What time is Trump v Biden tonight? How to watch first US presidential election debate
Biden and Trump
President Joe Biden and Republican former President Donald Trump will face off tonight in the first televised debate of the election year.
This marks the first of two agreed-upon debates in which the candidates will go head-to-head in a moderated discussion on national television.
When is the Biden v Trump debate?
CNN will host the first debate, which gets started this evening at 9 pm ET (1am GMT). It is expected that ABC will host the second debate in September.
This debate comes unusually early in the year, before either candidate is officially named as the nominee of his respective party.
It airs two weeks before Trump is sentenced for his New York conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
It also comes at the end of the Supreme Court’s term, which will include a ruling on whether Trump is immune from federal prosecution for his role in the Capitol insurrection of January 6 2021.
Where to watch the debate
Tonight’s event will air live on CNN and will be streamed to CNN International, CNN Max and the CNN website.
It can also be viewed through any subscription service carrying CNN such as DirecTV Stream, fuboTV, Sling TV, Spectrum TV, Youtube TV and Hulu with Live TV.
Preparations underway at CNN studios ahead of the first presidential debate in Atlanta, Georgia - Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg
Where is the Biden v Trump debate being held?
The first debate is being held at CNN’s studios in Atlanta, capital of Georgia, a crucial swing state for the election.
There will be no live audience at this debate, which will be moderated by CNN’s chief political correspondent Dana Bash and lead Washington anchor Jake Tapper.
The lack of audience is a break with tradition that was specifically requested by Mr Biden’s team.
Mr Trump said that Biden was “supposedly afraid of crowds” and said he would prefer a live audience as “it’s just more exciting”.
The candidates’ microphones will be deactivated when it is the other’s turn to speak, another request from the Biden team. This follows the first 2020 forum where the conversation was dogged by the candidates’ interruptions and cutting-across.
Who will be attending?
So far, the only confirmed attendees are Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.
Independent candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr has accused the two major candidates of excluding him “because they are afraid I would win”.
CNN’s rules require participants to appear on enough state ballots to gain the minimum 270 electoral votes required to win a US presidential election, and to gain a minimum of 15% support in four separate recognised polls.
On May 11, CNN reported that Kennedy polled at 16% in a CNN/SSRS poll. Kennedy is currently on the ballot in six states and has enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in eight more, but this still only brings him to 185 electoral votes.
What issues will the candidates be quizzed on?
The exact issues to be debated are unclear. But it is likely that the economy, wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East will see significant airtime, alongside the respective records in office of the two men.
Trump is likely to zero-in on the message that Biden is weak and unfit for office and that an influx of illegal immigrants has crossed the US border under his watch. The former President may also be tempted to make a few jibes about Mr Biden’s recently convicted son, Hunter.
Biden’s campaign team will likely focus on what they term “Trump’s dangerous campaign promises and unhinged rhetoric”. The President is also expected to hammer Trump over the overturning of Roe v Wade, the second anniversary of which is this week.
Analysis: Why the debates could be pivotal
They are always key moments in the political calendar, but this year’s presidential debates could be critical in an election between two men who are almost neck and neck in the polls.
Both Mr Biden and Trump will see their first face-off in four years as an opportunity to get the better of their political rival.
Trump and his team will be hoping Mr Biden makes at least one of his trademark gaffes to further exacerbate concerns about the octogenarian’s age and mental acuity.
Worries about the 81-year-old’s age have plagued the Biden campaign since Special Counsel Robert Hur released a damning report earlier this year billing the US president as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory”.
Mr Biden’s public appearances and interviews are often carefully controlled by his team and any shortcomings at the debate will be seized upon by the Republican machine.
Meanwhile, Mr Biden’s team believes Trump’s often-incendiary rhetoric, coupled with his New York criminal conviction, will remind the public why they voted him out of the White House.
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