With the first debate of the 2024 presidential election cycle fast approaching, CNN Announced On Sunday, the campaigns for President Biden and former President Trump announced they had agreed to new rules for the debate.
The debate will be moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash and will take place in Atlanta, Georgia on June 27.
Both candidates have agreed to stand on a unified podium, with the location of the podium to be decided by a coin toss, CNN reported.
Microphones will be muted during the debates except when it is the candidate’s turn to speak, and Tapper and Bash will “take all necessary steps to ensure a timely and respectful debate.”
The 90-minute debate will include two commercial breaks, during which campaign staff will not be allowed to interact with the candidates, the network said.
Candidates are given a pen, notepad, and water bottle, but are not allowed to bring pre-written notes onto the stage.
CNN reported that unlike past debates, there will be no studio audience.
Biden and Trump agreed in mid-May to hold two debates before the election, which would be the first time the two candidates have faced off face-to-face since the 2020 debates. Trump chose to skip this Republican primary debate, instead taking part in campaign activities.
Biden released a campaign video challenging Trump to meet him in a debate in June and again in September. Trump accepted the challenge, and the debates were scheduled for the same day.
The June debate is historically early in the general election calendar. The second debate will take place on September 10 and will be hosted by ABC.
The Biden campaign suggested the June date because the president would have returned from the G7 summit and Trump’s hush money trial would have concluded.
The first debate between Biden and Trump in September 2020 was chaotic, with the former president frequently interrupting Biden and the moderator, and featuring personal insults from both candidates, with Biden at one point asking, “Can we just shut up?”
