President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will face off in a first, historic debate on June 27th, which will provide voters with at least two opportunities to evaluate both candidates before the November elections.
This meeting, scheduled for Thursday and organized by CNN at its Atlanta studios, will set a series of precedents that alter the traditional structure of presidential debates. The second debate, organized by ABC News, is scheduled for September 10, when the parties select their final candidates in July and August.
The program will start at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time and will last 90 minutes, including two commercial breaks, and could be watched by at least 80 million people.
According to CNN, there will be no audience present, the candidates' microphones will be muted when it is not their turn to speak, and only Trump and Biden will be on stage.
The moderators will be Jake Tapper and Dana Bash from CNN, while David Muir and Linsey Davis will be the moderators of the ABC News debate.
Political analysts highlight that this is a historic event as it is the first time between a sitting president and a former president: Biden is seeking re-election while Trump is attempting to return to the White House.
The date of this first meeting is unusually early, as none of the candidates has been officially named as a candidate by their respective parties, and because presidential debates generally take place in September and October.
For the first time since 1988, the debates will not be organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates; and furthermore, they will take place without an audience to avoid interruptions and distractions.
This encounter takes place at a time of high political tension and polarization in the United States. With polls showing Biden and Trump in a technical tie, the debate is shaping up as a crucial event that could significantly influence the outcome of the elections.
Trump, 78, will face multiple accusations and criticisms, so he will seek to focus his attacks on Biden's economic management and his age (81), trying to position himself as a better option to lead the country.
On the other hand, Biden will try to highlight the achievements of his administration and attack Trump for his controversial record, including his role in the revocation of abortion rights and his multiple pending legal disputes.
In 2020, the then candidates faced each other 15 days before the elections in a tense but civilized debate.
On that occasion, pressured by the polls against him, Trump took advantage of the first opportunity he had to promise the approval of an anti-Covid19 vaccine "within weeks"; while Biden, for his part, darkened the hopeful picture painted by Trump and warned of a "dark winter" with the pandemic unleashed.
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