Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate President Joe Biden participate in the final presidential debate of the 2020 election cycle in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 22, 2020. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI . | License Photo
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump take the debate stage Thursday in Atlanta.
The debate is scheduled to last 90 minutes beginning at 9 p.m. ET. It will air live on CNN and stream on CNN.com, moderated by anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. Advertisement
The first debate of this election cycle is the third between Biden and Trump. It is also the earliest in an election cycle that a presidential debate has been held.
Neither candidate has officially been nominated at this point. That will happen during the Republican and Democratic National Conventions beginning July 15 and Aug. 19 respectively. Both have secured the delegates required to earn the nominations.
The candidates are circumventing the Commission on Presidential Debates to participate in Thursday’s debate. It will be the first time since the commission was created in 1987.
The Biden and Trump campaigns agreed to the rules of the first debate earlier this month after weeks of negotiation. There will be no opening statements. Candidates will have two minutes to respond to questions from the moderators. Their microphones will be muted until it is their turn to respond. Advertisement
There will be no live audience present.
Candidates must appear on enough ballots to win the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency to be eligible for the debate. They must poll at 15% or better in four national polls, according to a press release from CNN.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a former Democrat turned independent candidate, will not be participating in the debate after not qualifying.
