In a press call on Tuesday, top Trump campaign officials argued that President Joe Biden is a skilled debater, though they repeated baseless claims he will be on drugs to boost his performance at Thursday’s presidential debate as they tried to set expectations for the first time the candidates will meet this cycle.

Trump campaign senior advisors Chris LaCivita and Jason Miller made that case Tuesday after years of attacks from former President Donald Trump and his allies on Biden’s age, mental acuity and stamina. LaCivita also said Biden is “probably going to be filled with Adderall” — an ADHD medication — furthering without evidence the claims by Trump and others that Biden takes drugs to appear more energetic and focused during big speeches and appearances.

“Two things can be true at the same time,” Miller said. “We know that when it comes to the big events, when it comes to debates, when it comes to State of the Unions, things of that nature, that they're going to have Joe Biden completely super-soldiered up. He is going to be ready to go.”

Trump made similar claims over the weekend and members of Congress and conservative media have followed suit, arguing that Biden’s performance at his most recent State of the Union address and other appearances can only be accredited to chemical enhancements. 

But LaCivita and Miller also argued that Biden is an accomplished debater, rattling off headlines from media coverage of his debate performances in 2008 and 2012 as a vice presidential candidate and pointing out his experience in presidential debates dating back to the 1988 Democratic primary.

“It's on video. Biden fumbled and stumbled, but it's also on video of him doing very well in debates,” Miller said.

Trump himself praised Biden’s 2012 debate performance against then-Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan and said “I’m not underestimating him” in a podcast appearance over the weekend. 

“I happen to think he’s incompetent for a lot of reasons,” Trump said on the “All-In Podcast,” later adding “I assume he’s going to be somebody that will be a worthy debater. I don’t want to underestimate him.”

Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, have both long been challenged on their ability to run the country as speakers who frequently stumble over their words or recount stories falsely. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll in March found 64% of U.S. adults said they were not very or not at all confident in Biden’s mental capability to serve as president and 57% thought the same of Trump. Biden is the oldest U.S. president in the nation’s history and Trump would be the second oldest if elected to a second term.

More so than Biden and the Democrats, Trump and his allies have made challenges to Biden’s cognitive abilities central to their argument against him. Trump frequently brings up Biden’s age and mental missteps — both real and misconstrued — in his speeches at rallies and a series of deceptively edited videos appearing to depict a confused Biden have been promoted by pro-Trump figures and media outlets. The White House has denounced the videos as “cheap fakes.”

Yet on Tuesday, two of Trump’s top campaign aides tried to make the case to members of the media that Biden presents a formidable challenge to Trump.

“He has a certain muscle memory that kicks in for having done this for 50 years,” Miller said. “This is his fourth time running for president, having been vice president going through 2012, 2008.”

Miller and LaCivita also questioned the role CNN will play as it hosts the debate in Atlanta, accusing them of bias towards the Biden campaign. On Monday, Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt’s appearance on CNN’s “This Morning” was cut short by host Kasie Hunt after Leavitt leveled attacks against CNN anchors and debate hosts Dana Bash and Jake Tapper. On Saturday, Trump called Tapper “Fake Tapper” and said he “really hates Trump.”

“The question remains to be seen, you know, will CNN decide that they are a facilitator, or will CNN become the participator?” said LaCivita, who also serves as a top official at the Republican National Committee. Miller later added that CNN did “a big service” by cutting Leavitt off to show how they could influence the debate.

“We would hope that everything is going to be treated fairly, that both candidates will have a fair shake on that, but that's to be seen,” Miller said.

In a statement, a CNN spokesperson said that Bash and Tapper are “well respected veteran journalists” with “extensive experience moderating major political debates” and that “there are no two people better equipped to co-moderate a substantial and fact-based discussion.”