Here we go: After all the accusations and attack ads, President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden face off Tuesday night in the first of three debates leading up to the Nov. 3 presidential election.
The debate arrives after a news-packed weekend that saw President Trump nominate Amy Coney Barrett to succeed the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court—a nomination that comes less than 40 days before the election itself, and which has stirred a contentious debate in its own right. Meanwhile, Trump again finds himself on the defensive after the New York Times on Sunday dropped a bombshell report on the President’s income taxes, a topic long shrouded in mystery.
But that only scratches the surface as far as the issues at hand in this unprecedented election year, many of which will be delved into at length on Tuesday night. Here’s what you need to know about Trump versus Biden, Round 1:
When and where is the first presidential debate?
The first debate will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at the Health Education Campus shared by Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland. The event is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET and conclude at 10:30 p.m.
It is the first of three scheduled debates between the two presidential candidates, who are slated to meet again in Miami on Oct. 15 and in Nashville on Oct. 22. The two vice presidential nominees, Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), will debate in Salt Lake City on Oct. 7.
How can I watch the presidential debate?
The debate will be aired on all of the major television networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC), as well as the major cable news channels (CNN, Fox News, MSNBC) and C-SPAN. Many news outlets are also live-streaming the debate on YouTube, while those who prefer radio can listen in on NPR and other radio outlets.
What topics will be discussed in the debate?
The debate’s moderator, Chris Wallace of Fox News, has chosen six topics to build Tuesday’s debate around, with 15 minutes of debate dedicated to each topic. In order, the topics are:
- The Trump and Biden records
- The Supreme Court
- COVID-19
- The economy
- Race and violence in our cities
- The integrity of the election
While the second topic, the Supreme Court, is hotly anticipated given its political immediacy, the COVID-19 pandemic is the most pressing issue for many. Meanwhile, the state of the economy—which has proven inextricably linked to the pandemic—is historically perhaps the most important issue to American voters, and remains so this year.
The fifth topic has drawn scrutiny from some observers, given how its wording seems to lend itself more to the views of the President and many of his supporters, rather than the issues of racial inequality and police violence that Biden and his backers have spoken out against.
And the sixth and final topic is an exceptionally fraught one in 2020, given how President Trump has raised unsubstantiated doubts about the integrity of mail-in voting and the electoral process at large, and has refused to commit to accepting the results of the election and transfer power to Biden if necessary.
How will the COVID-19 pandemic affect the debate?
Besides playing a central part in the evening’s discourse, the coronavirus pandemic means things will look a little different than usual in Cleveland on Tuesday night.
While the debate will still take place before a live audience, there will be a significantly smaller crowd than usual, according to organizers, and those in attendance will have to submit to COVID-19 testing and other health protocols.
Social distancing protocols will also apply to the debate’s participants. While Trump, Biden, or Wallace are not expected to wear face masks, there will be no handshakes between Trump and Biden—though, given how there’s no love lost between the two men, it’s worth wondering whether there would have been one anyway.