The start of the presidential debates is fast approaching. It has just been announced that Lester Holt, anchor of the NBC Nightly News, will moderate the first debate scheduled for September 26.

But did you know the first presidential forum will be held on September 7?

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump will appear at a Commander-in-Chief forum to discuss national security, military affairs and veterans’ issues in a primetime event sponsored by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

The presidential candidates will appear back-to-back in the one-hour event hosted by Matt Lauer and aired by NBC and MSNBC. The two candidates will answer questions from NBC News and an audience that includes military veterans and active service members.

The Trump camp is worried about this major challenge for their candidate. After all, who knows more about national security and foreign affairs than former secretary of state Clinton?

But Trump supporters are taking heart in the fact that George W. Bush was not the sharpest foreign-policy wonk as a candidate but that didn’t stop him from making it to the White House.

In a 1999 interview with WHDH-TV in Boston, an NBC affiliate, Bush was given a surprise quiz on foreign affairs. He was asked to name the leaders of four world hot spots: Chechnya, Taiwan, India and Pakistan.

Bush scored a failing grade of 25%, giving only the right answer for Taiwan.

But the most embarrassing response to a foreign policy question came when Bush was asked to comment on the turmoil in the Middle East. When asked to give his opinion on Beirut, Bush replied, “I know he was a great all-around player, but I always thought Joltin’ Joe DeMaggio was the better the Yankee.”

With the bar set so low by George W., could Trump do any worse?

Photo | dailynewsdig.com

Political analysts are puzzled. Why would the man who thinks Mexico is the land of criminals, drug dealers and rapists pay a visit to that country? Yes, Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto invited Trump to share a margarita or two but what could Trump gain from such a trip?

To astute Trump loyalists, the answer to why Trump headed south of the border is simple. He is there to personally pick up a check from Señor Peña Nieto to build the great border between the two nations.

“There was no way Trump was going to trust Mexico to just mail a check that big,” said Trump supporter, Lester Bailey. “Trump is too smart to let the Mexicans just say the check is in the mail.”

A large number of Trump backers agree with Mr. Bailey.

Of course Mexicans laugh at the notion that they will be footing the bill for any wall built between the neighboring countries.

“I’m not going to pay for that f**king wall! He should pay for it. He’s got the money,” said Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico.

In a recent interview with Mexican newspaper Excelsior, Peña Nieto insisted there was “no scenario” in which Mexico would pay for the border wall Trump has proposed — a statement echoed by the country’s finance minister.

Mexicans, it is fair to say, detest Trump.

A new presidential poll taken in the world’s top 25 nations shows enormous support for Democrat Hillary Clinton, with the biggest gap between Clinton and Republican Donald Trump in Mexico, where she leads 88 percent to 1 percent.

Trump supporters may be disappointed if he does not come back with a cheque grande but no doubt will believe any excuse Trump offers them.

“Oh, he’ll get the check alright,” reasoned Bailey. “Perhaps on the next trip when he brings some of his greasy New York ‘friends’.”

Photo | marcoreport.com

After much head-scratching, Hillary Clinton has finally found a man who can impersonate her Republican opponent as she prepares for the upcoming presidential debates.

“It wasn’t easy coming up with someone who could mimic the reckless temperament and the hateful instincts and divisive instincts of Donald Trump,” Clinton’s campaign manager Robby Mook told CNN. But with about one month to go before the first presidential debate, the Clinton camp has struck gold. Who better to imitate the unpredictable Trump than the “Merchant of Venom” himself, Don Rickles?

When a reporter asked “Mr. Warmth” if he was up for this latest gig, Rickles snapped, “Get away from me you hockey puck.”

At 90, Rickles’ mind is still sharp as a tack.

“Let me tell you something, sonny,” Rickles scolded the reporter. “I was insulting the best of them long before you had your first taste of Farina.”

“But what do you really know about presidential politics?” asked the fearless reporter.

“I know more than Trump and look whose the candidate. It ain’t me,” replied Rickles.

“Have we had a guy running for president who knows less than Trump … about anything?” asked Rickles. “You know who would have made a great president? My old friend Frank Sinatra. Now there was one smart burnt calzone.”

Why the Clinton camp didn’t think of hiring Rickles from the get-go seems odd in retrospect.

When told Clinton’s debate prep stand-in would be Don Rickles, Donald Trump smiled and said, “Love Rickles. Now there’s one hell of a man. I grew up watching the guy. I idolized him. Is the old geezer still alive?”

Photo | nypost.com

Trump caused a major uproar earlier this week when he seemed to be backing off on one of his biggest campaign promises – the forced deportation of the approximately 11 illegal immigrants in the United States.

During a town hall meeting on Tuesday, Fox News host, Sean Hannity, asked Trump if he would change current parts of the law to accommodate law-abiding citizens or longtime residents who have raised children in the U.S.

“There could certainly be a softening because we’re not looking to hurt people,” Trump answered. “We want people — we have some great people in this country.”

But then two days later, in an interview with CNN’s Andersen Cooper, Trump appeared to deny any “softening.”

Reminded by Cooper of his comments to Hannity, Trump said, “I don’t think it’s a softening, I’ve had people say it’s a hardening, actually.”

Not since the great Lite Beer controversy of the 1970s (“Tastes Great … Less Filling”) has there been such heated debate on a topic of national interest.

In an effort to bring some clarity to the subject, a reporter asked Melania Trump to weigh in on the matter… Is it “softening” or “hardening?”

Too savvy to be tripped up on such a hot topic, Melania replied, “I don’t know. I don’t touch subject.”

Asked to comment on his confusing statements, Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s campaign manager, said, “ I am personally going to look into this.”

Perhaps the issue will become clearer in the coming days.

Looks like for now, we may all  just have to wait for Trump to reveal himself.

Photo | univision.com