Before President Biden decided drop out of the race for re-election, he and former President Donald Trump had prepared for another showdown on the debate stage before the Presidential elections 2024.
Then Biden ended his campaign and it was unclear whether there would actually be a debate between Trump and the new Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Now ABC News confirmed that both campaigns You will participate in this planned debate.
When will the second presidential debate take place?
ABC News will host the second presidential debate on Tuesday, September 10, at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. It will be the first time Harris and Trump will debate each other.
The first presidential debateon June 27, when Trump faced President Biden in Atlanta, unusually early in the election campaign, as none of the candidates had yet officially received their party’s nomination. Trump accepted the Republican nomination on July 18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Harris is expected to officially accept the Democratic nomination during the party’s convention in Chicago from August 19 to 22.
The plans for the ABC debate had been called into question after Trump said on August 3 that he was “quitting” the show and would instead participate in a debate hosted by Fox News on September 4. Harris responded that she would attend the ABC News debate on September 10 and hoped to “see him there.”
Then, at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Thursday, August 8, Trump reiterated his commitment to the ABC News debate.
He also proposed two additional debates: Fox News on September 4 and NBC News on September 25. Harris has not yet agreed to the two additional debates. A Harris campaign spokesperson said Harris is “open and eager to discuss additional debates, but Trump must appear at the September 10 debate first.”
Who will moderate the next debate?
“World News Tonight” anchor David Muir and ABC News Live’s “Prime” anchor Linsey Davis will moderate the debate, ABC News said.
Which candidates qualify for the debate?
The qualifications are similar to those of the first debate, so it is unlikely that Candidates who do not belong to the major parties meet the requirements for ballot access and voting in order to secure a place on the stage.
Candidates must receive at least 15% support in four recognized national polls and be represented in sufficient States that can win 270 votes To qualify, you must obtain the required number of votes in the Electoral College – the hurdle to winning the presidency.
How many more debates will there be in 2024?
There are currently no further presidential debates planned before the election. The campaigns before only agreed to two debates – one aired by CNN on June 27, the other by ABC News on September 10. Trump has proposed two more, but the Harris team has not agreed.
CBS News has also invited both campaigns to participate in a vice presidential debate.
The candidates have bypassed the tradition of three debates organized by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which has overseen presidential debates since 1988. The commission’s three debates were scheduled to take place in September and October at universities in Texas, Virginia and Utah. Instead, this year’s debates were agreed upon without any involvement from the commission.
The commission has drawn sharp criticism from both Trump – who accused the commission of bias against Republicans – and close Biden advisers who see the commission’s approach as outdated and nitpicky. Commission co-chair Frank Fahrenkopf said on CBS News’ “The Takeout” podcast that White House senior communications adviser Anita Dunn “doesn’t like us,” and he said on a Politico podcast that this was why Biden’s team bypassed the commission to negotiate directly with Trump’s campaign.
