Trump plays the media and useful idiots that believe it like a fiddle. Remarks like 'losing the debate' that he knows the media, social media, partisan on message boards etc. will take and play up like some big deal. What it amounts to is seriously increasing the audience for that debate.
The remark in context:
". . .The talk turned to the possibility of Biden being replaced as the Democratic candidate, which Trump said he didn’t want to happen.
“Well, you know, interestingly, they’ve done polling, and I do better against almost everybody,” said Trump.
“And so they don’t want to take him off,” he continued. “Maybe I’m better off losing the debate. I’ll make sure he stays. I’ll lose the debate on purpose. Maybe I’ll do something like that.”. . ."
Critics pounced on the former president’s suggestion.
au.news.yahoo.com
The man is a genius in getting the media and numbnuts to do what he wants them to do actually.