The time has come for Donald Trump and Kamala Harris to meet on stage for what could be one of the most consequential presidential debates in decades.
The race is on a knifes edge with polls showing the candidates - who have never met - neck and neck with just eight weeks to go.
Their performances in the primetime showdown on ABC at 9pm in Philadelphia could make or break their chances of taking the White House in November in what has been an already historic campaign.
President Joe Bidens calamitous outing after his debate on CNN nearly 11 weeks ago sparked the avalanche of calls for him to step aside, which resulted in Harris taking his place.
Just seven weeks into her campaign, the stakes couldnt be higher for Harris in the biggest moment of her career.
The millions expected to tune in already know Trump, but the vice president has yet to fully introduce herself as the Democratic candidate. She has only engaged in one sit-down interview and has not held a press conference as the nominee.
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are meeting on stage for the first time for a debate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Trump is expected to go after Harris record and make her answer for it publicly on stage for the first time as the Republican campaign has repeatedly attacked the VP for not speaking openly to reporters.
The question is, is Kamala going to be ready? Because shes going to have a lot of things to defend, Trumps Senior Advisor Jason Miller questioned on a call with reporters on Monday.
Meanwhile, some speculate that Harris will try to goad Trump into making a mistake
WHEN AND WHERE IS THE DEBATE?
Trump and Harris are meeting on stage for the first time on Tuesday, September 10, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The debate begins at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time and will go for 90 minutes at the National Constitution Center, a museum in downtown Philadelphia dedicated to the founding document of the U.S.
There is already a lot of betting and speculation over whether the two will shake hands on stage after publicly dissing each other but never coming face-to-face.
Pennsylvania is one of the seven battleground states that will determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.
And the stakes for Harris couldnt be higher when it comes to winning Pennsylvania. No Democratic presidential nominee has won the White House without clinching the Keystone State since 1948.
The first debate between Trump and Biden was held in Atlanta, Georgia – another one of the key swing states.
DEBATE HOST AND MODERATORS
ABC News is hosting the second presidential debate of the 2024 cycle and the first between Trump and the new Democratic nominee.
The moderators are World News Tonight anchor David Muir and ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the debate will not be fair because he says ABC News is the most nasty network and has sparked wild theories that Harris will receive the questions in advance.
Theyre going to get the questions, Ive already heard theyre going to get the questions in advance, Trump told Fox host Sean Hannity in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania last week. Im not sure its gonna help her that much.
Theyre very nasty, and I think a lot of people are going to be watching to see how nasty they are, how unfair they are, the former president said of the network. I agreed to do it because they wouldnt do any other networks.
The other thing is, her best friend is the head of the network, Trump said, referencing Harris close friendship with Disney executive Dana Walden. Her husbands best friend is married to the head of the network.
Dana and Matt Walden introduced Harris and First Gentleman Doug Emhoff by setting them up on a blind date. Matt has been friends with Emhoff since the 1980s and Harris has been close with Dana since 1994.
Trump thinks that because of this relationship, ABC News will help Harris cheat.
The questions and topics are not to be given to either campaign – so sorry Dana Walden, Jason Miller said in a call with reporters a day before the debate. Its going to be standing the entire time, you cannot bring notes.
And, in fact, there will be people from ABC checking during intermission, he continued. Checking if candidates have notes written on their hands.
Trump already has a rocky relationship with ABC News as he is suing the network and their star anchor George Stephanopoulos for defamation.
WHERE TO WATCH THE DEBATE
ABC News will air their debate live, but has also allowed other networks to simulcast the faceoff.
A number of broadcast channels will air the entire debate live, including CBS News, CNN, Fox News and several others.
Additionally, the debate will stream lie on ABC News Live as well as Disney+ and Hulu, which are both platforms owned by the parent network.
Other news outlets will stream the debate on their respective platforms and websites, as well.
DEBATE RULES
There was a lot of back-and-forth between Trump and Harris campaigns and ABC News over the rules and logistics of their first head-to-head.
Specifically, Harris team didnt want the already agreed-on provision that microphones would be muted when it was not a candidates turn to either answer a question or rebuttal the rivals comments.
The Democratic candidates campaign argued that having microphones on during the debate would hurt Trump because he was his own worst enemy when it came to interruptions.
Ultimately, Harris campaign conceded and agreed to muted microphones.
The two candidates campaigns went back-and-forth with ABC News over the rules – specifically whether they would keep the same muted microphone rules used in the first debate with CNN in June
Trump claims that Harris also wanted to sit behind a desk for the debate – like the one she had with Vice President Mike Pence in the 2020 vice presidential debate. They also say she wanted to have prepared notes on stage.
Harris campaign told DailyMail.com that it was 100 percent false they pushed for that.
Candidates will be standing on stage behind podiums and no pre-written notes or props are permitted.
The two will be given a pad of paper, pen and water bottle.
There is no audience. Because of this, the network is tasked with making sure whatever is shown on live TV gives the full extent of what happened in the room during the debate.
Trump and Harris are not allowed to speak to each other during commercial breaks and cannot pose questions to one another during the debate. Campaign staff also cannot interact with them during the commercials.
When asked a question, candidates are given two minutes to answer and another two minutes to rebuttal against their onstage rival. One minute is given for any follow-ups or clarifications.
There are no opening statements, but both Trump and Harris are given two minutes for closing remarks.
STAGE LOGISTICS
A coin toss determined the order of speaking and how the candidates would be oriented on the stage.
Trump won the flip and chose to give his closing statement last, which then gave Harris the choice of where they would stand on stage.
The vice president selected the left podium, meaning viewers will see her on the right side of their screens.
Candidates will be standing behind their podiums for the entire 90-minute debate.
Those who plan to demonstrate outside the debate in Philadelphia on Tuesday paint signs in preparation for their protest of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas terrorists
CAMPAIGN STRATEGIES AND PREPARATIONS FOR THE DEBATE
Trump is not preparing for the debate in the traditional sense.
The former president has suggested that he will decide his strategy against Harris in crunch time – maybe even when he gets on stage with the Democratic rival.
Trump brought on board former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who ran for president as a Democrat in 2020 in a crowded field that also included Harris. The debate performance from Gabbard, who is now an independent, did leave Harris shaken up.
On a call with members of the press on Monday, Trumps campaign said he regularly prepares for debate-like situations by repeatedly engaging with voters as well as journalists and reporters.
The team noted Trumps engagement in long form interview, pull asides, town halls and press conferences as a way to prepare him for debates.
Every style of question, President Trump is prepared for because thats what he has been doing this entire campaign, Brian Hughes said on the call.
The contrast is that, again, Kamala Harris people have had her in hiding, he added.
In the 60 days since entering the race in late July, Harris has not engaged in a single press conference.
She sat down for one longer interview with CNNs Dana Bash and was joined by her running mate Gov. Walz.
The VP was also on a Univision radio interview on Monday morning.
I dont know how Kamala Harris can prepare for Trump, Hughes conceded.
And this is exactly one of the things that gives the ex-president an advantage going into the debate on Tuesday – his unpredictability.
Trump has always been a wild card and his previous debate opponents say they are prepared to see something come from him that Harris couldnt possibly prepare a response for.
One of the things that MAGA supporters like most about Trump is that he ignores the traditional rules and pomp and circumstance of politics. He does and says whatever he wants in the moment.
But Harris team is hoping this could also be his downfall.
Originally, the campaign pushed for the microphones to be left on throughout the debate to make sure that Trump could interrupt their candidate and potentially allow her another Im speaking viral moment like she did against VP Pence.
One thing Harris leaned on in her debate last election cycle was stalling by asking her rival to be quiet and she would be glad to answer a question – and using that time to gather her thoughts.
She might shake her head to show disagreement with Trump while he is speaking and rely on viewers being able to see her reactions on split screen.
Harris arrived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania last week and has kept Pennsylvania as her home base in the days ahead of the debate as she prepares for the showdown.
She is looking for ways to unnerve Trump and get a social media moment like her one from the Pence debate.
The VP is expected to go on the offensive on policy issues and on the attack if Trump says any falsehoods.
WHEN IS THE NEXT DEBATE?
Its expected that there will be one more debate between Harris and Trump after the ABC News showdown, but nothing has been decided or officially announced yet.
Harris campaign has said she would agree to do another debate in October.
No date or network has been settled on for a potential rematch after Tuesday.
There is only one more debate actually on the books – and its between vice presidential candidates.
Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are taking the stage in New York City on October 1 for a debate hosted by CBS News and moderated by their anchors Norah ODonnell and Margaret Brennan.