The first debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump airs tonight (September 10).
The event will take place on Tuesday night at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, two months ahead of the 2024 election for President of the United States.
The debate is set to begin at 9 p.m. ET. It will air on ABC and stream on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu, according to the network.
The rules include that each candidate’s microphone is only turned on when it is their turn to speak, there is no studio audience, and the candidates aren’t allowed to talk to their staff during breaks or bring any notes – they’re only given a pen and pad and a bottle of water.
Keep reading to find out more…
The moderators are World News Tonight anchor and managing editor David Muir, along with ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis.
The primetime pre-debate special, Race for the White House, will be anchored by Martha Raddatz, Jonathan Karl, Mary Bruce and Rachel Scott, and will begin at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
The candidate qualification requirements, via ABC:
- Must meet the requirements outlined in Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution to serve as president
- Must have filed a Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission
- Must appear on a sufficient number of state ballots, as certified by the Secretary of State or the relevant election authority in each state, to attain a majority (270) of electoral votes in the presidential election by Sept. 3, 2024
- Participants must agree to accept the rules and format of the debate, as formulated by ABC News
- All participants must reach at least 15% support in four separate national polls of registered or likely voters that meet ABC News standards
- Polls must be conducted using probability sampling by one of the following entities or pairs of entities: ABC News, CNN, Fox News, NBC News, The New York Times/Siena College, Quinnipiac University, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.
- The four qualifying polls must be conducted by different organizations.
- Polls must be fielded and released between Aug. 1, 2024, and Sept. 3, 2024. Only polls released publicly and fielded entirely inside the window will qualify.
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