SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

There’s a new opening in Donald Trump’s busy September schedule. The judge overseeing the New York criminal hush money case has agreed to move his sentencing date to three weeks after the election. NPR’s Ron Elving joins us. Ron, thanks so much for being with us.

RON ELVING, BYLINE: Good to be with you, Scott.

SIMON: And a jury, of course, found Trump guilty, 34 counts, falsifying business records to hide payments to an adult film star. Sentencing had been set for July, then September, now November. Why would Judge Merchan agree to delay it again?

ELVING: The judge was in a classic no-win situation here, Scott. Judges generally prefer to decide cases on the particulars of the case and not the larger social or political context, and that goes for sentencing, as well. All the same, this same judge will have a big decision on his hands on November 26, especially if he’s sentencing the president-elect. As for the immunity decision, Trump would obviously have preferred a favorable ruling on this right now, but on balance, it’s been a good week for his legal team.

SIMON: Is it just postponing the inevitable, though?

ELVING: Well, it’s a win in the short term. But, of course, it’s an extraordinarily important short term. It includes the election. Trump will have a whole new deck of cards to play with if he wins.

SIMON: And, Ron, some flabbergasting numbers from Vice President Harris’ campaign this week – $361 million raised her first full month as a candidate. Trump campaign says it pulled in 130 million. Now, I know money isn’t everything in politics, but it’s a lot, isn’t it?

ELVING: No one’s going to deny that it’s better to have more money than less in a political campaign. Historically, the better-funded campaign tends to win, although Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016 was an exception. She had outraised and outspent Trump. And let’s remember, she also did get more popular votes, but narrow losses in a few big states were enough to cost her the Electoral College.

On the other hand, Clinton’s 2016 fundraising age was nowhere near as large as what Harris and Walz have now, and this should help the Democrats bolster their candidates down ballot and, thereby, boost turnout for Harris as well. In any event, it’s a stunning number, Scott, even when you account for inflation. And it shows the power of small-dollar donors – 3 million of them – building on the model of Barack Obama and his campaigns and Bernie Sanders and his.

SIMON: September 10, Tuesday, will be the first debate – maybe only debate – between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in Philadelphia, on ABC. And after some back-and-forth, rules have been agreed to. Give us a rundown of a few of them, please. And we’ll be sure to leave your mic open.

ELVING: (Laughter).

SIMON: Sorry.

ELVING: I appreciate that, Scott. You know, I hate it when you yell over me.

SIMON: (Laughter).

ELVING: But you’re right. We should only hear the candidate who is supposed to be speaking Tuesday night. And well, we’ll see how that goes. We know Trump tends to get excited at these things, and even without a studio audience to egg him on, it may be hard for him to stay silent.

There’s not going to be any kind of an opening statement by each candidate. They’re only supposed to make brief closing remarks. And the candidates will not be allowed to question each other directly. And they’re supposed to remain behind their respective lecterns for the length of the debate. We’ll see how that goes.

SIMON: Yeah. You know, Ron, with the previous debate that set in motion President Biden stepping aside as the nominee, so we are reminded of the consequence debates can have on the race, what will you be watching for?

ELVING: I think we’re all watching more for performance than for substance, to be candid. Harris’ challenge is to look and speak the part, to fulfill people’s image of the office. Trump’s going to do what he can to undercut that, to invalidate it and disqualify her. And while they are not allowed to question each other directly, each will look for ways to throw the other off balance. Perhaps Harris will ask Trump why former Congresswoman Liz Cheney and her father, the legendary conservative Vice President Dick Cheney, have both said they’re voting for Harris and called Trump unfit to be president.

SIMON: NPR’s Ron Elving, thanks so much for being with us. Talk to you later.

ELVING: Thank you, Scott.

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