Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will we meet for the first time On September 10, they will go head-to-head in a presidential debate hosted by ABC News.
The first debate between the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates will take place after President Biden has decided to abandon his re-election bid.His decision came after members of his own party called for so that he would resign following his disturbing performance at the CNN debate against Trump on June 27.
Now that Harris and Trump campaigns agreed to ABC rules After weeks of uncertainty, here's what you need to know:
⌚ When, where and how to watch
The Sept. 10 debate is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. ET and will last 90 minutes, with two commercial breaks. It will be held in Philadelphia, a deep-blue Democratic city, at the National Constitution Center. Pennsylvania is considered a key state in the 2024 election cycle. President Biden flipped the state by a narrow margin in 2020.
It can be viewed across ABC News resources, including ABC News Live online streaming, Disney Plus and Hulu.
YahooNews.com There will also be real-time reporting and analysis from our editorial team.
🗣️ Who moderates the debate?
The debate will be moderated by World News Tonight anchor and editor-in-chief David Muir and ABC News Live Prime anchor Lynsey Davis.
Muir has been with ABC since 2003. The Sept. 10 debate isn’t Muir’s first rodeo; he also moderated debates in the 2016 and 2020 presidential primaries. He’s also done interviews on both sides of the aisle, including a June interview with President Biden for the network’s D-Day coverage. He was the first journalist to interview Trump as president, at the White House in 2017.
Davis has been with ABC since 2007 and also moderated the 2019 and 2020 presidential debates and covered the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention.
📖 What are the rules of the debate?
Debate Rules through live microphones This initially became a sticking point for both campaigns. The Harris campaign wanted the microphones to be on at all times, while the Trump campaign wanted them to be on only for the candidate whose turn it was to speak, adhering to CNN's June 27 debate rules.
Harris' team agreed to the microphone muting rule letter to ABC on Wednesday, citing the risk of Trump missing the debate but adding that Harris was “fundamentally disadvantaged” by the rule because it “would shield Donald Trump from direct exchanges with the vice president.”
ABC News issued rules for his Sept. 10 debate, which is similar to the Biden-Trump debate in June. They include:
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There was no live audience in the debate hall, eliminating any opportunity for applause or jeers during the event.
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Candidates will not make opening remarks.
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Questions will be asked only by moderators.
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Candidates will have two minutes to answer the question, two minutes to refute it, and one minute to explain it afterwards. Microphones will be turned on only for the candidate answering the question.
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A coin toss determined the order of the closing statements, which would be two minutes per candidate, as well as the locations of the candidates' podiums on stage. Trump won the coin toss, and he chose to deliver the final closing statement. Harris chose to have her podium appear on the right side of the screen (left of the stage).
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During the debate, candidates will stand at their podium. They will not be allowed to bring props or pre-written notes. Each candidate will be provided with a notepad, pen, and bottle of water.
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There will be two commercial breaks. During these breaks, campaign staff will not be able to interact with their candidate.
📺 How did the candidates qualify for the ABC debates?
The demands are very similar to those of the June 27 debate hosted by CNN. outlined by ABCCandidates had to meet the constitutional requirements under Article II, Section 1, to be eligible to serve as president. They also had to file a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission.
They also had to meet ballot and poll requirements by Sept. 3 to earn a spot on the stage. A candidate had to appear on a certain number of state ballots that would allow the candidate to cross the 270 electoral vote threshold to win the presidency. The candidate also had to win at least 15% of the vote in four separate national polls of registered or likely voters.
Only Harris and Trump met those requirements. according to ABC. This means that independent and third-party candidates like Cornel West and Jill Stein will not appear on the debate stage. Meanwhile, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suspended his presidential campaign On August 23, he expressed his support for Trump.
🗓 Are there any more debates planned?
On August 15, the Harris campaign said that Both campaigns agreed to three debates on the eve of Election Day – two for Harris against Trump and one for the vice presidential candidates, Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.
As of this article's publication, the Sept. 10 debate is the only presidential debate scheduled before the Nov. 5 election. The vice presidential debate, hosted by CBS News on Oct. 1, will feature Walz and Vance going head-to-head.
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