Topline
CNN will host a debate between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden Thursday, their first face-off in a contentious and tightly contested race for the White House.
This combination of pictures created on September 29, 2020, shows then-Democratic nominee Joe Biden … [+]
Key Facts
Trump and Biden will be the only two candidates on the stage after third-party candidates, including independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., failed to meet the polling and ballot requirements to participate by the June 20 deadline set by CNN.
The debate comes as Trump has ramped up his campaign activity since the conclusion of his Manhattan hush money trial last month, hosting frequent rallies in battleground states and courting donors—and as the Biden campaign has increased its attacks against Trump, highlighting Trump’s status as a “convicted felon” with a major swing state ad campaign.
Trump heads into the debate on the heels of a string of polls that show his lead slipping nationally in the wake of his conviction, though polls in the seven crucial swing states (Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada) consistently show him with an advantage over Biden, who won every battleground state except North Carolina in 2020.
What Time Is The Debate?
9 p.m. ET
Who Will Host It?
CNN anchors Dana Bash and Jake Tapper.
What Are The Rules?
There will be no studio audience during the 90-minute debate. Both candidates will stand at podiums, with Biden winning the position on the right of viewers’ screens in a coin flip. Trump won a coin flip to make the final closing statement. Candidates’ microphones will be cut when they’re not speaking and they’re prohibited from interacting with their staff during the two commercial breaks.
What Were The Debate Qualifications?
Candidates had to net 15% of support in four separate national CNN-approved polls, and qualify for the ballot in enough states to secure the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. Without the backing of a major political party, Kennedy had to petition to secure ballot access in most states or be nominated by a lesser-known political party with ballot access. He had qualified for the ballot in six states, worth a total of 89 electoral votes, and had met the polling threshold in three surveys as of Thursday’s deadline.
What To Watch For
ABC will host the next presidential debate on Sept. 10, moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis.
Key Background
After months of prodding from Trump, Biden formally challenged him to debate in a video announcement in May, and within hours, CNN extended an invitation to both candidates to host the program. The debate is being held much earlier than in previous election cycles, after Biden and Trump secured their respective parties’ nominations in March, making it one of the shortest primary seasons in modern history. In another departure from tradition, the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has organized debates since the 1980s, will not be involved in this year’s programs after both campaigns rejected their proposed schedule to begin debates in September.
Tangent
Trump’s campaign agreed to the muted-mic rule after complaining in 2020 about the protocol during the second debate hosted by NBC. The network implemented the rule after Fox News’ Chris Wallace struggled to contain Trump’s interruptions during the first debate with Biden in 2020.
Further Reading
Trump Accepts Biden’s Challenge To Debate Twice—Starting Next Month (Forbes)
Trump Campaign Urges More Debates With Biden—Starting ‘Now’ (Forbes)
Biden Agrees To Debate—And Trump Offers To Square Off ‘Tonight’ (Forbes)