Joe Biden wins coin toss for first presidential TV debate - but Donald Trump gets last word

Donald Trump and Joe Biden go head-to-head at6 the CNN debate in Atlanta. Georgia

President Joe Biden has clinched the coin toss for podium placement in the forthcoming Presidential debate next week. However, this minor victory means that Donald Trump will have the final word with the closing statement of the 90-minute showdown.

The coin landed on tails, the side chosen by the Biden campaign. The team was then given the choice between podium position or the order of closing arguments.

They decided to place Biden on the right side of television and other screens, but he will deliver his closing statement first. Trump's podium will be positioned on the left side, and he will have the last say by delivering his closing statement after Biden.

The 90-minute CNN debate is set to start at 9 pm ET on June 27 in Atlanta. It marks the first of two debates between Biden and Trump, with the second scheduled for September 10 which will be hosted by ABC News.

The debate will be aired on ABC and ABC News Live, with pre-coverage beginning at 8 pm ET on the network and 7 pm ET on ABC News Live. Earlier this week, CNN announced additional rules such as muting the candidates' microphone unless it's their turn to speak and allowing no props, only pen, paper and a bottle of water, reports the Mirror US.

There will be no opening statements, two commercial breaks and notably, no studio audience. It's to be a tightly structured face-off between Biden and Trump, managed by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.

Each candidate is allotted two minutes for moderator-posed questions, plus one-minute rebuttals, signalled by an imminent-red and concluding-solid red light.

It's only Democrat Biden and Republican Trump taking the stage, leaving independent candidates in the dark. Robert F.

Kennedy Jr's independent run hit a wall with CNN's polling and access bars, leading him to criticise the exclusion as "undemocratic, un-American, and cowardly."

The TV debate could be the most pivotal presidential debate in decades. The presidency hangs in balance for the 81-year-old Democrat, who knows he can't afford any slip-ups when he faces his Republican opponent Trump for an intense 90 minutes of live television come Thursday night.

Biden is gearing up for inevitable scrutiny of his physical and mental agility, economic and immigration records, and possibly even his family. The ever-confident Trump, aged 78, isn't pausing his campaign trail activities, planning for a Florida retreat next week for private consultations as part of his casual prep plan.

Allies of the former president are urging him to remain focused on his governing plans. However, they anticipate he will face tough questions about his relentless focus on election fraud, his part in undermining abortion rights, and his unprecedented legal issues.