Debate showdown in Philadelphia: Trump and Harris face off
The first planned television debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will take place on Tuesday evening in Philadelphia. This could be a decisive moment in the election campaign.
This will be the first physical meeting of both candidates. Harris and Trump will appear at the National Constitution Center at 9 PM local time (10 PM Eastern Time). Their duel will follow the same unusual rules as the Biden-Trump debate in Atlanta: a 90-minute showdown without an audience. Microphones will only be turned on when granted speaking time by the moderators, and candidates will only have a pen, blank sheets of paper, and a bottle of water with them.
ABC organizes the debate, with evening news hosts David Muir and Linsey Davis moderating. According to established rules, the questions and discussion topics will remain a mystery until the end, but issues such as the economy, taxes and inflation, immigration, abortion, the war in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, and the future of democracy will be among them.
All these topics were discussed during the Biden-Trump duel organized by CNN.
For each question, politicians will have two minutes to respond, two minutes for rebuttal, and another minute for clarification or answering additional questions. According to the rules, candidates cannot ask each other questions.
Trump-Harris debate. A crucial moment in the campaign
The debate comes at a crucial moment in the campaign, just five days before voting begins in the first state—Pennsylvania—where the duel will occur. Pennsylvania is the most critical state in this year's election, and it could determine which candidate secures more electoral votes and wins the election.
The stakes for Tuesday's clash are particularly high, as it will likely be the only debate before the election. Polls show an extremely tight race. According to the average of polls calculated by the New York Times, Harris and Trump each have 47% support in Pennsylvania. There is also a tie in three of the other seven swing states (Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona). In comparison, Harris has a slight lead in two states (Wisconsin by 3 percentage points and Michigan by 2 percentage points).
