NASHVILLE, Tenn. (NewsNation Now) — President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden have arrived in Nashville ahead of Thursday night’s presidential debate at Belmont University.
Former Vice President Biden arrived in Nashville at around 3:30 p.m., about 90 minutes after Trump landed at Nashville International Airport.
The final debate begins at 9 p.m. ET.
According to the Commission on Presidential Debates, the moderator, NBC News White House correspondent Kristen Welker, will ask the candidates to debate the following topics:
- Fighting COVID-19
- American Families
- Race in America
- Climate Change
- National Security
- Leadership
The debate commission removed the plexiglass barriers just hours before the debate; both campaigns have agreed. Both candidates tested negative for coronavirus Thursday.
A new rule change for the debate is the use of mute buttons. The 90-minute debate will be divided into six 15-minute segments; each candidate will be granted two minutes of uninterrupted opening statements. While a candidate is answering during the two-minute period, their opponent’s microphone will be muted to prevent interruptions that were seen in the first debate.
A second debate was originally scheduled for last week, but it was canceled after the commission shifted to a virtual format following Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis. The president had pushed back on the change, and the candidates ended up holding dueling town halls instead.
NewsNation will carry the debate live on WGN America, as well as on NewsNationNow.com and the NewsNation Now app.