President Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump will face off tonight in the first general election debate of the 2024 election season, at 8 p.m. CDT.
This is the first time the two presidential candidates have been on stage together since 2020. The debate, hosted by CNN at the newsroom’s Atlanta headquarters, will last 90 minutes with two commercial breaks. During this time, candidates will have time to collect themselves without receiving external guidances from aides.
The debate will air live on the following stations: CNN, Fox News, ABC News, CBS News and NBC News. Streaming will be available on Max, Hulu and Peacock from hosts CNN, ABC and MSNBC, respectively.
Here’s what to know about tonight’s debate and its candidates:
CNN is facilitating.
CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will moderate the debate, which is the first to be facilitated by a news network. Since its conception in 1987, the Commission on Presidential Debates led all broadcasts. Biden and Trump agreed in May to deviate from the traditional debate format this year.
No live audience will be present.
Past debates have engaged the crowd in cheering and booing throughout the night. Tonight, there will be no live audience. Biden’s campaign cited concerns that Trump builds on the energy of the crowd to overpower his opponents during debates. CNN claimed the absence of an audience will optimize the debate time without distractions from a loud crowd. Tickets for presidential debates were previously sold directly through the Commission on Presidential Debates and ranged beyond $1,000 per ticket.
Playground rules are in place.
A coin flip determined podium positions. Biden won the toss and selected the podium to the right of viewers’ screens. Trump and Biden will be provided a pen, blank notepad and water bottle. Each campaign sent signed letters to CNN promising to adhere to the network's rules. There will be no opening statements, but closing statements are allowed.
Candidates will have two minutes to respond to questions and one minute is allowed for rebuttals. The candidates’ microphones will also be muted whenever it is the other person’s turn to speak.
Hot-button issues will be discussed.
Although CNN has not announced planned topics of discussion ahead of the debate, border security and immigration as well as abortion are the anticipated hot topics of the night. Trump’s 34 felony convictions related to falsilfying business records is also likely to surface. Likewise, the former president is expected to address Hunter Biden’s recent climb to national headlines over his crack cocaine addiction and illegal gun possession. The president’s son was convicted of three felonies earlier this month.
This presidential debate is occuring months early than previous election years. ABC News will host the second presidential debate on Sept. 10 – only 56 days before the Nov. 5 election.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.