American voters are not showing much enthusiasm for the first televised debate between Democratic President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the presumed Republican candidate, which will be held today.

However, the importance of this debate, which will be moderated by anchors from the American TV channel CNN in Atlanta for 90 minutes, lies in the fact that it is the first time since the start of this presidential tradition in 1960 that a debate is taking place at such an early stage of the election campaigns.

All polls reach one conclusion: the American public would have preferred candidates other than Biden and Trump so that this election wouldn't seem like a remake of the 2020 election, with all its noise and divisions. The advanced age of both candidates (Biden is 81 and Trump just celebrated his 77th birthday last week) is a factor that does not motivate voters to be enthusiastic about these elections.

Both candidates have become aware of this issue and implicitly agreed to hold the debate on June 27, whereas tradition dictated that the first debate would be held in September. Biden and Trump hope to generate enthusiasm within their respective bases through this early debate.

An NBC poll conducted last April showed that interest in the elections was at its lowest level at this stage of the election year since 2012 and had even decreased since September. Another CNN poll at the end of April revealed a seven-point drop since August among voters most motivated to vote.

Both Democratic and Republican camps have prepared for the debate. Biden has rehearsed at Camp David to prepare for embarrassing questions that Trump might raise, such as inflation and immigration. As for the Republicans, they have focused their efforts on presenting Trump with a calm and controlled demeanor, avoiding the outbursts of anger that marked their first debate before the 2020 elections.

Biden and Trump are each seeking a breakthrough to energize the electoral scene.

The Democrats want Biden to appear as an "energetic president, mastering the issues and capable of directly confronting Trump to explain his achievements in the White House," according to an article in the Washington Post. Trump, on the other hand, is expected to focus on immigration, crime, the budget, and inflation to come out victorious from the debate, according to his former campaign adviser David Urban.

The key for Biden is to avoid any gaffes or slips that Trump could exploit to strengthen his campaign leading up to the November elections. Another positive point for Trump is that his popularity has not been negatively affected by his conviction in the Manhattan case related to a hush money payment to a pornographic actress before the 2016 elections. Polls even show a slight advantage for Trump over Biden in the six key states that usually determine the election outcome.

Trump's advisers have recommended avoiding personal attacks, such as describing Biden as out of touch with reality or repeating unfounded accusations of election theft in 2020.

According to a New York Times report, the Atlanta debate represents an opportunity for Biden to remind voters of the chaos that reigned under Trump's leadership, his criminal conviction, and to warn against a darker future in the event of a second Trump term.

Democratic Representative from South Carolina, James Clyburn, close to Biden, has called the debate a potential "decisive moment" in the presidential race.

Thus, Biden and Trump are each seeking a breakthrough to energize the electoral scene. However, this carries risks if one of the candidates makes a major mistake, reinforcing the already entrenched impression among most voters that this race should have been between other candidates.

While American voters are skeptical about the debate between Biden and Trump, the allies and adversaries of the United States are closely watching the conduct of the American elections. Some allies fear the return of Trump in the midst of the Russian-Ukrainian war and his "isolationist" positions, which could lead to an unbalanced solution imposed on Ukraine.