Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are gearing up to take the stage for Tuesday night’s debate in Philadelphia, where they’ll fight to sway 2024 election voters on the biggest stage in U.S. politics.
The debate won’t have an audience, live microphones when candidates aren’t speaking, or written notes, according to rules that ABC News, the host network, shared with both campaigns last month.
The parameters in place for the debate are essentially the same as they were for the June debate between Trump and President Joe Biden, a disastrous performance for the incumbent Democrat that fueled his exit from the campaign.
It is the only debate that’s been firmly scheduled and could be the only time voters see Harris and Trump go head to head before the November general election.
What to know:
- What’s at stake: For both candidates, the event serves as a high-pressure opportunity to showcase their starkly different visions for the country after a tumultuous campaign summer.
- Start time: The debate will start at 9 p.m. EDT Tuesday and is expected to last 90 minutes.
- How to watch: ABC News is carrying the debate live on its broadcast network and streaming platforms: ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu. Several networks have also agreed to carry the event live.
- Read more about the rules for the Trump-Harris debate
The second general election debate of this cycle is taking place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. As was the case for the June debate, there will be no audience present.
Pennsylvania is perhaps the nation’s premier swing state, and both candidates have spent significant time campaigning across Pennsylvania. Donald Trump was holding a rally in Butler, in western Pennsylvania, in mid-July when he was nearly assassinated by a gunman perched on a nearby rooftop. Kamala Harris chose Philadelphia as the spot where she unveiled Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate in August.
In 2020, it was Pennsylvania’s electoral votes that put Biden over the top and propelled him into the White House, four years after Trump won the state. Biden’s victory came after more than three days of uncertainty as election officials sorted through a surge of mail-in votes that delayed the processing of some ballots, and the Trump campaign mounted several legal challenges.
The debate is being moderated by “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir and “Prime” anchor Linsey Davis. ABC News is carrying the debate live on its broadcast network as well as its streaming platform ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu. Several networks have also agreed to carry the event live.
Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Philadelphia on Monday afternoon, saying she’s feeling “good” ahead of her Tuesday debate with Donald Trump.
Harris crossed Pennsylvania after having spent several days at a downtown Pittsburgh hotel preparing for the showdown. As her motorcade left Pittsburgh, reporters spotted long-time Democratic aide Philippe Reines, who portrayed Trump in the mock debates and was seen in a Trump-like Navy suit and bright red tie.
Donald Trump’s campaign says his unpredictability will give him a major leg up in Tuesday’s debate.
“You can’t prepare for President Trump. There’s just no way to do it,” senior campaign adviser Jason Miller told reporters during a call on Monday, comparing the challenge facing Vice President Kamala Harris to “a boxer trying to prepare for Floyd Mayweather or Muhmmad Ali.”
“You just, you don’t know what angle they’re going to come at you with,” he said.