Biden and Trump to participate in open debate

Democratic President Joe Biden and his Republican rival Donald Trump will face off in an election debate to be held at CNN's studio in Atlanta.

The open debate, which will be moderated by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, will begin at 9:00 PM Eastern Time (04:00 AM Turkish time) and will last 90 minutes.

In order to "ensure that the candidates can maximize the time allotted for the debate," the presidential debate will be held without an audience for the first time since 1960. Throughout the debate, at the request of the Biden camp, only the microphone of the speaker who has the floor will be kept open to prevent Trump from interrupting.

In terms of format, the candidates will debate while standing at podiums. Candidates will not be allowed to bring pre-written notes with them; they will only be provided with a pen, a pad of paper, and a bottle of water to take notes during the debate.

In the session, Biden and Trump are expected to put on the table domestic issues such as the economy and the immigration problem, as well as foreign policy topics such as Ukraine and Gaza, discussions regarding their age and health status, and legal issues on the agenda concerning themselves or their family members, primarily the storage of classified documents.

The 81-year-old Biden has been preparing for tomorrow evening's debate with his advisors at the "Camp David" compound in the mountainous region of Maryland, where presidents traditionally retreat, since June 19, while the 78-year-old former President Trump spent the week participating in election campaigns.

While it was noted that Trump adopted a less anxious approach to debate preparation, the former President made a sarcastic remark at his election rally in Philadelphia on June 22 regarding Biden's days of preparation for the election debate, saying, "Biden is probably sleeping there instead of studying his lesson."

6 OUT OF EVERY 10 US ADULTS STATED THEY WOULD WATCH THE DEBATE

On the other hand, in two separate polls conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and PBS News, it was stated that 6 out of every 10 US adults will watch tomorrow evening's election debate live.

While 61 percent of the participants stated that they would watch the debate live with "extreme" interest and 24 percent said they would follow it later through news and social media, 14 percent noted that they were not interested in the debate.

Trump and Biden will hold their second and final debate before the November elections on September 10, moderated by anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis on ABC television. A venue has not yet been announced for this debate.

The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), which organized previous election debates, had planned two sessions between Biden and Trump on September 16 and October 9, but both the Biden and Trump camps accepted the proposals of CNN and ABC because they did not like the CPD's debate format and schedule.

Since CNN and ABC imposed a requirement of having at least 15 percent support from voters in at least 4 national polls to participate in the election debate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent candidate in the November elections, will not take part in the debate.

Biden and Trump last debated face-to-face on live television on October 22, 2020, for the 2020 Presidential Election.

News Source: AA