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What to know about the upcoming Trump-Harris debate

  • Trump and Harris will debate on ABC News on Sept. 10
  • The Harris campaign said it would do another presidential debate in October
  • Trump has proposed two additional debates on different networks

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(NewsNation) — With the Democratic and Republican presidential tickets set, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to debate Sept. 10.

After some political posturing by both candidates, however, there are now questions about whether it will happen.

Trump has indicated he doesn’t want to participate in the debate anymore, while Harris’ team has been working on crafting a strategy under the assumption the debate will happen.

This is the first election cycle since 1988 in which the debates are not being organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates. Instead, the campaigns are negotiating with TV networks directly.

It remains to be seen if and when voters will see Trump and Harris face off. Here’s what we know.

When is the Trump-Harris debate?

The first debate between Trump and Harris is at 9 p.m. Eastern on Sept. 10. It will be held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

The 90-minute debate will be moderated by “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir and ABC News Live “Prime” anchor Linsey Davis.

ABC will broadcast the debate, but you can also stream it on ABC News Live 24/7, Disney+, or Hulu.

The network hasn’t announced the rules or said whether there will be an in-person audience. There was no audience during the June debate between Trump and President Joe Biden.

The Trump and Biden campaigns agreed to the ABC debate back in May. Now, it’s moving forward as scheduled but with Harris as the Democratic nominee.

Sparring over debate rules

Harris and Trump are arguing over whether microphones should be muted except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak.

Biden’s campaign team made microphone muting a condition of its decision to accept any debates this year.

Trump, on Sunday night, raised the possibility he might not show up on ABC, posting on his Truth Social network that he had watched the network’s Sunday show with a “so-called Panel of Trump Haters” and posited, “why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?” and urging followers to “Stay tuned!!”

The Harris campaign now wants microphones to be live all the time, according to Harris spokesman Brian Fallon, who issued a statement needling Trump.

“Trump’s handlers prefer the muted microphone because they don’t think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own,” Fallon said. Harris “is ready to deal with Trump’s constant lies and interruptions in real time. Trump should stop hiding behind the mute button.”

While it’s common for campaigns to quibble beforehand over debate mechanics, both Harris and Trump are under pressure to deliver a strong performance next month in Philadelphia.

Will there be more debates?

It’s not clear at this point.

Last week, the Harris campaign said it will participate in three debates this election season: two presidential debates and one vice presidential debate.

In a statement, Harris’ campaign said the “debate about debates is over,” shooting down Trump’s call for three presidential debates.

During a press conference at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month, Trump said he had proposed three debates on three different networks. One with Fox News on Sept. 4 and another on NBC on Sept. 25 in addition to the previously scheduled ABC debate.

Based on the Harris campaign’s recent statement, neither of those extra debates are likely to happen as proposed.

“Assuming Donald Trump actually shows up on September 10 to debate Vice President Harris, then Governor Walz will see JD Vance on October 1, and the American people will have another opportunity to see the vice president and Donald Trump on the debate stage in October,” the Harris campaign said in a statement, noting that the Trump campaign had agreed to those terms.

The Trump campaign claims the two sides haven’t reached an agreement, telling the Daily Caller the former president intends to be on the debate stage for his three proposed events in addition to two VP matchups.

Since 2000, three presidential debates have been the norm.

When is the Vance-Walz debate?

Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will face off on Tuesday, Oct. 1, in New York City, hosted by CBS News.

The debate will be moderated by “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan of “Face the Nation.”

The network had invited both Vance and Walz to debate in New York City, presenting four possible dates — Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 1 and Oct. 8 — as options.

Walz posted on X that he would accept the invitation: “See you on October 1, JD.”

Vance agreed and said he also accepted a CNN debate on Sept. 18, saying, “The American people deserve as many debates as possible.”

Last week’s statement from the Harris campaign seems to quash any chance of a second VP debate.

Historically, vice presidential candidates tend to only have one debate.

The Associated Press and NewsNation’s Laura Ingle contributed to this report.

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Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

 

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