Philadelphia, PA — The highly anticipated debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump is set to take place on Tuesday in Philadelphia. The debate will follow similar rules to the June debate between Trump and President Joe Biden, though it has undergone some revisions following negotiations between the Harris and Trump campaigns and host ABC News.
The debate, which had originally been scheduled as the second faceoff between Trump and Biden, was restructured after President Biden withdrew from the race. A major point of contention between the campaigns was the use of microphones. In the previous Trump-Biden debate, microphones were muted to prevent interruptions after Trump repeatedly interrupted Biden and moderator Chris Wallace in their 2020 clash. Although Harris’s campaign argued for live microphones throughout, the final agreement retains the previous format of muting microphones while the other candidate speaks.
Scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Eastern Time, the debate will last 90 minutes and include two commercial breaks. Moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis will handle all questions, and the candidates will not have the opportunity to question each other. Each candidate will have two minutes to respond to questions and two minutes to reply to their opponent, with an additional minute allocated for follow-ups and clarifications.
The debate will commence with questions from the moderators without any opening statements. A two-minute closing statement will be provided at the end. Both candidates will be provided with a pen, pad, and water, but no prewritten notes or props are allowed. Additionally, campaign staff will not be permitted to interact with the candidates during the debate, including during commercial breaks.
The candidates will take the stage at separate podiums, entering from opposite sides. Trump, having won a virtual coin toss, opted to deliver his closing statement last, which allows Harris to choose her podium on the right side of the television screen. No audience will be in attendance.
