we are now. >> jesse: are you satisfied with the biden campaign where it stands now? your guy is down. >> i don't think anybody is satisfied right now. look. after the first debate four years ago, we knew, we saw the data move. we saw it change. we knew we wanted to debate. we knew we were probably going to win. the mood of the country is very different now. and there's a lot riding on tonight. there is a lot of pressure on the president. he does have to pull away at some point within polling in data in the states to show that he can win this race. and, look, i don't think anybody is comfortable. it's a coin flip. right? >> jesse: it doesn't look like jill biden is very comfortable. she couldn't even watch the tv conch. how do you think she is processing this? >> you know, i have seen her on debate days. i have seen her on -- i was in the debate room with her four years ago. she-she is pretty subdued. i'm surprised to see her campaigning today. she is usually pretty subdued. you are married. she is nervous for him. she-when he is attacked she feels the heat and hurt of that. lived through this is probably her 15th campaign. i think the stakes and the pressure on that campaign, on this candidate is palpable. i'm sure she is feeling it. >> jesse: yeah, i mean, i'll feeling it and he is not even my guy, i'm feeling the intense city in the air. i'm sure you saw the axios report about michelle obama not going to campaign for joe biden. doesn't really like the way the family handled the hunter, kathleen deal. and how do you guys feel about that? how do you think the first lady feels? >> >> she views these things through the prism of being hunter's mother. kathleen was a dear friend, is a dear friend of mrs. obama. you know, families are complicated. families split. you know, her loyalty is always to her son. and as any mother's loyalty should be. look, they adore the obamas. i saw in that report there was anita dunn citing a meeting with michelle obama's chief strategist. i have a feeling that the time is coming where, you know, you will see news flashes on, you know, when she is going to be speaking at the convention or how many days she will be campaigning, probably as a result now because of this article, but she spoke for us last time. she didn't campaign for us. but i think she is one of the biggest stars in the democratic party, so hopefully she does. >> jesse: all right. mike, thank you so much. i would like to say good luck but. >> thanks for having me. >> jesse: i don't really mean it but good luck. >> thanks, jesse. good luck. >> jesse: all right. the trump family is here. and johnny,. >> pretend you're joe biden. you get on that debate stage. the first thing you're telling trump. >> skippedy bob, scooby-doo. into the things that keep our food fresher, our families safer, and our planet cleaner. to help us get there, america's plastic makers are investing billions of dollars to create innovative products and new recycling technologies for sustainable change. because when you push for smarter solutions, big things can happen. - [narrator] life with ear ringing sounded like a constant train whistle i couldn't escape. then i started taking lipo flavonoid. with 60 years of clinical experience, it's the number one doctor recommended brand for ear ringing. and now i'm finally free. take back control with lipo flavonoid. - so abraham lincoln once said, "don't believe everything you read on the internet." oh, i see what they did there. misinformation online is real, and so are its negative and harmful effects. stay smart. the more you know. >> jesse: one of the most controversial neither tonight's cnn presidential debate is the new mute button that will cut off anybody trying to speak when it's not their turn. how will this play out between two candidates who hate each other? cnn gave us a little preview. >> now i want to give you a sense of what it will look like for viewers at home if a candidate whose microphone is off interrupts a candidate whose microphone is on. i am standing at one podium. i will ask phil to come in and take the other podium. let's say i'm answering a question. my light is green and i'm speaking. phil's microphone is on and his green lights are n not illuminated. he is going to interrupt me while when i'm speaking aened this will sound like. phil's muted and difficult to understand. >> jesse: not breaking news so you will probably be able to hear him through biden's mic. the media loves the idea of anything that gives them more he control over the former president. >> the candidate's microphone will be turned off if it's not their term to speak. it may prevent exchanges. >> this kind of debate is what the biden campaign wanted. >> we didn't have to have these rules before trump. none of these were rules before trump. >> the muted microphone can certainly work as it did last time and help out. >> that should be called the trump rule that rule was obviously written to try to keep donald trump under the kind of control that all presidential debaters before him have been capable of imposing on themselves. >> but some think these new mics don't go far enough. >> this idea that their sound that when trump keeps talking his mic is shut, that's not enough. because joe biden can still hear him. >> yeah. >> yeah. >> like where you are to me. you keep yammering i can still hear you. they need to be in quiz show isolation booths. >> jesse: will this technology backfire on the media-backed candidate? joe is already a soft talking mumbler a muted mic makes biden look worse if he tries to speak out of turns. you know the moderators are no fans of trump. can they be unbiased when it matters the most? don't worry biden's favorite morning show thinks they will do a great job. >> i don't think that jake tapper and dana bash are planning to be hostile. i think they want a fair debate. i'm sure they will be elegant and fair and try their best to ask donald trump and this is his worst nightmare basic questions. >> jake tapper and dana bash are two of the best we have in our business. >> jesse: i can think of a few others but the rest of the media seems ready to pownsz on cnn if the debate backfires and gives trump a bigger edge. "the washington post" says if things go wrong. this debate could break cnn. but it might already be too late, the network is blocking the white house press pool from having any neutral reporters inside the studio during the debate. any shenanigans that might happen off camera or in a commercial break will be completely hidden from the american people. bret baier is the anchor and executive editor of spocialg report and dana perino is the co-anchor of "america's newsroom" and on "the five." they both are here. ladies first. mute button scandal see how it goes: say something similar this maybe this will be fine. it will work out great it. could be a disaster. we don't know. i think that joy behar made a really good point that might be the first time i have ever said that is because if they have muted the microphones but i'm sitting here and you are heckling me. i can still hear you but they can't hear you so i'm not exactly sure how that's going to go. we will see. i also think that the cnn decision to not allow the white house press pool is a terrible decision and they should reverse it right now. >> jesse: i want to ask you about the press pool. right now if trump is not yelling but is countering joe biden and is he muted, and joe can hear him even though we can't, it might make trump not look very disciplined but it could rattle joe. do you agree? >> well, yeah, i mean, they are not far apart. it's not miles here. can you hear them, judge jeanine said it was a tsa video it. really was like that in that example that cnn showed. i do think it could factor in. but it also might have the reverse effect to make former president trump really stick to, you know, the rules. and sometimes that might be a benefit for him. we'll see. i do think the white house decision on the press pool is a big deal. it's just one person speaking for everybody to know what happens behind the scenes. if you don't have that person, you know, we only see what happens on the camera, not in between the breaks, not what happens with different people's facial expressions. you really do need that. >> jesse: biden could give trump the finger in the commercial break and we would have no idea. we need those answers. >> bret: we do. >> jesse: we deserve those answers. >> bret: by the way a couple other controversies, one is floating around that cnn has a two-minute delay and delay this two minutes so they can do edits. cnn took that and put out a statement, felt it was serious enough to say we are not doing a two minute delay. we are starting at 9:00. listen, i think there is a lot of pressure on jake and danna. they have a lot of pressure to try to be fair. the best moderators ever for debates are like jim lair step back and are not a part of the action. they be not a part of it. they toss it but they let the actual candidates debate the issues. >> dana: worst thing for me moderator would be for me in the headlines next day. i would never want that. >> jesse: you don't want any headlines the next day. >> as a moderator, no. >> you are trying to have a soft touch tonight? you don't think they are going to inviewed at all. >> i'm saying that's how i would do it. >> bret: the best ones. >> jesse: beones in the busines. how much pressure is on cnn tonight? >> dana: a lot. 73% of the country likely to watch tonight. earliest presidential debate we have ever had. we are scheduled to have another one september 10th on abc. i hope that happens. i hope there are more. the amer