President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will not be able to access pre-prepared notes during their upcoming CNN debate on June 27. Photo courtesy of the Press Office of the President of Ukraine/UPI
Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden mute their microphones when they are not answering questions during the CNN debate on June 27. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
June 15 (UPI) — The rules for the presidential debate, hosted by CNN and scheduled for June 27 in Atlanta, aim to maintain civility and minimize interruptions by participants.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are the only ones scheduled to debate so far, despite not being formally nominated by their respective parties.
advertisement
The 90-minute debate is scheduled to take place before the Republican and Democratic conventions formally nominate their candidates. The Republican convention runs from July 15-18 in Milwaukee, while the Democratic convention runs from August 19-22 in Chicago.
Both Biden and Trump are considered presumptive nominees and both camps have agreed on rules for the debate.
The debate will not feature opening statements from the participants, and each participant will have two minutes to answer questions.
Microphones will be muted until the candidate answers a question or is called upon to speak.
The candidates will have a unified podium and a coin toss will determine which candidate will sit on which podium.
As they take their positions at their respective podiums, each holds a pen, notepad and bottle of water.
No pre-prepared notes or props are permitted on the debate stage.
There will be no studio audience and the debate will be moderated by CNN's Dana Bash and Jake Tapper.
Independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. is also seeking to participate in the CNN debate as an independent.
On May 28, his campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, asking that future debates be canceled until his concerns are addressed.
Kennedy argues that CNN's debate standards for his campaign are different from those for Trump and Biden and that he is being unfairly barred from participating.
He argues that the debates violate federal election law because they are subject to different standards.
