Ex-President Donald Trump will speak last in the first presidential debate after President Joe Biden chose to prioritize podium position.
Ex-President Donald Trump will get the last word in the first 2024 presidential debate instead of President Joe Biden – despite losing a coin toss.
A coin flip landed on tails, which was the Biden campaign’s pick, allowing him to select either his podium standing position or the order of closing statements in the debate next Thursday night.
Biden’s campaign picked the right podium position, which will be on the right side of CNN viewers’ screens. Trump will stand on the left podium.
Trump’s campaign then selected for him to have the last closing statement, meaning Biden will deliver his final word before his predecessor.
Biden stood at the right podium position in both of his debates against Trump in the 2020 election.
It was not immediately known why the Biden campaign felt his standing position was more important than his speaking order.
Based on Trump’s rage after his attorney did not get the final word in his hush money trial last month, the ex-president may be pleased that he will close out remarks in the debate.
‘WHY IS THE CORRUPT GOVERNMENT ALLOWED TO MAKE THE FINAL ARGUMENT IN THE CASE AGAINST ME?’ Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform at the time. ‘WHY CAN’T THE DEFENSE GO LAST? BIG ADVANTAGE, VERY UNFAIR. WITCH HUNT.’
Biden and Trump have been head-to-head in many polls, and FiveThirtyEight’s average of national surveys on Thursday showed the president ahead by just 0.1%.
Historically, many incumbents have struggled in early presidential debates, according to a half-dozen former campaign officers.
‘Once the president is in the office, and especially after four years in the office, they are in a sort of protected bubble where they don’t hear much conflicting information,’ Alan Schroeder, who has published a book on presidential debates, told NBC News on Thursday.
Whichever candidate ‘wins’ the debate could see a boost in his polling numbers.
The first presidential debate will take place on June 27 at 9pm ET in Atlanta, Georgia.
It will run 90 minutes and be hosted by CNN anchors Dana Bash and Jake Tapper.
There will be no audience in the studio.
Rule of the showdown include that both candidates will be barred from interacting with their campaign staff the entire time. Microphones will be muted until it is a candidate’s turn to speak.
The candidates will each be allowed to bring a pad of paper and a bottle of water to the podium, but pre-written statements and props are prohibited.
It will be a historical debate, as it is the first one between an incumbent and an ex-president.
In addition, the June date is the earliest presidential debate in modern US history, as both campaigns decided not to abide by the schedule determined by the non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates.
The second scheduled presidential debate is set for September 10 and will be hosted by ABC.
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