Trump Teases Biden Ahead of Debate, Calls President 'Worthy Debater'

Former President Donald Trump appears to be gassing up President Joe Biden ahead of next Thursday's presidential debate.

During an appearance on the the All-In podcast, Trump complimented Joe Biden by saying he was a "worthy debater,” which is surprising, considering how Trump has talked about Biden in recent months.

Trump's complement seemed to serve two purposes. It appears the former president is gassing up Biden ahead of the debate and is also taking shots at one of his least favorite Republicans, Paul Ryan.

Most Americans remember Ryan as Mitt Romney's running mate in the now-Utah senator's failed presidential campaign in 2012.

Despite that massive failure, Ryan would go on to be relatively successful but was pushed out of Republican Party leadership due to his status as a RINO who angered conservative voters even more than Romney did.

Trump Hasn't Forgotten

Ryan chose to align himself with the never-Trump wing of the Republican Party and wasn't afraid of cuddling up to the mainstream media to attack Trump and bask in the positive graces of the left.

Trump hasn't forgotten about that and has been quietly waging war on Ryan ever since. He recently called on Fox News to fire Ryan from their board of directors where he has been since 2019.

Ryan's position on the board of directors can explain some of the anti-Trump behavior that many conservatives say they have witnessed from Fox News in the past few years.

During Trump's interview, he complimented Biden saying, "All I can say is this. I watched him with Paul Ryan, and he destroyed Paul Ryan. Paul Ryan with the water. He was chugging water outta left and right. I didn’t think a human being would be able to drink so much water at one time. And he beat Paul Ryan. So, I’m not underestimating him. It is what it is. Uh, we’ll see happens."

This was in reference to the 2012 vice-presidential debates, as Biden was former President Barack Obama's number-two, and as it was 12 years ago, Biden was in much better shape mentally and physically.

Trump continued saying, "So, I was never a fan of his. But I will say, he beat, uh, he beat Paul Ryan — still, years ago. But he beat Paul Ryan pretty badly. I assume he’s gonna be somebody that will be a worthy debater. I don’t want to underestimate him."

Looking Forward to Debate

Trump is teasing Biden, complimenting him, and talking about not underestimating him, but it seems that he's playing mind games. No one, Republican or Democrat, is expecting the president to be able to keep up with his predecessor on the stage.

Biden has fallen a long way since he last debated Trump four years ago, and he's nothing like he was when he debated Paul Ryan over a decade ago.

CNN has made multiple concessions to give Biden an advantage, including removing the live audience and muting the mics out of speaking times to prevent Trump from making his famous quips.

The debate is as structured and restrictive as possible to allow Biden to stay on script, but he will still have to perform. Based on what many leftist talking heads are saying, the outlook isn't good, and the chances of Biden putting up a "worthy" performance seem low.