The first presidential debate between Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Former President Donald Trump will be broadcast and streamed live on Disney+, Hulu, New York Times, and ABC news on Tuesday September 10 at 8 PM CT. It will be ninety minutes long with two commercial breaks, hosted in the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. It will be hosted by ABC news and moderated by World News Tonight.
Debate Rules
The debate rules stipulate that only moderators can ask questions, and when it isn’t a candidate’s turn to speak, their mic will be muted. No notes or props can be brought on stage, but a notepad, pen, and water bottle will be provided on stage to each candidate. During commercial breaks, campaign staff will be unable to interact with their candidates. The debate will not have opening statements, but will have two minute closing statements. Candidates will be given two minutes to answer questions, two minutes for a rebuttal, and one minute for a follow up, response, or clarification. There will be no live audience.
To decide the order of statements and podium assignments, a virtual coin toss was held. Trump won and chose to make the final closing statement, while Harris got to decide podium assignments, ultimately choosing the stage left podium.
Potential Debate Topics
Several topics are likely to be points of argument during Tuesday’s debate including immigration, gun control, and reproductive rights.
On immigration, Trump has made it clear that his plan is to seal the border. He intends to “carry out the largest deportation operation in American history”. In contrast, Harris frames the issue with the southern border as a humanitarian issue, but has not made a decisive statement on her intentions with the border.
Regarding gun control, in the past, Harris has not been clear about her policy, but after the recent school shooting in Georgia she called for action against gun violence without providing details on what action she would take. Trump however, is very clear on his stance regarding gun control: He intends to defend the Second Amendment, the Right to Bear Arms.
On the topic of reproductive rights, Harris has been vocal about her support for women’s right to choose nationally. Trump has not given a definitive statement on the topic, although he has been supportive of the repeal of Roe vs. Wade and giving that authority to states.
Candidates Who Will Not Be At the Debate
Candidates for the 2024 presidential election who will not be at the debate include the Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver, who did not meet ABC’s requirements for a candidate to debate, which included polling threshold and appearing on enough state ballots. The independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped out of the race on August 23, endorsing Trump.
Fact Checking
Factcheck.org does live fact checking during political events, checking for accuracy, misleading or false statements, and exaggerations as statements are made.
