September 4, 2024
Microphones will be muted and trump will get the last word.
We now know exactly what we’re going to see during next week’s presidential debate between Vice President Harris and former President Trump.
ABC just released all the official rules which both campaigns have agreed to.
- The debate will last 90 minutes with two commercial breaks
- The two moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis, will be the only people asking questions
- A coin flip was held virtually on September 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)
- 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
The debate will air next Tuesday September 10th at 9 pm. Eastern. It’ll be on all ABC stations and will be streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
