Former President Trump will have the final word in next week’s first presidential debate after a coin toss, CNN announced Thursday.
The Biden campaign won the coin toss, selecting tails, and choosing to pick the president’s standing position instead of reserving a speaking slot. Biden will stand on the right side of the stage from the viewer’s perspective, and Trump the left.
Trump’s campaign decided to select to speak last, meaning Biden will be the first to give his closing argument.
Biden and Trump will be the only two candidates on the debate stage next Thursday night in Atlanta, CNN announced. Anchors Dana Bash and Jake Tapper have been selected as the moderators.
It’s the first of two debates agreed to by the candidates, and it will features a slate of new rules.
Microphones will be muted throughout the debate except when it’s that candidate’s turn to speak. The moderators will also be able to “use all tools at their disposal to enforce timing and ensure a civilized discussion,” per the rules.
There also will be no studio audience, unlike debates in the past.
The 2020 election’s debates were marred by interruptions and arguing, with moderators having difficulty with reining in Biden or Trump. The New York Times’s Maggie Haberman said Wednesday that Trump has acknowledged multiple times that he interrupted Biden “too much” during their first 2020 debate.
Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did not qualify for the debate stage, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday over her exclusion.
The second debate will be hosted by ABC on Sept. 10.
