At Camp David, a movie theater and an airplane hangar have been outfitted with lights and production equipment to create a mock debate stage. At least 16 current and former aides, summoned from Washington and Wilmington, whiz back and forth on golf carts to join President Biden in strategy sessions.
Mr. Biden is entering his fifth day of preparations at the presidential retreat in the woods of northern Maryland for Thursday’s debate against Donald J. Trump. Camp David has become the epicenter for an administration and campaign effort to help Mr. Biden shake off the rust that often comes with being an incumbent on the defense, and combat widespread voter concerns that he is too old to be an effective president.
Both candidates are out of practice as debaters. And Mr. Biden’s top advisers, including Ron Klain, who is managing the debate preparations, are aware of the missteps incumbents have made in the past. In 2012, President Barack Obama flailed in his first re-election debate and had to quickly reorient for the second one.
So they will be working to position Mr. Biden not only as a president in the midst of a re-election campaign, but also as a fighter who can counterpunch on the fly. Mr. Trump, an opponent who is adept at extemporaneous insults, skipped the primary debates that could have sharpened his skills.
“The rust factor is real,” said David Axelrod, a former top strategist to Mr. Obama. “Neither of these guys is accustomed to having someone a few feet away, grilling them with no deference.”
According to people familiar with the planning at Camp David who were not authorized to speak publicly about it, the work days vary in length and are not rigidly structured. Mr. Biden and his most trusted advisers work on what they think would be best to refine or practice in the moment.
They are all trying to game out exactly which attacks Mr. Trump might launch at Mr. Biden, which policies of his Mr. Trump could try to undermine, and how they can best keep the president focused on landing an argument and striking a character and policy contrast with Mr. Trump.
