President Biden and former president Donald Trump took the stage Thursday for the first presidential debate of the general election cycle, and they are scheduled to face off again in less than three months.
Biden and Trump agreed in May to participate in two debates: One hosted Thursday by CNN and another hosted by ABC News scheduled for Sept. 10. They bypassed a decades-old tradition of three fall meetings organized by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, moving up the first general election debate before either Trump or Biden had been declared a presidential nominee at their party’s conventions.
Only Biden and Trump qualified for CNN’s debate, but non-major party presidential candidates get a fresh opportunity to qualify for the fall debate.
Here’s what we know about the second presidential debate:
The second presidential debate of the general election cycle will air on Tuesday, Sept. 10. ABC News said it will air in “prime time,� but has not announced a start time.
The debate is being hosted by ABC News.
The debate will be moderated by ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis.
ABC News’s debate eligibility requirements are similar to what CNN required for candidates to join its debate stage.
The debate will be open to any presidential candidate who gets 15 percent in four separate national polls of registered or likely voters that meet ABC’s standards for reporting. Candidates must appear on a sufficient number of state ballots to reach the 270 electoral vote threshold to win the presidency before the eligibility deadline. And candidates must also agree to accept the format and rules of the debate to participate.
Additionally, candidates have to meet the constitutional requirements for the presidency and have submitted statements of candidacy to the Federal Election Commission.
ABC has not announced its debate rules or said where their debate will be held. They also have not announced any details about the debate’s format.
The network says the debate will air on ABC, ABC News Live and Hulu.
The debate will also be simulcast on The Washington Post’s digital platforms, as well as other streaming and TV news networks in the United States.
