High school junior Rosdely Ciprian's biggest piece of advice: "Always let your opponent talk when it's their turn."
If President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden need some advice ahead of their Thursday night face-off, this 16-year-old debater has them covered. “You have to be enthusiastic, stubborn, really confident,” said high school junior Rosdely Ciprian. “And you always have to like have security in your arguments, because if you don't believe what you're saying, what makes you think the judge will?”
The 16-year-old has been perfecting her debating skills since the sixth grade, and her unique talent has been lauded by the likes of political activist and journalist Gloria Steinem and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, with whom she had a chance to have a conversation last fall.
Rosdely’s skill has also taken her as far as Broadway, where she was on stage four nights a week debating whether or not to abolish the constitution in the play “What the Constitution Means to Me,” now streaming on Amazon Prime.
But ahead of Thursday’s debate, Rosdely has her own tips to share with the president and former vice president.
“Always have your sources,” Rosdely told Inside Edition Digital’s Leigh Scheps. “They would say, ‘I think I heard this from this person,’ or like, ‘I heard this from this person and this is why your argument is wrong.’ I don’t think that’s really reliable during a real debate.”
Rosdely’s next piece of advice came in response to what many criticized about Trump and Biden's first debate: “Always let your opponent talk when it’s their turn.
“They were kind of speaking over each other and that’s not proper etiquette during a debate,” she continued. “You have to let your opponent speak so you can respond.”
And if Trump and Biden need any more pointers, Rosdely can point them to her lesson in debating for kids.
“A week ago, I actually judged a tournament online,” she said.
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