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LAST UPDATE | 10 Sep 2024
TONIGHT, OR IN the early hours of tomorrow morning for those of us in Ireland, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will go head-to-head on a debate stage for the first time.
It may also be the only time the two clash before US voters go to the polls on 5 November.
For the time being, no additional debates are scheduled and this may be the only time the public gets to see former US President Trump go toe-to-toe with current Vice President Harris.
“This debate may go down in the history books. Break out the popcorn,” said Andrew Koneschusky, a former press secretary for US Senate leader Chuck Schumer.
The debate is being hosted by ABC News, and will also be available to stream on Disney+.
Channel 4 is also carrying live coverage of the debate, which will be held in the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia at 9pm Eastern time tonight, or 2am on Wednesday morning in Ireland.
ABC’s World News Tonight host David Muir and ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis will be the moderators.
There had been much debate in the run-up to the debate on whether the candidate’s microphones would be muted when they are not speaking.
There will be no opening statements and both Trump and Harris will be allotted two-minutes to answer moderator questions, two-minutes for rebuttals, and one extra minute for follow-ups, clarifications, or responses.
For the first debate in June, it was Joe Biden’s team that asked for the microphones to muted while it was the other candidates’ time to speak.
However, Harris’s team wanted that rule to be overturned and some sources from within her camp feel she could be “handcuffed” by the rules set in place by Biden.
In a letter to ABC which was viewed by Politico, Harris’ senior adviser for communications Brian Fallon said the muted mics “will serve to shield Donald Trump from direct exchanges with the Vice President”.
Harris is a former courtroom prosecutor and it’s thought she had been hoping to use this background to cross-examine Trump or to shut him down if he tried to interrupt, something the muted mics prohibit.
Harris deployed this to full effect when Mike Pence tried to cut her off during their 2020 vice-presidential debate.
She memorably shot Pence a look and said: “Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking.”
“I find it so interesting that what we’re fighting about is the fact that his own team wants to shut him up,” Harris’s campaign co-chair Mitch Landrieu told MSNBC’s Morning Joe last month.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever heard that before in the debates and the rules of the debates.”
Meanwhile, there will be no live audience and the debate will run for 90 minutes, with two ad breaks.
No props or pre-written notes are allowed and candidates will not be allowed to interact with campaign staff during the ad breaks.
Trump won a coin toss prior to the debate and will deliver the last closing statement, while Harris chose to be placed behind the right podium position on screen.
On Saturday, Trump delivered a dark speech to a rally in the US swing state of Wisconsin, while Harris hunkered down in another crucial battleground, Pennsylvania, preparing for next week’s televised presidential debate.
At the rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin, Trump delivered his characteristic stream of insults, exaggerations and outright falsehoods, painting a picture of an apocalyptic America run by a leftist dictatorship – a “rogue regime.”
Later on his Truth Social platform, he again falsely asserted that his 2020 loss to Biden involved “cheating” by the Democrats and warned that this time, “WHEN I WIN,” he would ensure “long prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again.”
Trump is said to have taken a more relaxed approach ahead of his seventh presidential debate, choosing to arrive in Philadelphia just hours before and keeping his preparations limited.
Harris meanwhile arrived in Philadelphia after five days holed up in a hotel doing intense practise sessions.
One of her aides even reportedly dressed up in a Trump-style boxy suit and long tie so she could get used to unloading her best lines on her opponent.
She took a break on Saturday from days of debate preparation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to visit a spice store where she drew a contrast to Trump’s grim tone.
Asked what message she would most like to get across in their debate, she replied: “It’s time to turn the page on the divisiveness. It’s time to bring our country together – chart a new way forward.”
Harris also said she was “honoured” by the recent endorsements of two prominent conservatives, former vice president Dick Cheney and his daughter, former representative Liz Cheney, adding, “It’s important to put country above party.”
Asked if she was ready to face Trump, Harris said simply, “Yes, I am.”
Harris jumped into the race after President Biden quit in July, shortly after a dismal debate performance against Trump.
She rapidly transformed herself from a little-noticed vice president into a serious contender but the polls show she has not made a major breakthrough and it remains a toss-up.
The race is neck-and-neck heading into the debate, according to polls released on Sunday.
A New York Times/Siena poll found that 78-year-old Trump is leading Harris nationally by 48 to 47%, well within the margin of error.
US presidential elections are decided by tallying the results of state-by-state contests, rather than an overall national popular vote, meaning that a tiny handful of swing states typically determine the balance.
The poll found Harris, 59, narrowly ahead in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and tied in four other swing states: Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona.
A CBS News/YouGov poll put Harris ahead by one percentage point in Michigan and Wisconsin and tied in Pennsylvania.
To be on stage, participants had to show they had drawn at least 15% support in four separate national polls.
No third-party candidate was able to clear this hurdle.
Our Political Reporter Jane Matthews will be liveblogging the debate through the night from 1am Irish Time on Wednesday morning.
-With additional reporting from © AFP 2024
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