Advisers worry whether 'happy Trump' or 'angry Trump' will show up to debate

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

58% : Trump has had some success in cutting through the news cycle in recent weeks, including when he took over headlines after the Democratic national convention when Robert F Kennedy Jr gave his endorsement to the Republican nominee.
36% : The anxiety over Trump's mood on the day reflects the reality that the campaign has been looking at the debate as the best opportunity for Trump to try and reset the race after playing defense against Harris for weeks - and the risks of doing so.
29% : But the reality is that good news for Trump has mostly been in short supply and his own vice-presidental pick, Ohio senator J D Vance, has done little but create negative headlines.
23% : Trump has struggled historically with Black women in positions of power, and the campaign is bracing for him not to repeat recent comments that questioned Harris's race or openly misogynistic comments, and more broadly, if he launches into lengthy and rambling diatribes that have become a feature of his rallies.
23% : Trump's senior advisers continue to insist that they are pursuing multiple strategies against Harris, but the true picture that has emerged is that their game plan currently consists of hoping Trump wins the debate to gain back momentum.
22% : Trump can be a tough opponent, and has knocked opponents back in 2016 and 2020 with an avalanche of disorientating false claims.
15% : With Trump struggling to frame the narrative against Harris, the general posture inside campaign leadership is to write off the regular programming that won't change the race - and look to a debate that might.
15% : As the reasoning goes, even if the television networks decline to air Trump's rallies or remarks criticizing Harris day-to-day, they will be forced to air Trump and his attack lines when he has the floor.
14% : Related: Trump threatens to jail adversaries for 'unscrupulous behavior' if he winsThe pivot to praying Trump does well at the debate could work.
13% : That campaign strategy - or lackthereof - betrays the serious predicament for Trump and his campaign as he struggles to find ways to land effective attacks against Harris less than two months before the election.
8% : If Trump becomes frustrated on the stage, it could bring out his worst instincts to make ad hominem insults in the vein of recent attacks on Harris that have turned increasingly personal and extreme to the extent that is has exasperated some of his own supporters.
6% : The campaign also feels that Trump can use the debate as an opportunity to get across to a national primetime audience his messaging points criticizing Harris on policy - accusing Harris of allowing waves of illegal immigrants and not cracking down on crime - that have so far not broken through.

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