Former President Donald Trump And Vice President Kamala Harris They will meet face-to-face on Tuesday night for the first and possibly only debate of the 2024 election campaign.
Many consider this contest in Philadelphia as the last chance to persuade undecided voters. Some priests are calling The closest election in decades,
Harris, 59, was crowned the Democratic nominee last month after President Biden declared her was eliminated from the race after his poor performance Against 78-year-old Trump in a debate hosted by CNN in Atlanta on June 27.
Here's everything you need to know about Tuesday night's festivities.
Where and when will the debate take place?
The debate is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Eastern time and last approximately 90 minutes.
The verbal battle will take place at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center, just steps away from Independence Hall — where the Founding Fathers crafted both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Beyond the historic significance of the brotherly city, Pennsylvania and its 19 Electoral College votes are widely seen as the key to the White House in 2024.
How can I watch the debate?
While ABC News is hosting the debate, the broadcast will be available on multiple outlets, including CBS, Fox, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, MSNBC, NewsNation and C-SPAN. It can also be streamed on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu.
Who is moderating this debate?
The proceedings will be overseen by David Muir, the nightly anchor of ABC's “World News Tonight,” and Linsey Davis, the anchor of the Sunday edition of “World News Tonight.”
Will there be another debate?
Unclear.
The only other scheduled debate right now is between Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance and Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, who will face off on October 1 in New York City.
The oral arguments will be moderated by “CBS Evening News” host Norah O'Donnell and “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan.
Trump had said Two additional debates with HarrisBut the Democratic camp did not accept it.
One of these debates was scheduled for September 4 and was to be hosted by Fox News. Instead of going face-to-face with Harris, the 45th president held a meeting with Harris. Fox host Sean Hannity takes part in town hall in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The second debate proposed by Trump will be hosted by NBC News and will take place on September 25. However, that debate is yet to be confirmed.
What are the rules of debate?
Despite the Harris campaign's best efforts, the rules for the ABC News debate will be the same as those for the Trump-Biden CNN debate. These include:
No questions asked
Only liberals will be able to ask questions during the debate. Candidates will be barred from pressuring their opponent on any issue.
Muted microphones
Candidates' microphones will automatically be muted when they are not speaking.
This was a rule that Biden's team pushed for ahead of the first debate and Trump's team This time the emphasis was on keeping the campaign intact,
Harris's team tried unsuccessfully to keep the mic warm and chided that Trump's managers did not trust them to act professionally for the full 90 minutes. Trump's team responded that they were simply sticking to pre-arranged terms with Biden's people.
No opener
The moderator will introduce the candidates, but there will be no opening statements. There will also be no notes or props on stage. Trump and Harris will get a chance to give two-minute closing statements. The Republican candidate will get the last word based on a coin toss.
No studio audience
Because there won't be a crowd, there will be no cheering, booing or other reactions to the candidates' remarks.
How did Trump and Harris prepare for the debate?
To suit your unique style and personality, Trump and Harris gear up for debate In a very different way.
Harris is staying at the Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh to keep busy with preparations for the big night. The former prosecutor is expected to hone her two-minute answers.
Meanwhile, Trump appeared to take a comparatively low-key stance, attending campaign-related events, trusting his intuition.
“You can go ahead with all the strategy you want, but you have to feel it out during the debate,” Trump said during the Hannity town hall.
Trump has reportedly been more comfortable discussing policy with far-right Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) and former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who went after Harris over her stance on marijuana policy during the 2020 Democratic primary.
Who is winning the election between Trump and Harris?
Harris has a 1.9 percentage point lead over Trump. RealClearPolitics Overall Possibility of multi-candidate voting.
However, the Republican candidate has a lasting lead in the Electoral College, suggesting that even a two- to three-point difference in the popular vote could be enough to hand Trump the presidency.
For example, in 2016 Trump lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.1%, but came into power with 304 electoral votes.
“This is the closest presidential campaign in 60+ years,” CNN election analyst Harry Enten tweeted Friday. “This race has been so consistently close, it's like I've never seen it before. If the polls are even one point off in key swing states, the winner will flip.”
“After all, this election was already two months ago.”
What to look for in the debate?
Neither Trump nor Harris have ever spoken to each other in person.
During Trump's debate against Biden in June, the two opted to forgo certain courtesies, such as handshakes, reflecting the bitterness between them. It's unclear whether Harris and Trump will do the same on Tuesday.
Ahead of the debate, Harris has largely steered clear of unscripted settings since becoming the Democratic nominee.
She has given only one major television interview since being nominated — that was with CNN on Aug. 29. Tuesday night will be a test of how quickly she can stand up to an unpredictable and often unrepentant Trump.
Tuesday's contest is expected to be even tougher for Trump than the one against Biden, who has been significantly weakened compared to four years ago.
At the same time, the former president's allies are hoping he will avoid becoming his own worst enemy — and not get too aggressive on stage.
Harris's aides have also indicated she will try to make her policy positions more clear to voters. More than one-quarter (28%) of voters said they need to know more about Harris, compared to just 9% who said the same about Trump recently. New York Times/Siena College survey,
The vice president has apparently softened his stance on a number of policy issues, such as Medicare for All, a ban on fracking, a ban on plastic straws, a federal jobs guarantee, the Green New Deal, etc. — though he has not confirmed his policy evolution on the record.
Trump will likely attempt to pin the blame on Harris for the state of the economy and the migration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, two issues on which he has long had a polling edge.
