ABC News releases rules for presidential debate between Harris, Trump in Philadelphia
In less than one week, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will be at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia for their first debate.
The 2024 presidential debate is set for September 10 and will be hosted by ABC News.
On Wednesday, ABC News released rules for the highly anticipated event.
Officials say Harris and Trump both accepted the guidelines.
- The debate will last 90 minutes with two commercial breaks
- The two seated moderators, David Muir and Linsey Davis, will be the only people asking questions
- A coin flip was held virtually on Sept. 3 to determine podium placements and order of closing arguments; Trump won the coin toss and chose to select the order of statements. He will offer the last closing statement, and Harris selected the right podium on screen (stage left)
- Candidates will be introduced by moderators
- Candidates will enter upon introduction from opposite sides of the stage; the incumbent party will be introduced first
- There will be no opening statements; closing statements will be two minutes per candidate
- Candidates will stand behind the podiums for the duration of the debate
- Props or prewritten notes are not allowed onstage
- No topics or questions will be shared in advance
- Candidates will be given a pen, a pad of paper, and a bottle of water
- Candidates will have two minutes to answer questions, two minutes for rebuttals, and one extra minute for follow-ups, clarifications, or responses
- Candidates’ microphones will be live only for the candidate whose turn it is to speak and muted when the time belongs to another candidate
- Candidates will not be permitted to ask questions of each other
- Campaign staff may not interact with candidates during commercial breaks
- Moderators will seek to enforce timing agreements and ensure a civilized discussion
- There will be no audience in the room
