Donald Trump’s campaign is particularly concerned about the former president’s mood in the debate with Kamala Harris, according to insiders. They fear that the erratic Trump could engage in the same kind of self-sabotage that scared off voters in the 2020 presidential election.

The campaign’s internal battle is whether they will get a “happy Trump” or an “angry Trump,” the people said, as they count down the days to perhaps the final presidential debate of this cycle.

Tuesday night’s televised debate is widely seen as a pivotal moment in the reboot of the 2024 campaign. Since Joe Biden withdrew from the race after a campaign-destroying debate performance that crystallized fears about his age and mental acuity, Harris has turned the race on its head.

But Harris’ upward trajectory appears to have peaked, and Trump’s advisers have seen the debate as their best chance to regain momentum after weeks of being pushed out of the news cycle. Their hope, the people said, is to pit the Trump who quickly found his feet against Biden during the debate.

Their concern is that Trump will get angry. If Trump gets frustrated on stage, it could trigger his worst instincts to make ad hominem insults along the lines of recent attacks on Harris that have become increasingly personal and extreme, to the point of angering some of his own supporters.

Trump has a history of trouble with black women in positions of power, and the campaign expects him not to repeat recent comments in which he questioned Harris’ race or made overtly misogynistic remarks. And in general, he hopes he won’t go on another of the long, rambling tirades that have become a hallmark of his rallies.

The fear about Trump’s vote that day reflects the reality that the campaign saw the debate as Trump’s best opportunity to try to reset the race after weeks of defending Harris — and the risks that entailed.

Trump’s top advisers continue to insist they are pursuing different strategies against Harris, but the real picture that has emerged is that their strategy for now is hoping Trump wins the debate to regain momentum.

That campaign strategy — or lack thereof — betrays the dire situation Trump and his campaign find themselves in as he struggles to find ways to effectively attack Harris less than two months before the election.

In recent weeks, the Trump campaign has come to realize that nothing it did in the run-up to the debate has weakened Harris’ gains in key polls in swing states, The Guardian previously reported.

Trump has had some success in breaking through the news cycle in recent weeks, dominating headlines after the Democratic National Convention when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsed the Republican nominee.

But the reality is that good news for Trump is usually scarce, and his own vice presidential nominee, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, has done little but generate negative headlines. Meanwhile, Harris’ pick of Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota has been warmly received by Democrats and has reinforced the idea that Harris now leads a united and rejuvenated Democratic Party.

As Trump struggles to formulate a narrative against Harris, the general attitude within the campaign leadership is to write off regular programming that won’t change the race — and look to a debate that might.

The spin of praying Trump does well in the debate could work. Trump can be a tough opponent, and has struck back at opponents in 2016 and 2020 with an avalanche of disorienting false claims.

The campaign also believes Trump can use the debate as an opportunity to deliver his message to a national prime-time audience, criticizing Harris’ policies. He accuses Harris of allowing waves of illegal immigrants to enter and failing to address crime. Those criticisms have so far failed to materialize.

The reasoning goes that even if the television networks refuse to air Trump’s rallies or criticism of Harris on a daily basis, they will still be forced to air Trump and his offensive comments when he has the floor.

Trump’s advisers are also heartened by the fact that microphones are muted when it’s not a candidate’s turn to speak, saying it leaves Harris unable to fact-check him in real time or make comments of her own.