Hillary Clinton clears campaign schedule in favor of debate prep

CHAPPAQUA, N.Y., Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has cleared her public campaign schedule as of Thursday to focus on preparing for Monday's presidential debate, while her opponent Donald Trump will continue campaigning in swing states through Saturday, according to their campaign schedules.

Trump has eschewed much of the traditional debate preparations candidates have undertaken in the past. He held two sessions with advisers on recent Sundays and has left the campaign schedule free this Sunday, his normal day off the trail, though his campaign has not said specifically that the day will be dedicated to debate prep.

Trump has said he does not believe in over-preparing for debates, saying such efforts could have the adverse effect of making him sound too robotic. Instead, during the Republican primary, he relied on off-the-cuff responses and aggressive putdowns to keep opponents off balance.

Clinton, on the other hand, has taken the more traditional approach, clearing several days from traveling the country to instead huddle with a team of close advisers to hone responses to likely questions and strategize about potential lines of attack by Trump. Her campaign has said it will use a surrogate as Trump stand-in to parry with Clinton in mock debates, though who is playing that role has been a closely held secret.

According to his campaign, Trump plans five events in the crucial battleground of Pennsylvania on Thursday. He has no rallies scheduled on Friday, but another scheduled Saturday in Roanoke, Va.