2024 United States presidential debates

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2024 United States presidential debates
← 2020 June 27, 2024 – September 10, 2024 2028 →
 
Nominee Joe Biden
(presumptive) 		Donald Trump
(presumptive)
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Delaware Florida
Running mate Kamala Harris
(presumptive) 		TBA

2024 U.S. presidential election
Democratic Party
Republican Party
Third parties
Related races
← 2020 2024 2028 →

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, respectively. 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 originally scheduled to be held between September 16 and October 9, 2024. Both Biden and Trump criticized the CPD's debate format and schedule.[1][2] In May 2024, both campaigns agreed to a deal to bypass the CPD and hold the aforementioned alternative debates, effectively cancelling them.[3]

Background[edit]

Commission on Presidential Debates[edit]

In April 2022, the Republican National Committee voted unanimously to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD); committee chair Ronna McDaniel called the organization "biased" and stated that they would find "newer, better debate platforms" for future Republican nominees.[4] 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."[5]

Former president Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, did not attend any primary debates, deeming them unnecessary and detrimental to his campaign.[6] 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,[7] though in April 2024 he confirmed he plans to debate Trump.[8]

Biden and Trump became the presumptive nominees of their respective parties in March 2024,[9][10] setting up the first presidential rematch since 1956.[11] 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.[12]

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.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15]

Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, campaign managers for Trump, had pushed for more debates to be held by the CPD, in addition to holding them earlier than the planned September date, though the commission refused to accede.[16] Throughout his 2024 campaign, Trump confirmed his intention to cooperate with the CPD repeatedly and challenged Biden to debate "Anywhere, anytime, anyplace."[17]

The CPD 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.[18] 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) [18]

  • 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.

Biden–Trump alternative debates[edit]

On May 15, 2024, the Biden campaign announced that it would not participate in the CPD-hosted debates and instead invited Trump to participate in two alternative debates to take place in June and September, each hosted in a TV news studio without an audience.[19][20] 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".[21] Frank Fahrenkopf, the head of the CPD, pushed back against the claims in an interview with Politico, indicating that the September 16 debate date was optimal, in addition to noting that the general election debates are "not like the primary debates" and that Trump himself had not followed the debate rules during the 2020 general election debate moderated by Chris Wallace.[22] 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.[3]

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.[23] 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.[24] The Biden campaign had unsuccessfully proposed that third party candidates be excluded from the debates.[3] A May poll taken by the Harvard Center for American Political Studies/Harris indicated that 71% of the people surveyed were in favor of allowing a third party candidate to debate.[25]

Trump announced on May 17 that he would be willing to hold another debate with Biden that would be hosted by NBC News and Telemundo.[26]

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.[27]

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.[28] The Biden campaign agreed to a vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News to take place on either July 23 or August 13.[29] The Trump campaign confirmed with Politico that it is aware of the offer, but had not yet made a decision.[30] Trump stated on May 17 he agreed to a future vice presidential debate on behalf of his future vice presidential pick. Bret Baier of Fox News stated in an interview with Martha MacCallum held on May 17 that Fox would be willing to host a vice presidential debate on July 23, August 13, or "following both party conventions".[26]

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[28] 		CNN Atlanta, Georgia Jake Tapper
Dana Bash[31] 		I I
2 September 10, 2024[3] ABC News TBD David Muir
Linsey Davis[32] 		I I
3 September 16, 2024
9:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m. EDT[18] 		Texas State University San Marcos, Texas NA Cancelled Cancelled
4 October 1, 2024
9:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m. EDT[18] 		Virginia State University Petersburg, Virginia NA Cancelled Cancelled
5 October 9, 2024
9:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m. EDT[18] 		University of Utah Salt Lake City, Utah NA 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[18] 		Lafayette College Easton, Pennsylvania NA Cancelled Cancelled

June 27 presidential debate (Atlanta)[edit]

Presidential debate
Date(s)June 27, 2024 (2024-06-27)
LocationAtlanta, Georgia
ParticipantsDonald 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.

It will be available on multiple platforms, including CNN, as well as "CNN International, CNN en Español, CNN Max and CNN.com."[33]

In order to qualify for the June 27 CNN debate, presidential candidates have to meet the following criteria:[34]

  • 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[35] Met EV criteria Met both criteria/
invited
Biden Yes
13 qualifying polls 		Yes
538 EVs certified[a] 		Yes
Trump Yes
13 qualifying polls 		Yes
538 EVs certified[b] 		Yes
Kennedy Jr. Pending
3 qualifying polls 		Pending
129 EVs certified
94 awaiting certification[c] 		Pending
Stein Pending
0 qualifying polls 		Pending
257 EVs certified[d]
3 awaiting certification 		Pending
West Pending
0 qualifying polls 		Pending
33 EVs certified
22 awaiting certification 		Pending

September 10 presidential debate[edit]

Presidential debate
Date(s)September 10, 2024 (2024-09-10)
ParticipantsDonald Trump
Joe Biden
Moderator(s)David Muir and Linsey Davis of ABC News

The second debate will be held on Tuesday, September 10, 2024.

ABC announced that the debate would be simulcast for airing on other networks.[33]

Other presidential debates[edit]

February 24–25 debates (Costa Mesa)[edit]

The Libertarian Party of California hosted two multiparty debates at their state convention in Costa Mesa, California.

The first night featured Libertarian candidates Michael Rectenwald and Mike ter Maat and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Green candidate Jill Stein was advertised as attending but ultimately did not.[37]

The second night featured Libertarian candidates Charles Ballay, Lars Mapstead, and Jacob Hornberger alongside independent candidate Cornel West.[38]

February 29 debate (New York City)[edit]

Free and Equal hosted a multiparty debate on February 29, 2024, in New York City, New York moderated by the foundation's chair, Christina Tobin.

Candidates were invited based on public votes via a point system style voting through the organization's "block-chain voting app" with an audit process after the fact. Socialism and Liberation nominee Claudia De la Cruz, independent candidates West and Kennedy, Libertarian candidates Chase Oliver and Mapstead, and Green candidates Stein and Jasmine Sherman were invited, although Kennedy and West declined to attend.[39][40]

The two hour debate was broadcast on YouTube, Rumble, and CSPAN among various other platforms. At one point, co-moderator Jason Palmer remarked on the five candidates’ relative agreement on social issues, although the debate became more combative towards the end.[41] Sherman won the organization’s post-debate ranked choice voting poll.[42]

July 11 debate (Las Vegas)[edit]

Free and Equal will host a second debate on July 11, 2024, at FreedomFest in Las Vegas, Nevada moderated by the foundation's chair, Christina Tobin. [43]

Unlike the first debate, this debate will be invite only. The organization confirmed on X that Trump, Biden, and Kennedy Jr. will be invited, along with other yet to be determined candidates.[citation needed] As of May 20, no candidate has confirmed their participation.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ as presumptive Democratic nominee
  2. ^ as presumptive Republican nominee
  3. ^ Kennedy Jr.'s campaign has also finished petition in Nevada (6 EVs), but the state secretary of state suggested the petition would likely be rejected due to not filing with a vice presidential nominee.[36]
  4. ^ 253 of which as possible Green Party nominee

References[edit]

  1. ^ Scherer, Michael; Dawsey, Josh (May 15, 2024). "Biden and Trump agree to CNN debate in June, ABC faceoff in September". Washington Post.
  2. ^ Shepard, Steven; Stein, Sam; Lemire, Jonathan; Isenstadt, Alex (March 15, 2024). "Biden officially clinches Democratic nomination for president". Politico.
  3. ^ a b c d 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 17, 2024.
  4. ^ McDaniel, Eric (April 14, 2022). "Republicans say they're quitting the 'biased' Commission on Presidential Debates". NPR. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  5. ^ Montanaro, Domenico (January 13, 2022). "Republicans threaten to skip traditional general election debates". NPR. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  6. ^ Samuels, Brett (April 25, 2023). "Trump questions why he should participate in GOP primary debates". The Hill. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Renshaw, Jarrett (April 27, 2024). "Biden says he plans to debate Trump". Reuters. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  9. ^ Vakil, Caroline (March 12, 2024). "Trump clinches GOP nomination". The Hill. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  10. ^ Schneider, Elena (March 12, 2024). "Biden officially clinches Democratic nomination for president". Politico.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ Murray, Isabella (April 14, 2024). "Major media organizations urge Biden and Trump to debate". ABC News. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  13. ^ Merica, Dan; Bohn, Kevin (October 9, 2020). "Commission cancels second debate between Trump and Biden". CNN. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  14. ^ Greene, Bob (September 30, 2012). "When candidates said 'no' to debates". CNN. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  15. ^ Enten, Harry (May 11, 2024). "Worms aside, RFK Jr. might make the debate stage". CNN. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  16. ^ Sullivan, Kate (May 1, 2024). "Trump campaign managers criticize Commission on Presidential Debates for sticking to original debate schedule". CNN. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  17. ^ Slisco, Aila (April 26, 2024). "Donald Trump challenges Joe Biden to courthouse debate". Newsweek.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ Shelton, Shania (May 15, 2024). "What to know about the history of presidential debates". CNN. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ Samuels, Brett; Weaver, Al (May 15, 2024). "Biden and Trump deal knockout to debate commission". The Hill. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  22. ^ Lizza, Ryan (May 17, 2024). "'Political Malpractice': The Debate Commission Chief Thinks Trump Blew It". Politico. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  23. ^ Samuels, Brett (May 15, 2024). "Biden campaign shuts down Trump push for additional debates: 'No more games'". The Hill. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  24. ^ Koretski, Katherine (May 15, 2024). "RFK Jr. accuses Biden and Trump of 'colluding' to exclude him from debates". NBC News. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  25. ^ Mueller, Julia (May 20, 2024). "71 percent in poll want RFK Jr., third parties in debate". The Hill. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  26. ^ a b Suter, Tara (May 17, 2024). "Trump agrees to VP debate on Fox after Biden campaign accepts CBS invite". The Hill. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  27. ^ Vigdor, Neil; O'Brien, Rebecca Davis (May 7, 2024). "R.F.K. Jr., Invited to Libertarian Convention, Seeks Trump Debate". The New York Times.
  28. ^ 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.
  29. ^ Navarro, Aaron; Watson, Kathryn (May 16, 2024). "Harris accepts CBS News' vice presidential debate invitation". CBS News. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  30. ^ Daniels, Eugene (May 16, 2024). "Biden campaign agrees to VP debate on CBS". Politico. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  31. ^ Mastrangelo, Dominick (May 15, 2024). "Jake Tapper and Dana Bash tapped to moderate CNN debate". The Hill. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  32. ^ Johnson, Ted (May 15, 2024). "ABC News' David Muir And Linsey Davis To Moderate September Presidential Debate". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  33. ^ a b Mastrangelo, Dominick (May 15, 2024). "ABC to make September debate available for simulcast on other networks". The Hill. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  34. ^ "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.
  35. ^ "Latest Polls".
  36. ^ Novelo, Allison (March 25, 2024). "RFK Jr.'s ballot signatures could be invalid in Nevada without VP". CBS News. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  37. ^ "2024 Libertarian Party of California Convention - Day 1". YouTube.
  38. ^ "2024 Libertarian Party of California Convention Day 2". YouTube.
  39. ^ "Free & Equal Presidential Debate – February 29, 2024". freeandequal.org. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  40. ^ Marantz, Andrew (March 11, 2024). "Libertarians and Socialists and Jill Stein - Oh, My!". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  41. ^ "Presidential Debate by Free & Equal". YouTube.
  42. ^ "Free & Equal Election Foundation". Free and Equal - freeandequal.org.
  43. ^ "Free & Equal Presidential Debate – at FreedomFest July 11, 2024".
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