Trump claims 'low-IQ' Joe only has to do one basic thing to be declared the winner of presidential debates

Donald Trump claimed Joe Biden faces a low bar in this year's presidential debates, and that simply remaining upright will be enough for the media to declare it a brilliant performance, reminiscent of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The two candidates agreed this week to meet for two televised showdowns ahead of the November election.

During a speech on Saturday at the National Rifle Association, Trump, 77, said he had no hesitation in agreeing to the clashes with his 81-year-old opponent. 

After all, his own speaking style, with its multiple threads and thoughts, was a beautiful thing. 

'You know there is a genius to what I'm doing,' he said, interrupting a meandering story about President Macron of France, which may or may not have had something to do with tariffs, and included a brief interlude in praise of the name 'Emanuel' and an attack on CNN.

'You do know that I go from here to there, and it all comes back into a beautiful picture.

'It's a beautiful thing.'

Then he turned to the 'low-IQ individual' that he said he would face in the debate.

'If this horrible individual finishes the debate, which I think he will ... if he's standing, if he's standing, they'll say it was a brilliant performance,' said Trump, before imagining the reviews. 

'It was a brilliant performance. They've never seen anything like it ... very much reminiscent of the days of FDR.'

FDR, he said, had a 'beautiful patrician voice, magnificent voice, great debater.'

The two candidates are due to face each other on the debate stage on June 27 and September 10. They agreed to the meet-ups during a rapid-fire series of statements on Wednesday.

Trump offered his assessment of their chances during a typically wide-ranging speech on Saturday evening to gun enthusiasts in Dallas, Texas.

He warned them that a Biden win in November would bring more restriction on guns and promised to reverse new rules if he was elected president.

'The bad guys are not giving up their guns,' said Trump.

'They will be so happy if the Biden regime gets four more years. They are coming for your guns ... 100 percent.'

The NRA put its full weight behind Trump during the 2016 campaign. In office, the gun lobby welcomed the way he elevated three conservative justices to the Supreme Court.

But since then the group has seen membership and revenues dwindle. Wayne LaPierre stepped down as chief executive just before a Manhattan jury found him and two other executives liable for misspending millions of dollars. 

The NRA attempted to declare bankruptcy three years ago, but the petition was thrown out by a judge who ruled it was not made in good faith. 

Even so, its annual convention is still an important opportunity to rally the Second Amendment enthusiasts he needs to defeat President Joe Biden in November. 

He offered supporters his usual grab-bag of policy headlines, impersonations of world leaders and personal grievances.

He promised to close the border and spent time railing against the judge hearing his hush money case in New York and a gag order, that prevents him attacking witnesses.

But he also offered red-meat to the gun owners in front of him.

'At noon on inauguration day, we will sack the anti-gun fanatic Steve Dettelbach,' he said. 'Have you heard of him?

'He's a disaster ... and replace him with an ATF director who respects the sacred right to keep and bear arms.'

Before taking up the post in 2022 Dettelbach had called for an 'assault-style' firearms ban, and he remains a figure of suspicion for Republicans.

Trump used his speech to remind his audience of the importance of voting.

'I don't know what it is,' he said. 'Perhaps it's a form of rebellion because you're rebellious people argue but gun owners don't vote. 

'What is that all about?'

It was all part of Trump's 'too big to rig argument.' He set out the importance of picking up every vote possible and said that was why he was due to address the Libertarian national convention next week.

'They get their three percent every year no matter who's running,' he said. 'And we have to get that three percent because we can't take a chance on Joe Biden winning.'

'He's the worst president in the history of our country, by far. 

Vice President Kamala Harris said the choice facing voters worried about gun violence was clear.

'It is clear that Donald Trump meant it when he said that Americans fed up with horrific gun violence should simply "get over it." In office, Donald Trump opposed common-sense gun safety measures and oversaw a rise in homicides,' she said ahead of the former president's appearance in Dallas.

'Now, at a time when guns are the number one cause of death for children and teens in America, Donald Trump is catering to the gun lobby and threatening to make the crisis worse if reelected.'