It will be an unusual debate. There won’t be an audience, and the network says it will mute candidates’ mics when it’s not their turn to speak. The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) instituted a similar policy for the final 2020 Trump and Biden debate, which ended up being far calmer than the chaotic, interruption-filled first one that year. This time, the call was made by CNN, which organized this debate, rather than the nonprofit CPD, which has taken on that duty since 1988.
Biden and Trump will debate for 90 minutes at 9PM ET on Thursday, June 27th.
CNN, which is hosting the event, will broadcast the debate on live TV as well as in streams on its website, on YouTube, and for subscribers on Max. Other outlets will livestream the debate, too, including PBS, The Washington Post, C-SPAN, and Fox News on broadcast TV.
Journalists Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, hosts of the political talk show State of the Union for CNN, will handle moderation.