- Meadows told his family in attendance at the first presidential debate to refrain from "making poor expressions."
- In his new book, he recalled telling family that the cameras would "catch" guests tied with Trump "doing something bad."
- Meadows criticized Biden's debate performance, but also said that Trump didn't "put his best foot forward."
Throughout former President Donald Trump's tenure in office, a suspicion of the press was defining quality for many members of his inner circle.
Trump — who himself had been a media fixture for decades — frequently sought to create tension with members of the press, which led to many sharp exchanges with journalists at the White House.
Before the first presidential campaign between Trump and then-Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden last year, then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows had the administration's perceived notion of media bias in mind when he spoke with members of his family in the audience, according to a newly-released book written by the conservative aide.
Meadows — who as chief of staff was constantly on the road and tending to high-level presidential matters — invited his son, Blake, and daughter-in-law, Phoebe, to the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio, which was moderated by Fox News host Chris Wallace.
Meadows' family members marveled at the numerous cameras that were focused on multiple angles in the room, and while he was happy that they would be able to take in such an experience, he also had a clear warning for them, which he detailed in "The Chief's Chief."
"Be careful," he said to his son at the time. "These cameras love to catch family members making poor expressions. So, no expressions. None."
Meadows continued his disclaimer about the media setup while also looping in his daughter-in-law.
"They're going to be trying to catch anyone affiliated with President Trump doing something bad. So be very careful about the way your face looks. You, too, Phoebe. Don't even blink," he remarked.
"Other than that, relax and enjoy yourself," Meadows added.
The debate went on to be one of the more raucous affairs in the 2020 campaign — with Trump constantly cutting off Biden, and Wallace afterwards lamenting on the deterioration of what was supposed to be a public exchange of ideas.
"I never dreamt that it would go off the tracks the way it did," Wallace said shortly after the debate.
The chaotic 90-minute affair — which featured a flurry of insults from Trump toward Biden — led the Democrat to scold the then-president with his characteristic frankness.
"Would you shut up, man?" Biden at one point said to Trump.
In his book, Meadows remarked that the first debate was not the best showcase for Trump, but also repeatedly ridiculed Biden's showing.
"For the most part, the debate was a poor performance by both candidates, especially Joe Biden. He flip-flopped on positions, fumbled for words, and trotted out the same boring policy positions he'd been pushing for years," he wrote.
"But President Trump did not put his best foot forward, either," Meadows added. "Rather than allowing Biden to stumble his way through the debate in front of a live audience ... the president interrupted him constantly."
Meadows then said that Trump went after Biden "with everything he had."
"It was like watching Muhammad Ali step into the ring with an eighty-year-old man," he wrote.
While conservatives in the media largely praised Trump's performance, it was widely panned by swing state voters who were surveyed as part of a focus group led by GOP pollster Frank Luntz.
Also, after the first debate, Biden surged to a 14% lead (53%-39%) among registered voters in an early October NBC News/WSJ poll, with respondents in the survey saying that the Democrat had a better temperament than Trump 58%-26%, a 32-point edge.