For months, voters, journalists and political observers have wondered whether President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump would be able to meet in person this year for a debate in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election.
On Wednesday, both sides committed to finally participating in at least two debates, which will be different in some ways from what we are used to. Here's everything you need to know about who's attending, when to watch, and how these debates are put together.
When are Trump and Biden scheduled to debate?
Two campaign dates have been agreed: June 27th and September 10th. The June debate will be held in Atlanta, Georgia at 9pm ET. Details of the time and location of the September debate have not yet been announced.
Who will moderate the debate?
CNN will host the first debate, anchor Jake Tapper and Dana Bash I will serve as co-chair.
ABC News will host a second debate in September, with anchors David Muir and Lindsay Davis co-moderating the debate.
Where can I watch the debate?
Both networks plan to broadcast the debate on linear TV, but ABC News announced that the September debate will also be available on its streaming network ABC News Live and Hulu. ABC also said it would allow other broadcast and streaming networks to simulcast the debate.
Recent polls across the country and in battleground states show a close race between Biden and Trump, and although the former president has the lead in the polls, it remains a close race.
In a national poll conducted by Fox News this week, 49% of registered voters said they would vote for Trump, while 48% said they would vote for Biden.
What are the rules, limitations, and conditions for debate?
CNN and ABC News both announced that candidates must meet certain requirements and voting criteria to appear on the debate stage.
In addition to meeting constitutional requirements and registering as a candidate with the Federal Election Commission, both news organizations must ensure that the candidate is on the ballot in enough states to receive at least 270 electoral votes; It requires candidates to “accept the rules and format of the debate.” ” and that the candidate would receive at least 15% in four national polls of registered voters or potential voters.
Will other candidates like Robert Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West participate in the debate?
These requirements imposed by television networks make it difficult for independent candidates like Kennedy and West to appear on the debate stage. However, Kennedy announced his intention to try.
First, polling standards will likely exclude third-party candidates other than West and Kennedy. Kennedy has already surpassed 15% in two qualifying polls, but no other candidate has.
Meanwhile, Kennedy has been collecting petition signatures in states across the country for months. The number of signatures required for a candidate to appear on the presidential ballot varies by state.
Mr. Kennedy is already on the ballot in states with a total of 85 electors, and his campaign and a pro-Kennedy super PAC say they have signatures in 11 more states with 129 electors. But it's one thing to announce that you have a signature, it's another thing to have that signature verified, and it's another thing to get it on the ballot, and each state has its own deadlines for filling out the ballot. There are rules and procedures.
In a statement posted to X (formerly known as Twitter) on Wednesday, Kennedy was confident of meeting the debate requirements by the deadline.
Meanwhile, West is on the ballot in at least six states. How are CNN and ABC News debates different?
Aside from different hosts and different questions, CNN announced: Audience members will not be allowed to attend the June debate. The news organization said in a news release Wednesday that it was banning audience members “to allow candidates to maximize the time allotted for debate.”
ABC News has not announced whether it will be allowed to attend the September debate.
Will there be a vice presidential debate?
The Trump campaign has not yet announced a vice presidential candidate. Or accepted an invitation to a vice presidential debate.
On Thursday, the Biden campaign announced that Vice President Kamala Harris had accepted an invitation from CBS to participate in the summer vice presidential debate. The campaign and CBS agreed that the debate could be held on July 23 or August 13. The July date falls just one week after the Republican convention and could be the day President Trump names his running mate.
“We are hopeful that the Trump campaign will be able to accept one of these dates and set up a full debate schedule for this campaign,” a Biden campaign official told NBC News.
What about the Commission on Presidential Debates?
For decades, the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates has partnered with television networks and news organizations to host a series of presidential debates over the weeks and months leading up to the presidential debate. Election day.
Late last year, the group announced it would hold three presidential debates: one in September and two in October. However, the CNN and ABC News debate announced Wednesday is not affiliated with the Commission on Presidential Debates.
The Trump campaign has previously criticized the CPD's debate schedule, arguing that early voting would result in “millions of Americans” voting before some of the committee's debate schedules.
In a letter to CPD on Wednesday, Following ABC News and CNN's announcement of the debate, Biden campaign chairwoman Jen O'Malley Dillon also argued that the debate should be held sooner.
He said he would hold one debate in June “after Donald Trump's New York criminal trial is likely to conclude and President Biden returns from meeting with world leaders at the G7 summit.” “At the outset, we proposed that one debate should be held in early September.'' It's time for the fall campaign season, early enough to impact early voting but not so late that candidates will need to step away from campaigning during the crucial late September and October months. ”
On Wednesday, the committee upheld that policy. “We remain ready to carry out this plan,” it said in a statement, rescheduling the original date.
