Debate coaches reveal what Biden has to avoid during his Trump showdown on CNN to prevent 'serious discussions' about dropping out

A trio of debate experts agreed that President Joe Biden can't afford having a senior moment at Thursday night's first presidential debate - but are split on whether the format helps Biden or former President Donald Trump. 

Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, will face off Thursday night in Atlanta, Georgia at a debate hosted by CNN and moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. 

The Biden and Trump campaigns agreed that there will be no audience and that microphones will be cut off when the other candidate is talking. 

'If Biden glitches out then that's the ballgame. That's it for him because he has so much more to lose in this debate than President Trump,' GOP debate coach Gail Gitcho told DailyMail.com. 

Brett O'Donnell, who's also coached GOP presidential candidates, agreed that Biden couldn't afford a major gaffe, but argued it was 'high-stakes' just as much for Trump. 

'Remember the rule of debates is: You can't win an election on a political debate but you can lose it,' O'Donnell told DailyMail.com. 'Donald Trump is winning right now. The only place he can go is down.'

Former President Donald Trump (left) and President Joe Biden (right) will meet on the debate stage Thursday night in Atlanta at CNN's studios where there will be no audience and microphones will be cut off when it's not that candidate's turn to speak 

For months, Americans have indicated in polling that they fear Biden - the country's oldest president - won't be effective in a second term. 

While there are age concerns about Trump too, who celebrated his 78th birthday earlier this month, Biden's poll numbers have been worse. 

Trump will be the oldest president ever sworn-in, should he be elected to a second term. 

Todd Graham, a professor of debate at Southern Illinois University, argued that Biden could end old-age concerns by having a successful debate Thursday. 

'I think Biden, if he comes out and has a strong debate, can take four years of narrative and wash them right down the toilet,' Graham told DailyMail.com. 

On the other hand, if Biden has a poor debate, Graham speculated, 'serious decisions' might need to be made. 

'It might wake him up,' Graham said. 'If he has a poor debate he might reconsider either a debate strategy or reconsider running.' 

DailyMail.com interviewed three debate coaches to get their read on Thursday night's face-off. (From left) GOP debate coach Brett O'Donnell, GOP debate coach Gail Gitcho and Todd Graham, professor of debate at Southern Illinois University

Then President Donald Trump's (left) debate against now President Joe Biden (right) in Cleveland, Ohio in September 2020 was memorable for how many times the Republican interrupted his Democratic rival. He also potentially had COVID-19 

'I don't think Trump would do that,' the academic added. 

O'Donnell echoed the sentiment. 

'If Joe Biden flops, like let's say he has a major meltdown, what's the Democrat Party going to do? Are they going to allow him to stay on the ticket and give the race over to Donald Trump?' the O'Donnell and Associates president said. 

'What happens if Donald Trump debates like he did in debate one, does that change the direction of the race, which seemingly is going in his favor right now?' he added. 

Trump and Biden faced-off on the debate stage twice in 2020 - after a planned second debate was cancelled due to the Republican refusing to participate virtually after recovering from a bout of COVID-19. 

The first debate was memorable for Trump interrupting Biden, Trump going after moderator Chris Wallace, a Fox News Sunday veteran, and a rumor that Trump was already infected with COVID at the time. 

A small audience was present - with attendance limited due to the ongoing pandemic. 

Now former President Donald Trump (right) had a much improved debate performance when he faced off against Democratic nominee Joe Biden (left) in Nashville in late October of 2020. Experts said Trump needed to have that performance Thursday night to be successful

Gitcho believed that cutting the microphones Thursday would be beneficial to Trump. 

'I think they really mishandled the format part because they were only thinking of their candidate,' Gitcho said of the Biden campaign. 'I don't think they thought about how this was going to impact Trump.' 

'Because their whole campaign is about President Trump being unhinged and not presidential and all of that. Well, they picked a format that is going to curb exactly what they call President Trump's greatest weaknesses,' she argued. 

O'Donnell agreed. 

'The cutting of the microphones actually benefits Donald Trump because it discourages him from interrupting and cutting in on Biden.' 

Graham thought there could be some shenanigans played onstage when the mics are cut off. 

'Yeah, so with no microphone on Trump, he can literally interrupt Biden, we wouldn't know it, but we would see Biden stumbling and hear him and just think, "Oh, look at that." And that would play into the mental fitness and the age,' the professor offered. 

Melania Trump (left) and Dr. Jill Biden (right) join their husbands President Donald Trump (center left) and Democratic nominee Joe Biden (center right) at the conclusion of the Cleveland debate in 2020. The debate had a small audience due to COVID-19

At the same time, Graham said a lack of an audience could hinder Trump's performance. 

'100 percent Trump campaign, should not have agreed to it,' he said. 'Because he plays off audiences, he speaks to rallies and interviewers who are kind to him.'

'Without an audience he won't know if these jokes are hitting or not,' Graham added. 'Some of the humor is going to come across as mean-spirited.'

O'Donnell partially agreed with this assessment. 

'I think the lack of an audience could hurt Trump, but, you know, the guy has been doing television for a really long time,' O'Donnell said. 'They didn't tape The Apprentice in front of a live audience.' 

This week, Biden is holed up at Camp David engaging in traditional debate prep, while Trump reportedly is skipping having someone play the Democrat and is receiving policy briefings instead. 

Graham called it a mistake for Trump not to mock debate.

'It's a terrible idea,' Graham said. 

He pointed out that when candidates mock debate they can practice their timing. 

'So like getting your answers in on time is super important,' he noted. 'We practice the timing of speeches. I mean, down to the millisecond.' 

O'Donnell and Gitcho didn't view Trump's lack of traditional debate prep to be worrying. 

'If I were his team I wouldn't feel the need to do this like formal debate camp either because you're debating Joe Biden, all you have to do is compare presidencies,' Gitcho said. 'It's not like you're debating Newt Gingrich,' she said, referencing the former Republican House speaker.

O'Donnell said that every candidate he's worked with handles debate preparation differently. 

'We never did a single mock debate with John McCain,' he shrugged. 

The late Sen. John McCain nabbed the GOP nomination in 2008 but was defeated by President Barack Obama in a hard-fought race.

As for what the candidates should actually say once they're onstage, Graham had some helpful advice for Biden. 

'Man, would I quote Trump's inner circle,' Graham said. 

A number of former Trump Cabinet officials - as well as former Vice President Mike Pence - have refused to endorse Trump again. 

'So Trump can't answer that with anything because these are points of simple information. He can't counter it because they are simple facts. And he can't just say, "oh that's just you or Democrats talking,"' Graham said. 

Gitcho predicted that Biden would 'compare personalities' while Trump would 'compare presidencies,' a strategy the GOP operative thought would end up in the Republican's favor. 

'What President Biden wants to do is make voters believe that President Trump and January 6 and being this threat to democracy effects them more than housing costs, inflation, border security, national security, our place in the world, foreign policy,' she said. 'That's never going to work.' 

Looking at the bigger picture, O'Donnell noted that debates are about 'a candidate's ability to drive a message and to create moments that capture the press' imagination.' 

'The objective is to create moments that allow you to seize competitive advantage over your opponent and, and control the media narrative,' he said. 'So everyone should be watching for those moments.'

But unless something really bad happens, Gitcho was the most skeptical of the trio that the debate would actually matter. 

She argued that this early in the cycle it would mostly be Democrats and Republicans tuning in to cheer for their teams.

'At this level it's out of morbid curiosity,' she said. 

'Minus some massive event happening, and massive event has to mean somebody literally falling on their face, then it's not going to matter,' she added.