2024 United States presidential debates
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 2024 U.S. presidential election | |
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The 2024 United States presidential debates are a series of scheduled debates between major candidates of the 2024 United States presidential election. Two general election debates sponsored by CNN and ABC are scheduled to be held on June 27 and September 10, 2024. Both major parties' presumptive nominees, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, have confirmed their attendance.
Four general election debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) were scheduled to be held between September 16 and October 9, 2024. On May 15, the Biden campaign proposed holding two debates outside of the CPD schedule and declined to appear at CPD-hosted debates. Biden and Trump agreed to participate in two debates, one hosted by CNN in June and another hosted by ABC News in September.[1]
Background[edit]
Commission on Presidential Debates[edit]
In April 2022, the Republican National Committee voted unanimously to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates; committee chair Ronna McDaniel called the organization "biased" and stated that they would find "newer, better debate platforms" for future Republican nominees.[2] This announcement came after years of tension between the organizations, including a threat made earlier in the year by the RNC to change its rules to prohibit nominees from participating in CPD debates. In response, the commission stated that "[its] plans for 2024 will be based on fairness, neutrality and a firm commitment to help the American public learn about the candidates and the issues."[3]
Former president Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, did not attend any primary debates, deeming them unnecessary and detrimental to his campaign.[4] He has previously accused the CPD of unfair treatment in the 2016 and 2020 debates, and the likelihood of Trump attending the debates has been brought into question. Despite this, Trump told Fox News host Bret Baier in a June 2023 interview that he is interested in debating incumbent president Joe Biden should he become the Democratic nominee. At that time, Biden had not committed to attending the debate either, as his campaign was also in conflict with the commission for failing to enforce its rules against Trump,[5] though in April 2024 he confirmed he plans to debate Trump.[6]
Biden and Trump became the presumptive nominees of their respective parties in March 2024,[7][8] setting up the first presidential rematch since 1956.[9] On April 14, 2024, a number of major news organizations signed an open letter to the nominees urging them to attend the debates, arguing for its "rich tradition in our American democracy" and that the "exceptionally high" stakes require debates to be held. Signatories include ABC News, CBS News, CNN, NBC News, and Fox News, among others.[10]
If either major party nominee chooses not to attend a general election debate, it would be the first since 2020, when president Trump refused to attend the second debate with Biden because it would have been virtual rather than in person following Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis.[11] It previously occurred in 1980, when president Jimmy Carter refused to attend the first debate with Ronald Reagan due to the presence of independent candidate John B. Anderson. Should both refuse it would be the first presidential election since 1972 without any general election debate.[12] Additionally, if independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. improved his current polling results, he would have been the first third party candidate since Ross Perot in 1992 to qualify for the debates.[13]
Throughout his 2024 campaign, Trump has confirmed his intention to cooperate with the Commission on Presidential Debates repeatedly and vocally challenged Biden to debate "Anywhere, anytime, anyplace."[14]
The Commission on Presidential Debates announced the schedule for its four debates on November 20, 2023. All debates would have started at 9 p.m. ET and would have run for 90 minutes uninterrupted.[15] The Biden campaign announced on May 15 that it would not participate in the presidential debates hosted by the CPD and proposed alternative debates that would be hosted by CNN and ABC, which Trump agreed to.[16]
Other proposed debates[edit]
On May 7, 2024, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued an open letter challenging former President Trump to debate him at the Libertarian National Convention, where both are already scheduled to speak from May 24–25, citing Trump's frequent and vocal claims that he would be willing to debate anywhere and Kennedy's own competitive polling with both major candidates. Trump has not yet responded to this challenge.[17]
On May 15, 2024, Biden's campaign invited Trump to participate in two debates to take place in June and September, each hosted in a TV news studio without an audience, bypassing the CPD's schedule.[18] Jen O'Malley Dillon, the Biden campaign manager, laid out three reasons for sidelining the CPD, indicating that the debates weren't completed until early voting started, that the debates had become "a spectacle" and that the CPD could not "enforce its own rules".[19] Biden and Trump accepted an offer from CNN to hold the first of these debates on June 27 and from ABC to hold the second on September 10.[1]
Trump indicated the same day that he had accepted a Fox News debate to be hosted on October 2, 2024, though the Biden campaign dismissed the prospect of a third debate.[20] Kennedy accused the two candidates of "colluding" to exclude him from televised debates "because they are afraid I would win"; both CNN and ABC had decided on eligibility criteria that were similar to those that had been used by the CPD, with Kennedy not appearing on a sufficient number of state ballots at that time.[21]
A vice presidential debate in July was initially proposed, which would take place after the selection of a vice presidential candidate at the 2024 Republican National Convention.[22] The Biden campaign has agreed to a vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News to take place on either July 23 or August 13.[23]
Qualification of candidates[edit]
In order to qualify for the CPD-sponsored debates, presidential candidates would have needed to meet the following criteria: (vice presidential candidates would have qualified by being the running mate of a qualifying presidential candidate) [15]
- Be constitutionally eligible to hold the presidency.
- Appear on a sufficient number of ballots to have a mathematical possibility of winning a majority vote in the Electoral College.
- Have a level of support of at least 15% of the national electorate as determined by five national public opinion polling organizations selected by the commission, using the average of those organizations' most recently reported results at the time of determination.
Debate list[edit]
| 2024 United States presidential election debates | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Date and time | Host | Location | Moderators | Participants | ||||||||||
| Key:
P Participant. I Invitee. A Absent. |
Democratic | Republican | |||||||||||||
| President Joe Biden of Delaware |
Former President Donald Trump of Florida | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | June 27, 2024 9:00 p.m. EDT[22] |
CNN | Atlanta, Georgia | Jake Tapper Dana Bash[24] |
I | I | |||||||||
| 2 | September 10, 2024[1] | ABC News | TBD | David Muir Linsey Davis[25] |
I | I | |||||||||
9:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m. EDT[15] |
Cancelled | Cancelled | |||||||||||||
9:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m. EDT[15] |
Cancelled | Cancelled | |||||||||||||
9:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m. EDT[15] |
Cancelled | Cancelled | |||||||||||||
| 2024 United States vice-presidential election debate | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Date and time | Host | Location | Moderator | Participants | ||||||||||
| Key:
P Participant. I Invitee. A Absent. |
Democratic | Republican | |||||||||||||
| Vice President Kamala Harris of California |
TBD | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | September 25, 2024 9:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m. EDT[15] |
Lafayette College | Easton, Pennsylvania | TBD | Cancelled | Cancelled | |||||||||
June 27 presidential debate (Atlanta)[edit]
| Presidential debate | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | June 27, 2024 |
| Location | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Participants | Donald Trump Joe Biden |
| Moderator(s) | Jake Tapper and Dana Bash of CNN |
The first debate will be held on Thursday, June 27, 2024, starting at 9:00 p.m. EDT in Atlanta, Georgia.
In order to qualify for the June 27 CNN debate, presidential candidates have to meet the following criteria:[26]
- Be constitutionally eligible to hold the presidency.
- File with the Federal Election Commission
- Appear on a sufficient number of ballots to have a mathematical possibility of winning a majority vote in the Electoral College.
- Agree to the rules of the debate
- Have a level of support of at least 15% of the national electorate as determined by four national public opinion polling organizations selected by CNN, with such polls dating between March 13 and June 20, 2024.
| Qualified candidates for the first debate | |||
| Candidate | Met polling criterion[27] | Met EV Criteria | Met both criteria/ invited |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biden | Yes 11 qualifying polls |
Yes 538 EVs certified[a] |
Yes |
| Trump | Yes 11 qualifying polls |
Yes 538 EVs certified[b] |
Yes |
| Kennedy Jr. | Pending 2 qualifying polls |
Pending 129 EVs certified 94 awaiting certification |
Pending |
| Stein | Pending 0 qualifying polls |
Pending 257 EVs certified[c] |
Pending |
| West | Pending 0 qualifying polls |
Pending 33 EVs certified 6 awaiting certification |
Pending |
September 10 presidential debate[edit]
| Presidential debate | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | September 10, 2024 |
| Participants | Donald Trump Joe Biden |
| Moderator(s) | David Muir and Linsey Davis of ABC News |
The second debate will be held on Tuesday, September 10, 2024.
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Boak, Josh; Miller, Zeke; Colvin, Jill (May 15, 2024). "Biden and Trump, trading barbs, agree to 2 presidential debates, in June and September". Associated Press. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
- ^ McDaniel, Eric (April 14, 2022). "Republicans say they're quitting the 'biased' Commission on Presidential Debates". NPR. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
- ^ Montanaro, Domenico (January 13, 2022). "Republicans threaten to skip traditional general election debates". NPR. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- ^ Samuels, Brett (April 25, 2023). "Trump questions why he should participate in GOP primary debates". The Hill. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ Weissert, Will (November 20, 2023). "Three general election debates are scheduled for 2024. Neither party has committed to attending". Associated Press. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- ^ Renshaw, Jarrett (April 27, 2024). "Biden says he plans to debate Trump". Reuters. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Vakil, Caroline (March 12, 2024). "Trump clinches GOP nomination". The Hill. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
- ^ Schneider, Elena (March 12, 2024). "Biden officially clinches Democratic nomination for president". Politico.
- ^ Weissert, Will (March 13, 2024). "US has its first presidential rematch since 1956, and other facts about the Biden-Trump sequel". Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
- ^ Murray, Isabella (April 14, 2024). "Major media organizations urge Biden and Trump to debate". ABC News. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ Merica, Dan; Bohn, Kevin (October 9, 2020). "Commission cancels second debate between Trump and Biden". CNN. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
- ^ Greene, Bob (September 30, 2012). "When candidates said 'no' to debates". CNN. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- ^ Enten, Harry (May 11, 2024). "Worms aside, RFK Jr. might make the debate stage". CNN. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
- ^ Slisco, Aila (April 26, 2024). "Donald Trump challenges Joe Biden to courthouse debate". Newsweek.
- ^ a b c d e f Cohen, Ethan (November 20, 2023). "Commission on Presidential Debates announces dates and locations for 2024 general election debates". CNN. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
- ^ Shelton, Shania (May 15, 2024). "What to know about the history of presidential debates". CNN. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
- ^ Vigdor, Neil; O'Brien, Rebecca Davis (May 7, 2024). "R.F.K. Jr., Invited to Libertarian Convention, Seeks Trump Debate". The New York Times.
- ^ Swan, Jonathan; Haberman, Maggie (May 15, 2024). "The first Trump-Biden debate could come as early as June". The New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
- ^ Samuels, Brett; Weaver, Al (May 15, 2024). "Biden and Trump deal knockout to debate commission". The Hill. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
- ^ Samuels, Brett (May 15, 2024). "Biden campaign shuts down Trump push for additional debates: 'No more games'". The Hill. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
- ^ Koretski, Katherine (May 15, 2024). "RFK Jr. accuses Biden and Trump of 'colluding' to exclude him from debates". NBC News. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
- ^ a b Klein, Betsy; Williams, Michael; Holmes, Kristen (May 15, 2024). "Biden and Trump accept CNN's invitation to debate on June 27". CNN. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
- ^ Navarro, Aaron; Watson, Kathryn (May 16, 2024). "Harris accepts CBS News' vice presidential debate invitation". CBS News. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
- ^ Mastrangelo, Dominick (May 15, 2024). "Jake Tapper and Dana Bash tapped to moderate CNN debate". The Hill. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
- ^ Johnson, Ted (May 15, 2024). "ABC News' David Muir And Linsey Davis To Moderate September Presidential Debate". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
- ^ "CNN to host 2024 election presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald J. Trump on June 27". CNN. May 15, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
- ^ "Latest Polls".
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