What to expect at Biden and Trump’s first debate of 2024

• Joe Biden and Donald Trump debate on Thursday evening.

• Their confrontation is the first major debate ever.

• There are other notable changes, including commercial breaks and no studio audience.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will face off later this week in the first-ever major presidential debate.

Both men enter their first showdown of 2024, locked in a race that remains too close to call national. According to Real Clear Politics polling averages, Trump has a narrow lead in key swing states that could decide the race.

In an era when Americans watch few live events besides football, the evening offers both campaigns the opportunity to get their message to the attention of millions of people.

Here are the essential facts you need to know before Thursday night’s debate.

When is it and how can I watch it?

The first presidential debate of the 2024 elections will take place on Thursday, June 27 at 9:00 PM ET. CNN will host the debate, but all major broadcast and cable networks will offer simulcasts. You can also stream the debate via Max. If you can’t access the debate in either of these ways, CNN is also streaming it via its website here. You don’t even need a cable login.

The debate will last 90 minutes.

How different is this debate?

Not only will this debate take place in the summer, but it will also be different from any other recent memory. Instead of a live audience, Trump and Biden will meet at CNN’s studios in Atlanta. There will be moderators, but both campaigns have essentially killed the bipartisan organization that has organized debates for years. That’s why CNN chose anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.

At the insistence of the Biden team, CNN has also pledged to turn off the microphone of the candidate who does not speak. You may recall that in 2020, Biden asked then-President Trump, “Will you shut up, man?” during their raucous first debate. The first debate was regarded as a terrible disaster by almost everyone involved.

Trump will have the final say this time since Biden chose his podium position after winning a coin toss. As a result, Trump will be the last to make a final statement. There will be no opening statements.

Wait, there are commercials coming?

Yes, there will also be two commercial breaks. This is also an important departure from traditional debates.

What about fact checking?

CNN correspondent Daniel Dale became famous for fact-checking Trump, but don’t expect him, Tapper or Bash to make any calls during the debate. David Chalian, CNN’s political director, told The New York Times that the debate “is not the ideal arena for live fact-checking.” Fact-checking will have to wait until the debate is over.

What will Robert F. Kennedy Jr. do? doing?

It’s not entirely clear yet. We know he will not join the two presidents on stage. CNN confirmed that Kennedy failed to reach double the 15% threshold in four selected national polls and qualified for the required number of ballots in each state. Billionaire lawyer and philanthropist Nicole Shanahan, Kennedy’s running mate, has promised “a few surprises” with their own live broadcast.

Kennedy’s campaign is at a critical juncture. He previously announced that he raised less money in May than any other month this year, mainly due to Shanahan’s decision to tap less of her fortune. The noted vaccine skeptic is also pushing to get eligible to vote in all fifty states.

A third-party presidential candidate hasn’t seen a debate since 1992, so Kennedy’s failure is far from unprecedented.

How does Trump approach the debate?

After years of suggesting that Biden is too weak to do the job, Trump has been somewhat complementary to the man who defeated him in the 2020 election.

Republicans seem to recognize that setting the bar for Biden’s performance by practically not dying on stage is a low bar. So instead, Trump is engaged in the very traditional game of trying to shape the media narrative before the showdown begins.

What about Biden?

Biden has spent days preparing for the debate at Camp David, the presidential retreat. History shows that sitting presidents typically struggle in the first debate, a fact that both Presidents Obama and Trump can attest to. Biden’s attorney, Bob Bauer, is expected to reprise his role as a former president in mock debates. Former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, who has been preparing Democrats for general election debates for decades, is taking time off from his new spot at AirBnb to help out as well.

What topics can we expect?

Only Tapper, Bash and a few select people at CNN know the exact questions. That said, there almost certainly seem to be some issues cropping up. Polls show that Americans are very concerned about Biden’s age. Some national polls also show support for Trump falling slightly after he became the first former president to be convicted of a crime. Tapper has also tested Republicans, who, like Trump, continue to express doubts about the 2020 election. The former president has never directly conceded the race.

Trump’s comeback campaign is also increasing over views on the US economy. Traditional numbers show Biden has a lot to be proud of, but while inflation has cooled, voters are still angry about high prices. Voters are also deeply skeptical of Biden’s immigration policies, one of the biggest disagreements between the two hopefuls.

Was it not possible that there would be no debates?

Yes, that was a very real possibility. In 2022, the Republican National Committee formally withdrew from the Commission on Presidential Debates after years of tension with the organization that has hosted general election debates since 1988. It became an open question how the debates would proceed this time.

Trump, who easily dispatched his main opponents, began pushing Biden to debate him anytime, anywhere. In late April, Biden told radio host Howard Stern that he would debate Trump. Weeks later, Biden’s campaign delivered the final blow to the committee, confirming that Biden would not participate in any of the scheduled debates. The president’s team said the debates had become too unwieldy and scheduled too late in the calendar.

Trump and Biden then quickly agreed on the CNN debate and a new contest in September, which proceeded without any help from the committee. For now, the couple has not agreed to a third debate. Traditionally, the committee held two formal debates and one town hall-style debate.

What’s next after the debate?

Both parties will campaign on Friday. Biden will be in North Carolina. Trump will be in Virginia, a state that has not voted for the Republican Party in presidential elections since 2004. Trump is optimistic he can expand the list of potential swing states.

There is at least one more debate on the calendar; ABC News will host a debate on September 10. Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump’s yet-to-be-named running mate are also expected to debate. So far they have not yet chosen one network to organize that debate.

Read the original article on Business Insider