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How to watch tonight’s presidential debate
With Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump officially the nominees of the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively, they will now face off in a high-stakes debate Tuesday on ABC.
The debate will start at 9 p.m. EST/6 p.m. PST.
This is the only confirmed matchup that the candidates have agreed to after several weeks of uncertainty and wrangling. Trump had originally said he would skip the debate but later said he would do it. Since then, there have been arguments over its terms, including whether to mute their microphones.
The debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia was originally going to feature Trump and President Joe Biden, but when the latter dropped out, Harris took his spot. As for any other additional debates, the former president had proposed two additional contests on Sept. 4 on Fox News and Sept. 25 on NBC, but none of those have been confirmed. Meanwhile, Harris said that the two presidential hopefuls could be on the debate stage in October.
That could refer to the vice presidential debates that will pit Democratic running mate Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota against Trump’s pick, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio. CBS will host their exchange of ideas on Oct. 1.
The only other debate so far was when Trump and Biden shared the stage on June 27. In that contest, Biden had a disastrous performance that ignited calls for him to drop out of the race.
With ABC hosting the Sept. 10 debate, the network has turned to ABC News’ Linsey Davis and David Muir as moderators.
Here’s how to watch the debate:
What time is the debate?
The debate will start at 9 p.m. EST Tuesday and is expected to last 90 minutes. It’s being moderated by “World News Tonight” anchor Muir and “Prime” anchor Davis.
What channel is the debate on?
ABC News is carrying the debate live on its broadcast network as well as its streaming platform ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu. Several networks have also agreed to carry the event live.
Where is the debate?
The second general election debate of this cycle is taking place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. As was the case for the June debate, there will be no audience present.
Pennsylvania is perhaps the nation’s premier swing state, and both candidates have spent significant time campaigning across Pennsylvania. Trump was holding a rally in Butler, in western Pennsylvania, in mid-July when he was nearly assassinated by a gunman perched on a nearby rooftop. Harris chose Philadelphia as the spot where she unveiled Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate in August.
In 2020, it was Pennsylvania’s electoral votes that put Biden over the top and propelled him into the White House, four years after Trump won the state. Biden’s victory came after more than three days of uncertainty as election officials sorted through a surge of mail-in votes that delayed the processing of some ballots, and the Trump campaign mounted several legal challenges.
Which candidates will be on stage?
Two candidates — Harris and Trump — will be on stage, and it’ll be the first time that they’ve ever met. It’s also Harris’ first debate since 2020, when she and Trump’s running mate — then-Vice President Mike Pence — debated through plexiglass shields during the COVID-19 pandemic.
What are the presidential debate rules?
The current ABC framework for the second debate has the same rules for mic muting, no live audience or written notes.
Bay Area News Group’s Gieson Cacho and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
