Can Biden perform and can Trump be boring? Key questions ahead of high-stakes debate in Atlanta

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will face off Thursday at 9 p.m. for 90 minutes inside a CNN studio in Atlanta.
President Donald Trump, left, and Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speak during the debate in Nashville, Tenn. on Oct. 22, 2020. The clash between President Biden and former President Trump on Thursday, June 27, 2024, may be the most consequential presidential debate in decades. Biden is desperately seeking momentum amid pervasive concerns about his age and leadership on key foreign and domestic policies. Trump will step onto the stage brimming with confidence, despite his status as the only presidential debate participant ever convicted of a felony. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Rarely, if ever, has one candidate in a presidential debate had so much material to use against the other.

Republican Donald Trump has been convicted of 34 felony counts with serious charges in three other indictments still pending. As president, Trump nominated three of the justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade and erode abortion access in America, creating a backlash even in conservative-led states. And his sweeping second-term plans include promises of retribution against political enemies in both parties.

Yet the big question for President Joe Biden, fairly or not, is whether he has the physical and mental capacity at 81 years old to press the case against Trump. Perhaps nothing matters more than the level of energy and strength the Democratic incumbent projects on stage.