(NEXSTAR) – All eyes will be on Philadelphia Tuesday night as former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are set to square off on the debate stage for the first time.
The last time Trump appeared on a debate stage, it became a turning point in the 2024 presidential race. By the end of the night, we’ll know if this debate has once again shifted the conversation.
The two candidates will debate starting at 9 p.m. Eastern at Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center. There will be no live audience, according to the rules set out by ABC News. Candidates won’t have notes, either, and their microphones will be muted when it’s not their turn to talk.
It’s the only debate that’s been firmly scheduled and could be the only time voters see Harris and Trump go head to head before the November general election.
The candidates are in a tight race, making the stakes high for Tuesday night. Harris’s campaign hopes the former prosecutor will be able to rattle Trump while outlining her vision for America, the Associated Press reports. Trump, meanwhile, is likely to paint Harris as too liberal to govern a broad coalition, and remind his voters why they put him in the country’s top office once before.
This year’s presidential race is also a genuine contest of ideas between Harris and Trump — with clear differences on taxes, abortion, immigration, global alliances, climate change and democracy itself.
Since replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee, Harris has pledged to chart a new way forward even as she’s embraced many of his ideas. She wants middle class tax cuts, tax hikes on the wealthy and corporations, a restoration of abortion rights and a government that aggressively addresses climate change, among other stances.
Seeking a return to the White House, Trump wants to accomplish much of what he couldn’t do during a term that was sidetracked by the global pandemic. The Republican wants the extension and expansion of his 2017 tax cuts, a massive increase in tariffs, more support for fossil fuels and a greater concentration of government power in the White House.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.