Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will meet for the first time during a presidential debate on September 10, hosted by ABC News.
The first debate between the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates comes after President Biden decided to drop his re-election bid. His decision came after members of his own party called for him to resign following his troubling performance during the June 27 CNN debate against Trump.
Now that the Harris and Trump campaigns have agreed to ABC’s rules after weeks of uncertainty, here’s what you need to know:
⌚ When, Where and How to Watch
The Sept. 10 debate begins at 9 p.m. ET and will run for 90 minutes, with two commercial breaks. It will take place in Philadelphia, a deep-blue Democratic city, at the National Constitution Center. Pennsylvania is seen as a key battleground state in the 2024 election cycle. President Biden won the state by a narrow margin in 2020.
You can watch it via ABC News channels, including ABC News Live’s online streaming, Disney Plus, and Hulu.
YahooNews.com will also feature real-time reporting and analysis from our editorial team.
🗣️ Who moderates the debate?
The debate will be moderated by “World News Tonight” host and editor in chief David Muir, and “ABC News Live Prime” host Linsey Davis.
Muir has been with ABC since 2003. The Sept. 10 debate won’t be Muir’s first rodeo, as he also moderated debates in 2016 and 2020 for the presidential primaries. He has also done interviews on both sides of the political spectrum, including an interview in June with President Biden for the network’s D-Day coverage. He was the first journalist to interview Trump as president in the White House in 2017.
Davis has worked at ABC since 2007 and also moderated presidential debates in 2019 and 2020. He also covered the Democratic and Republican National Conventions.
📖 What are the debate rules?
The debate rules regarding live microphones were initially a sore point for both campaigns. Harris’ campaign wanted the microphones on at all times, while Trump’s campaign only wanted them on for the candidate whose turn it was to speak, adhering to CNN’s debate rules on June 27.
Harris’ campaign agreed to the muted microphone rule in a letter to ABC on Wednesday, citing the risk of Trump skipping the debate but adding that Harris was “fundamentally disadvantaged” by the rule because it “would serve to shield Donald Trump from direct exchanges with the vice president.”
ABC News has released the rules for the Sept. 10 debate, which are similar to those of the June debate between Biden and Trump. They include:
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There was no live audience present in the debate room, so there was no opportunity for cheering or booing during the event.
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The candidates will not make an opening statement.
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Only moderators are allowed to ask questions.
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Candidates are given two minutes to answer a question, with a two-minute rebuttal, and another minute to follow up for clarification. Microphones are turned on only for the candidate answering a question.
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A coin toss determined the order of the closing statements, which will last two minutes per candidate, as well as the placement of the candidates’ podiums on stage. Trump won the coin toss and chose to deliver the final closing statement. Harris chose to have her podium appear on the right side of the screen (stage left).
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During the debate, the candidates stand behind their own podium. They are not allowed to have props or pre-written notes with them. Each candidate is given a notepad, a pen and a bottle of water.
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There will be two commercial breaks. During that time, campaign workers will not be able to interact with their candidate.
📺 How did the candidates qualify for the ABC debate?
The qualifications are very similar to those of the June 27 debate hosted by CNN. As outlined by ABC, the candidates had to meet the constitutional requirements under Article II, Section 1 to serve as president. They also had to have filed a Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission.
They also had to meet voting and polling requirements by September 3 to secure a spot on the podium. A candidate had to appear on a certain number of state ballots, which would qualify the candidate to reach the 270-vote threshold to win the presidency. The candidate also had to receive at least 15% of the vote in four separate national polls of registered or likely voters.
Only Harris and Trump met those qualifications, according to ABC. That means independent and third-party candidates like Cornel West and Jill Stein will not appear on the debate stage. Meanwhile, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his presidential campaign on August 23 and endorsed Trump.
🗓 Are there any other debates planned?
Harris’ campaign said on Aug. 15 that both campaigns had agreed to three debates before Election Day: two for Harris against Trump and one each for the vice presidential nominees, Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.
At the time of this article’s publication, the Sept. 10 debate is the only presidential debate scheduled before the Nov. 5 election. A vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News on Oct. 1 will pit Walz and Vance against each other.
Thumbnail Credits: Photo Illustration: Yahoo News; Photos: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images, Win McNamee/Getty Images
