President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees respectively, have agreed to two debates ahead of the November general election.
The first debate hosted by Cable News Network (CNN) in an Atlanta studio on June 27 will be the first time both candidates have taken the debate stage this election cycle. Trump did not participate in any of the Republican primary debates, while the Democratic National Committee endorsed Biden and did not hold any primary debates among his challengers.
Thursday’s debate will not have a live audience. On Sept. 10, the second debate to be hosted by ABC and moderated by anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis will likewise proceed without a live audience.
To qualify for the CNN and ABC debates, candidates must meet specific criteria: they must appear on enough state ballots to potentially secure 270 electoral votes, and they need to achieve a minimum of 15% support in four separate national presidential polls of registered or likely voters.
The last time Biden and Trump faced off on television was during the 2020 election race, where they debated twice.
