The rules are officially set for the long-awaited presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris after the campaigns clashed over whether microphones would be muted, raising questions about whether the showdown would even happen.
The major event hosted by ABC News will take place on Tuesday, September 10 in Philadelphia. It will be the first and possibly only time the former president and vice president will meet face to face.
Both candidates face pressure to deliver a standout performance on the debate stage, which will take place less than 60 days before Election Day, as some voters will already be able to cast their ballots.
The must-see 90-minute event will be moderated by ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis, who will be the only ones asking questions.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will face off for the first time on the debate stage in Philadelphia on Tuesday. ABC News laid out a number of rules for the must-see event
ABC News revealed a set of rules just days before the decisive matchup, which it said both campaigns agreed to abide by.
Moderators will introduce the candidates, who will enter from opposite sides of the stage. Harris, the nominee of the ruling party, will be introduced first.
Neither candidate will make an opening statement. Closing statements will last two minutes per candidate.
The podium location and order of closing statements were determined by a coin toss conducted virtually on Tuesday.
Trump, 78, won and chose to decide the order of the statements. He will give the second closing statement.
Harris, 59, chose to stand at the podium on the right side of the screen, leaving Trump in the left-hand position. Both candidates will remain behind the podium throughout the debate.
Neither candidate will be allowed to bring pre-written notes on stage. What the candidates will have at their disposal at the podium will be a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water, ABC News revealed.
Kamala Harris chose to stand at the podium on the right side of the screen after Donald Trump won the coin toss and decided to choose the order of closing arguments. She will be second in line.
As regards questions, candidates will have two minutes to respond. There will also be two minutes for replies and one additional minute for notes, clarifications and responses, as necessary.
None of the topics or questions have been shared with the candidates or their campaigns in advance, and candidates will not be allowed to ask each other questions.
As for the most delicate rule for the debate with the campaigns, the candidates’ microphones will only be active for the candidate whose turn it is to speak. The microphones will be muted when it is not a candidate’s turn to speak.
The rule is the same one that was in place when Trump debated President Biden before he dropped out of the race in June, but Harris’ campaign had been trying to keep microphones on live throughout the debate.
Microphones will be muted when it is not a candidate’s turn to speak at the Sept. 10 debate, as was the case during Biden’s ill-fated debate with Trump in June. Harris’ team pushed to have microphones on for the entire debate but failed to do so. They accused Trump’s team of not trusting their own candidate with live microphones, but Trump’s team objected, saying it was the vice president who was trying to get out of the debate.
Harris’ team last month accused the former president’s campaign of wanting to mute the microphones because they did not believe their candidate could act as president for 90 minutes.
The next day, Trump said they had agreed to the same rules as in June, but he also said he didn’t care and even said he “would probably rather have it on.”
Harris’s campaign highlighted her comments and claimed the issue was resolved, but the exchange continued.
Trump’s campaign also accused the vice president of trying to avoid the debate. In the end, the campaigns agreed to keep the same muted microphone rules as in June.
When Biden debated Trump later that month, it was the Biden campaign that initially pushed for microphones to be cut off when it was not a candidate’s turn.
But the demand appeared to backfire, with the 81-year-old president unable to challenge Trump’s claims in real time. His dismal performance prompted a growing number of Democrats to call for him to drop out of the race, which he did less than a month later.
On Tuesday, moderators will have their work cut out for them as they try to enforce time agreements and move the discussion forward.
There will be no audience in the room during the 90-minute debate, which will take place There will be two commercial breaks. Candidates will not be allowed to interact with their campaign staff during these breaks.
The debate will take place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.