Improve on past debate performances. But he thought every answer he gave was perfect, so he didnt need to look at them. This is a guy when he looks in the mirror sees a 35yearold. Im in the market for that mirror. Kristen, what are you learning from hillarys camp. Her debate prep couldnt be more different. Shes preparing as a lawyer, which is what she is sort of meticulously going through her policy positions, Donald Trumps policy positions. One of her top aides telling me shes feeling good. She has had a number of mock debates and some of those mock debates at night to sort of prepare her body clock for the fact that this debate is going to be an hour and a half, no breaks, 90 minutes long. So shes really getting into her game in terms of that. But look, the challenges for secretary clinton is she doesnt want to appear overly scripted. She doesnt want to deliver long policy discussions because thats when viewers, voters, start to tune out. Thats going to be her real challenge. Look, she has about 40 debates under her belt. Shes also got to be kafr not to be overly confident heading into tonight. Donald trump is a candidate unlike any that we have seen in modern history, so shes got to prepare for the unpredictable as well. Katy, over the weekend, robby mook, Clintons Campaign manager, this is what he had to say. What we dont want to have is some double standard where donald trump can get the most improved award, but Hillary Clinton is judged on the fine points of policy. This double standard. Does donald trump truly have to walk up with his zipper up and his shoes tied and hes going to win . Lets hope he does that. But listen, the bar is low for donald trump. It just frankly is. He hasnt been the most adept debater in the past. Hes more of an insulter than a debater. He hasnt come up with much fleshed out policy on the debate stage. When it comes to substance over style, hes very much, which is what Hillary Clinton is, very much style over substance. So the bar is much lower because the people who are judging him are finding a way to like him over Hillary Clinton. Its not fair, as robby mook was saying. But that is the state of the game right now. Before we go, is Hillary Clintons team taking the wrong approach . Tim kaine saying hillary brings her aplus game. Why say she needs to deliver an aplus when donald has the bar so low . She feels as though she does. Part of her prep ragdz is to have her former top aide at the state department play donald trump. Hes not afraid to pull a punch. Anyone who has worked with him knows that. If youre a member of the press, you know that. Hes had a lot of tussles with the press. He has taken some really sharp, personal jabs at her over this weekend. She knows that the stakes are incredibly high for her tonight. Because there is so much pressure for her to perform, not just an aplus, but for her to exceed expectations. By the way, when you talk about style over substance, substance is so important. We live in an era of not just tv but twitter, and one sentence could dominate how we look back and view this debate. You know who has style and substance . Steeth s steve schmidt, a republican strategist and msnbc contributor. Hes going to help us break down what were going to expect tonight. Do you buy this line that trump isnt really preparing . I say baloney. What do you say . Absolutely. Hes not preparing in anywhere near the conventional sense. There are no mock debates. There is no standin opponent. He processes information, as has been clear through the campaign, by watching television, watching cable news, watching video clips. I think were going to see donald trump go out there tonight in front of the largest debate audience in American Television history, and well see donald trump be donald trump, and the question that hell have to answer is this. Is he going to be seen as a plausible commander in chief, a plausible president by the millions of people that are watching this. Can they see him sitting in the oval office at a time of national crisis, addressing the nation . Thats the bar he has to begin to clear tonight. Havent they answered that question . Explain to me this massive swing we have seen in the polls. A couple weeks ago, we wusaring look at math. Theres no way he can find a path. Now look at these numbers. What do you think of them . When you think about a president ial race, stephanie, there are a couple unequal moments. The vp picks, the convention speeches, and then the three debates. So donald trump didnt have a very good convention. Hillary clinton had a great one. Donald trump had his bad in august as a candidate for president has ever had in a general election, and Hillary Clintons september has been just as bad. They come into this race in a divided nation, in an even race. With an advantage slightly to Hillary Clinton, when you look at the electoral map and you look at the demographic advantages that any democratic candidate has, and her polling advantages in the swing states, but its a very, very close race. At one point in time, Hillary Clinton had this all but locked up. But she has not had a good september. She let her opponent back in the race. And so tonight, donald trump, like any challenger candidate, and hes the challenger in this race, has to show that there are plausible president. That you can see that person as the commander in chief of the most powerful military in the world, commander in chi of the Largest Nuclear arsenal in the world. And that process begins tonight for those undecided voters. Does she not well, hold on. If youre talking undecided voters, what donald needs to show up . That aggressive, punch packing donald is how he got the hardcore supporters he has that dont seem to want to leave. But for those undecideds, those who have looked at those ads hillary has put out that have hit home. The one we saw this weekend saying, you know, a woman with a flat chest cant be a ten. You know, discussing womens bodies, who they are. How do undecided voters want to see donald tonight . They want to see somebody who looks like a president of the United States. Who can function in that office with the requisite comportment, the dignity that that office requires. And so donald trump, the fundamental question about him in this campaign all the way through has been his temperament. Is this somebody who is hfit fo command . So tonight, when the lights go on in front of the largest audience of this campaign, with the two of them on the stage, the American People are going to start to get to evaluate him. He has to do what Ronald Reagan was able to do against jimmy carter. By the time those three debates were over, Ronald Reagan was viewed by the American People as a safe bet, not a risky one, to be the next president when the country very badly wanted to change direction. People that are opposed to donald trump or undecide right now, what theyre undecided on is the question of how risky he is. But in Donald Trumps case for those undecided voters, those suburban women, you know, hes saddled with labels people have given him. A racist, a biggest, a misogyni misogynist. What can he do to erase that . Ronald reagan wasnt saddled with that. Hes not going to be able to erase it, but he has to show some nuance. He has to be able to show some range. He has to show a big heart. He has to show compassion. He would be wise to address some of the statements he made going after disabled people. He went to some degree, he went down that path saying he regrets pain that his comments have caused people and understands that he goes too far. Hell have opportunities to be surprising tonight. To reset some of the terms of the debate. At the end of this, the central democratic attack against Ronald Reagan is he was going to start world war iii, he was risky, crazy, a cowboy, unfit to be president. By the time they saw the mans grace, his good humor, the temperament over the course of the debates, the American People decided he was a plausible commander in chief. Thats part of the challenge that donald trump has tonight. Can he actually be seen by the millions of americans who are still undecided as somebody who can take the oath of office and lead the country . Can we see him sitting in the oval office . Can we see him walking down the stairs of air force one as americas representative to the world . And he still has some distance to go on that. Then yes or no, were out of time, but you have been in this position with john mccain, 12 hours before debate time. As you said, do you believe he has the grace, the charm, the good humor, the humility, to pull that off . Look, i think that donald trump is a pretty effective tv performer. Well see how selfaware he is tonight about the deficiencies that he carries into this debate. And about what the hangups of the American People are, about a potential president trump. And well see if he has a performance that meets that challenge. All right. Steve schmidt, thank said so much. Going to let you take a rest because i promise well have you working overtime today. Good to be with you. All right, coming up, were going to talk to the rnc about Donald Trumps game plan. And the bizarre trump tweet over the weekend, saying he was going to invite jen rr flowers to the debate. Guess where we are . Look at this crowd. Were live at Hofstra University, living up to the Strong Island name. The debate 12 hours from now. I know this crowd is exciting. 100 Million People will be watching tonight. Stay with us as we get ready. Got a quarter . But dad, youve got. Tes are probably gonna double. Allstate. With accident forgiveness they guarantee your rates wont go up st because of an accident. Smart kid. Indeed. Its good to be in, good hands. All right. You know what youre looking at, the crowd outside here at Hofstra University. With me as we get ready for tonights debate. And its loud and rowdy out here, but were also going to take you inside that debate hall right here, a very, very different tone. Where in about 11 1 2 hours, the first president ial debate is going to take place. Donald trumps Vice President ial candidate says hes been preparing for tonights debate his whole life. According to trumps own campaign, recent efforts to get ready for the campaign have been minimal. Im going to bring in sean spicer, rnc chief strategist. We have not been able to find each oat in the same city. It took long island to bring us together. I think theyre ready. Theyre ready. I want to start with something i dont believe. Okay. We have heard that donald trump isnt really preparing. To me, thats like a hot woman who says i just threw this dress on or a nerd saying i didnt study, and then acing the test. So i say baloney. Youre feeding us a line that hes not studying. I think he is not preparing in the traditional stance, standing at a podium, but of course hes preparing. Hes been sitting around with his advisers talking about the issues. Its not a question of whether hes preparing or not, but as governor pence said, hes been preparing his whole life. Meeting with world leaders, hes a businessman. So hes done that. In the last several weeks, of course he has sat down with key advisers, with chairman Reince Priebus on the political end, general flynn, kellyanne conway, newt gingrich, jeff sessions. All those folks sitting around having discussions about key issues in preparation. I think people have been dismayed hes not doing it in the traditional way, but he is anything but a traditional candidate. Mike pence said preparing his whole life. I could watch a lot of basketball. I could watch a lot of golf, but it doesnt mean i can play the game. No, but youre not watching it. If youre doing it, thats the difference. Thats what donald trump is doing. Its not like hes sitting back watching life go by. Hes been making deals around the world, who has been building things. Getting things done, working with governments, local, state, federal, and frankly international. Its not a question of sitting back and being a observer. Hes been in the game. You tweeted over the weekend, its one thing to set expectations, but hillary Clintons Campaign is setting a record in predebate whining. Now, Donald Trumps already been complaining about anderson cooper. He said lester holt was a democrat. So come on now. Theres a difference. I think what you have seen out of robby mook and Jennifer Palmieri is them, we dont know who is going to show up, how to prepare. We need to them to stop knrading on a curve. Hillary clinton has been in over 34 debates. She was a United States senator for two terms. If theres anybody who has prepared and understands the political process, its Hillary Clinton. For her team to be going out and whining about whether or not people are grading on a curve, it sounds like theyre not prepared or ready. I think if anybody, not just this debate tonight, but around this country would be ready to debate, it should be Hillary Clinton. You look at her resume. The irony is their biggest selling point is her resume. Shes been places and was elected to things. And now suddenly tonight, theyre saying shes not prepared. I mean, its somewhat ironic that the only thing that they sell us as the reason to elect her is shes not prepared, shes not ready. I dont believe theyre saying shes not prepared, but donald trump was going after his health, saying she wasnt strong enough, didnt have the stamina, and friday you put out a statement saying she better pull off a near perfect performance. Which is it . Theres a difference. Its not a question of stamina, its a question of performance. 90 minutes, no commercials. She has been on the stage, two terms in the United States senate. She was secretary of state. She has been in over 34 debates. Her and obama went at it pretty epically. The fact is that she has been through this process more than anybody. Not just compared to trump, but probably anybody, frankly. She has the most experience on the debate stage. So for her campaign to come out and start to be whining about grading on a curve is in direct conflict to what theyre bragging about as her level of experience. You said theyre talking about who is going to be there in terms of which donald. Donald put out something a little questionable this weekend. Gennifer flowers, is she smoe showing u . They start pushing out theyre bringing in mark cuban. Mark cuban and Gennifer Flowers are not the same thing. Start at the beginning of game and understand what they did, they tried to incite, get in his head and announce that cuban was going to sit in the front row purely to rattle him. Trump responds and everyone picks up the game halfway through and say how dare he do this. Glm i not saying how dare he do this, but i wouldnt put Gennifer Flowers and mark cuban mano e mono. You wouldnt compare them. One is a man and one is a woman. You dont compare the two. Again, lets get back to how it all started. They put something out clearly to try to play psychological warfare and then they get upset when he beats them at their own game. You think hes beaten them at their own game . I do. Is Gennifer Flowers going to be there . Im not going to discuss who the guests will be. I dont know. Well see when the debate starts. What donald trump has in his corner right now is momentum. He does. What is happening in the country that created this opening especially in the last couple weeks. You have seen the bloomberg poll that came out, up two. Its not just up two. Its the moementum. Plus six. You saw pennsylvania, colorado, showing trump up. Again, not just where the horse race is. Its the momentum. Trump not only nationally but statewide continues to flow forward, and tonight is a continuation of that. Hes an agent of change. Shes the establishment. Number two, i think we put together the most robust ground game any party has done and youre seeing it on the ground. His ability to sell a message and our ability to connect with voters in terms of the ground and data and digital operation how do you face the Fact Checking challenge, and youre going to tell me New York Times is liberal, b whether its politico, New York Times, washington post, they have gone after him about the lies we have heard, and im not talking hillary. Im talking just donald. Donald needs to get people, not just to not like her, but to get to the polls to vote for him. How does he combat he is, but you just noted it. He is doing that. People are welcoming this voice of change that he represents. But hes going to get pushback on lies he told. First, he is going out there and telling his story, selling his experience. His story he supported iraq, he didnt support iraq. Theres definitely lies out there. How is he going to face it . You call them lies. He this week talked about the fact he and hannity talked about it pre2002. Its not lies. He was fought a public the 31 lies the New York Post put out, nub one of them are tr . You want to go through them, ill go through them. The media environment right now is literally fixated on going after donald trump. They will overlook so much of what Hillary Clinton has done or not done. You want to talk about lies. Her entire campaign fixated on it . I wish we werent out of time. I would like to get fixated on donald trump saying a woman with a flat chest cant be a ten. Unfortunately, were out of time. Good luck to you. Thank you for joining. Sean spicer. Coming up, well hear from the other side. One of Hillary Cli