Joe Biden and Donald Trump will enter the debate together on Thursday for the first time in four years as they prepare for an exciting presidential rematch in November.
In the days leading up to the debate, the candidates adopted dueling preparation strategies. Biden has hunkered down at Camp David and surrounded himself with top advisers as he practices and delves into themes the campaign hopes to emphasize during the debate.
Trump, on the other hand, went on the campaign trail on Saturday with a Faith & Freedom Coalition meeting in Washington and a rally in Philadelphia, where he polled the audience on whether he should be “tough and mean” or “nice and calm” with Biden at the debate. Off the trail, allies and experts have drawn Trump into policy discussions.
Here’s everything you need to know before the upcoming debate:
When is the debate?
The first presidential debate of 2024 will take place on Thursday, June 27 at 9:00 PM EST. The film lasts 90 minutes with two commercial breaks.
Where is the debate and who moderates?
CNN will host the debate from its Atlanta studios, with network anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash moderating.
How can I watch the debate?
The debate will be broadcast live on CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español and the streaming platform Max. Viewers who do not have a cable subscription can watch on CNN.com.
CNN is offering other networks a free simulcast of the debate, with one important condition: the network’s on-air watermark must remain on the screen. Fox News, ABC, NBC and C-SPAN have all agreed to CNN’s terms and will carry the broadcast.
What are the debate rules?
In a departure from debate tradition, there will be no studio audience — a requirement that Biden’s advisers say could deprive Trump of a major advantage and prevent a rowdy crowd of supporters from overtaking the event. Biden and Trump will be given two commercial breaks to refresh, but will not be able to meet with their campaign staff during this time.
The moderators will also have the option to mute the candidates’ microphones to avoid crosstalk and interruptions between turns, which plagued Biden and Trump’s first showdown of 2020. There will be no opening statements; candidates dive straight into the moderators’ questions. Biden and Trump each get two minutes for answers, one minute for rebuttals and one minute for responses to the rebuttals.
Candidates are given a pen, a piece of paper and a bottle of water. Props or pre-written notes are prohibited on stage.
Biden’s campaign won the coin toss to determine the order of the candidates’ closing statements or their podium position. The president chose the right podium and placed Trump to the left of the viewer screens. Trump’s campaign opted to have the final say of the evening, allowing Biden to make his closing statement first.
What were the qualifications to have the debate?
To qualify for the debates, candidates must first meet the requirements of the U.S. Constitution to serve as president and file a formal declaration of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. Biden, Trump, independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., independent Cornel West and Green Party candidate Jill Stein all met these qualifications.
CNN also required that debaters appear on enough state ballots to potentially win at least 270 electoral votes and receive at least 15 percent of the vote in four separate national polls that met CNN’s standards. Kennedy was ineligible because he polled 15 percent in just three polls and fell short of the required number of electoral votes, according to CNN — though he called his exclusion from the debate “undemocratic, un-American and cowardly.”
West and Stein also did not meet the necessary thresholds.
