President Biden and former President Donald Trump will participate in the first presidential debate of the 2024 election on Thursday, June 27 at nine o’clock in the evening.
The debate, hosted via CNN, will be the first time either candidate has been at a debate level since 2020. The debate will also be simulcast on the networks, adding CBS and CBS News in 24/7 streaming.
Trump will have the last word of the evening, while Biden will have to decide whether he needs the podium on the right or left side. Their microphones will be muted when it’s their turn to speak.
Here are the details:
The debate will feature the party’s two presumptive nominees: President Biden and former President Donald Trump.
All non-major party candidates, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. , failed to qualify for the debate level before the June 20 deadline set through the network. Kennedy did not meet the requirements for polls and polls set up through CNN.
Candidates had to score at least 15 percent in four approved national polls and be present in enough states to be eligible for 270 Electoral College votes, the threshold for winning the presidency.
Biden and Trump’s crusades have a non-unusual interest in keeping Kennedy off the debate stage, as the independent candidate seeks to cash in on his electorate and may end up having an effect on battleground states. Kennedy’s crusade announced Tuesday that it will hold its own “debate” at the same time as the Biden-Trump showdown, which will be streamed online.
CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash are the moderators. The network said moderators “will use all equipment at their disposal to time and ensure a civilized discussion. ”
Biden and Trump will debate at CNN’s studios in Atlanta.
The network said there would be no hearing in the studio “so that applicants can maximize the time allotted to the debate. “
Thursday’s debate is the first not organized through the Committee on Presidential Debates, so there are some adjustments to the general rules of the debate. For example, the debate is expected to last 90 minutes, but there will be two commercial breaks, a first. Campaign staff will not be able to interact with the candidate during this period. There will be no hearing in the studio.
According to CNN, both applicants agreed to report to the uniform desks and their podium positions were decided by random lottery. Biden won the draw and will appear on the right side of viewers’ screens.
In another break from past debates, there will be no opening statements and each candidate will make a final statement. The candidate who won the draw allowed to decide on the position of the lectern or the order of the final declaration, and the Biden crusade chose the position of the lectern.
Trump’s crusade then opted for the former president to make the final statement: that Biden will speak first at the end of the debate.
The microphones will be cut off throughout the debate, unless it is the candidate whose turn it is to speak. This rule departs from the 2020 debate, when Trump interrupted Mr. Biden, leading to one of the most memorable moments of this debate. , when Mr. Biden said, “Do you want to shut down, man?
As in previous discussions, applicants will need to bring a pen, notebook, and bottle of water.
CNN hinted at what topics will be discussed.
Some imaginable issues are: border security and immigration, which are two issues that Trump has pressed the president; abortion rights are a factor that has galvanized Democrats since the Supreme Court overturned Roe. c. Wade; Trump’s felony conviction in a case similar to a “hush money” payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election; the conviction of the president’s son, Hunter Biden, for buying and possessing a gun while addicted to crack; the economy; and voters’ considerations of the age and fitness of the two men.
The debate will be broadcast on CNN, but the network will also broadcast it simultaneously. CBS will be one of the networks that will broadcast it simultaneously.
Those who are cable subscribers can watch it online at CNN. com or stream it on CBS News 24/7 and CBSNews. com, where it will air simultaneously.
The event will last 90 minutes and will have two commercial breaks.
Campaign staff are not allowed to interact with applicants during breaks, the channel said, preventing the president and former president from receiving feedback from their aides during the hour-and-a-half-hour debate.
Biden and Trump agreed to hold a new debate, which will be held on ABC News on Sept. 10.
Plans for both events temporarily became a reality after Biden’s campaign last month featured two debates hosted through news agencies. The Trump campaign agreed, but insisted on going beyond the two events.
They circumvent a long culture of three organized through the Nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which has overseen presidential debates since 1988. The commission’s three debates were scheduled for September and October at universities in Texas, Virginia and Utah.
A vice presidential debate could take place on July 23 or August 13.
Biden’s crusader accepted CBS News’ invitation to participate in the debate, saying the dates are compatible with Vice President Kamala Harris’ schedule. Trump has yet to nominate a vice presidential candidate, but the invitation has also been extended to his crusade.