June 20, 2024
Former President Donald Trump decided to get the final word at next week’s presidential debate. And President Biden decided which side of the screen each candidates will appear on.
As I told you in this video, there was a coin flip that determined podium position. The debate rules said Biden and Trump will be standing behind uniform podiums during the 90-minute debate. Biden won the coin flip by calling “tails” so his campaign chose the right podium on the stage which means President Biden will be standing on the right side of the screen. Former President Trump will stand at the podium on the left side of your screen.
Because Biden made that position choice, the Trump campaign got to choose the order of closing statements. The Trump campaign decided President Biden will give the first 2-minute closing statement and former President Trump will give the last 2-minute closing statement…that means Trump will have the last word at the debate.
As I reported, both campaigns agreed microphones being muted when it’s not the candidate’s turn to talk and no studio audience. The candidates will not be allowed to interact with their campaign staff during the two commercial breaks – or at any point while they’re on stage – obviously. And no props or pre-written notes will be allowed.
Each candidate will get 2 minutes to answer the questions posed by the moderators. There will be 1 minute for rebuttal, and then another minute for a response to the rebuttal plus an additional 1 minute that can be used if necessary.
As I already reported RFK Jr. did not meet the qualifications to appear at this debate. Regardless of what he is claiming – he did not officially qualify for enough state ballots to reach the 270 electoral college threshold to win the presidency. There were other polling and constitutional requirements he did meet, but he did not reach the electoral college requirement. That may change by the time we reach the September presidential debate.
The first presidential debate between President Biden and former President Trump will air next Thursday night at 9 p.m. eastern on CNN. It may be carried by your local tv stations and if you don’t find it there and you don’t have a cable log in you will be able to stream the debate free on cnn.com.
