NOTE: NBC Chicago will offer live coverage of the debate as it begins at 8 p.m. CT in the player above.
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are gearing up to take the stage for Tuesday night’s debate in Philadelphia, where they’ll fight to sway 2024 election voters on the biggest stage in U.S. politics.
The meeting comes 75 days after President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance triggered a political earthquake that ultimately forced him from the race. Few expect such a transformative result this time, but Trump is on a mission to end Harris’ “honeymoon.”
Harris, a former courtroom prosecutor, will enter the night with relatively high expectations against a Republican opponent with 34 felony convictions and a penchant for false statements. The question is whether Harris, who did not particularly stand out during primary debates in her 2020 presidential campaign, can prosecute Trump’s glaring liabilities in a face-to-face meeting on live television with the world watching.
As was the case for the June debate, with President Biden and Trump, there will be no audience present, no opening statements and no props allowed.
Candidates’ microphones will be muted when their opponent is on the clock, a stipulation that created some controversy in recent days.
Trump reluctantly agreed to the mute function when he faced Biden in June, but after that debate, his team determined it was a net positive if voters did not hear from the Republican former president while his opponent was speaking. Harris’ team was pushing to return to a normal format without mute buttons.
An estimated 51.3 million people watched Biden and Trump in June. But that was before many people were truly tuned into the election, and the potential rematch of the 2020 campaign was drawing little enthusiasm. Tuesday’s debate will almost certainly draw a larger audience.
Here’s a look at when and how to watch and more.
What time is the debate tonight?
The presidential debate — the second of the general election, but the first between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Sept. 10 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia between debate.
It will last for an estimated 90 minutes.
How and where to watch the debate
NBC 5 will offer a live stream of the debate in the player above and on-air.
NBC News will broadcast the full debate live and offer extensive primetime coverage beginning at 7 p.m. CT.
NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt and TODAY co-anchor Savannah Guthrie will anchor a pre-debate primetime special starting at 7 p.m. CT on NBC, followed by a live presentation of the ABC News-hosted debate at 8 p.m. CT. Holt and Guthrie will continue special coverage following the debate.
Viewers can watch the debate live on their local NBC station or via the NBC 5 Chicago streaming channel, which is available 24/7 and free of charge across nearly every online video platform, including Peacock, YouTube, Samsung TV Plus and on smartphones and smart TVs.
What are the rules?
The parameters now in place for the Sept. 10 debate are essentially the same as they were for the June debate between Trump and President Joe Biden.
According to ABC News, the candidates will stand behind lecterns, will not make opening statements and will not be allowed to bring notes during the 90-minute debate. David Muir and Linsey Davis will moderate the event.
“Moderators will seek to enforce timing agreements and ensure a civilized discussion,” the network noted.
A Harris campaign official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss planning around the debate, said a candidate who repeatedly interrupts will receive a warning from a moderator, and both candidates’ microphones may be unmuted if there is significant crosstalk so the audience can understand what’s happening.
After a virtual coin flip held Tuesday and won by Trump, the GOP nominee opted to offer the final closing statement, while Harris chose the podium on the right side of viewers’ screens. There will be no audience, written notes or any topics or questions shared with campaigns or candidates in advance, the network said.
Here’s the full list of rules:
– The debate will be 90 minutes with two commercial breaks.
– The two seated moderators, David Muir and Linsey Davis, will be the only people asking questions.
– A coin flip was held virtually on Tuesday, Sept. 3, to determine podium placement and order of closing statements; former President Donald Trump won the coin toss and chose to select the order of statements. The former president will offer the last closing statement, and Vice President Harris selected the right podium position on screen (stage left).
– Candidates will be introduced by the moderators.
– The candidates enter upon introduction from opposite sides of the stage; the incumbent party will be introduced first.
– No opening statements; closing statements will be two minutes per candidate.
– Candidates will stand behind podiums for the duration of the debate.
– Props or prewritten notes are not allowed onstage.
– No topics or questions will be shared in advance with campaigns or candidates.
– Candidates will be given a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water.
– Candidates will have two-minute answers to questions, two-minute rebuttals, and one extra minute for follow-ups, clarifications, or responses.
– Candidates’ microphones will be live only for the candidate whose turn it is to speak and muted when the time belongs to another candidate.
– Candidates will not be permitted to ask questions of each other.
– Campaign staff may not interact with candidates during commercial breaks.
– Moderators will seek to enforce timing agreements and ensure a civilized discussion.
– There will be no audience in the room.
Are other debates are scheduled?
Though the September debate is currently the only debate currently planned between Harris and Trump, Harris’ campaign said that a potential October debate was contingent on Trump attending the Sept. 10 debate.
In addition to the planned Harris-Trump debate on Sept. 10, vice presidential candidates Tim Walz and JD Vance also agreed to a debate, scheduled to be hosted by CBS News on Oct. 1.
When is the election?
Voters will officially head to the polls just over a month later on Nov. 5 for Election Day, though early voting starts significantly earlier in many states.
In Illinois, early voting will begin on Sept. 26 and will run through Nov. 4, with Election Day voting held at a designated polling place from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 5.