Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, will meet tonight in their first presidential debate. The event will be held at Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center starting at 9 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CT).
It will be moderated by “World News Tonight” anchor and managing editor David Muir and “World News Tonight” Sunday anchor and ABC News Live “Prime” anchor Linsey Davis.
How can I watch?
The debate will air on ABC and Stream on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu. Fox News and CBS will simulcast the debate as will CNN.
Due to the ongoing dispute with Disney, DirecTV customers do not have access to ABC. You can watch via a free trial with Philo or FUBO.
What are the rules for the debate?
There will be no live audience and no opening statements, according to rules released by ABC News. The candidates will each be able to deliver a 2-minute closing statement.
Other rules will be:
- The debate will be 90 minutes with two commercial breaks.
- All questions will come from moderators
- A coin flip was held virtually on Sept. 3, to determine podium placement and order of closing statements. Trump won the coin toss and chose to select the order of statements. The former president will offer the last closing statement and Harris selected the right podium position on screen (stage left).
- Candidates will be introduced by the moderators.
- The candidates will enter from opposite sides of the stage, starting with the incumbent party.
- Candidates will stand behind podiums for the duration of the debate.
- Props or prewritten notes are not allowed onstage.
- No topics or questions will be shared in advance with campaigns or candidates.
- Candidates will be given a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water.
- Candidates will have two-minute answers to questions, two-minute 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.
