President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will face off Thursday for their first 2024 debate – a high-stakes opportunity to break through to politics-weary Americans that's rife with potentially disastrous missteps.
One piece of history is already set: The debate is the first between a sitting and former president, the latter also the first convicted felon to be a major party candidate.
It is also coming much earlier than previous presidential election forums and is being run by CNN, instead of the nonpartisan commission that had controlled such events for over 30 years.
With Americans unenthused about the Biden-Trump rematch, the elderly, gaffe-prone candidates need to win over the sliver of voters still undecided, as well as rev up their bases.
Expect the two, who have attacked each other publicly for months, to spar over border security, the economy and abortion on the stage.
Here's what to know:
How do you watch the debate?
The 90-minute forum will kick off at 9 p.m. New York time in Atlanta and can be viewed on CNN and on its website. Other broadcast networks, including Bloomberg Television, will simulcast the event. CNN journalists Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will moderate.
Who qualified for the debate?
Biden and Trump were the only candidates to meet CNN's requirements: getting at least 15% in four national polls of registered or likely voters and appearing on enough state ballots to potentially reach the 270 electoral vote threshold for a November victory.
That means independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has the potential to spoil the race by taking votes from both Trump and Biden, won't appear — but he's holding his own event online at the same time.
What are the rules for the debate?
There will be no live studio audience — meaning no applause or boos. And each candidate's microphone will be muted unless it is their turn to speak, a rule aimed at preventing the two from talking over each other as was the case in debates last cycle.
Biden and Trump must stay behind their podiums. After a coin toss, Biden picked the right one and Trump will be on the left. Pre-written notes are banned, but they will have water, pens and paper.
The candidates won't be able to consult with their teams during the event's two commercial breaks. There will be no opening remarks from the two, and Trump will have the last closing statement as determined by a coin flip.
What do Biden and Trump have at stake?
For Biden, the debate is an opportunity to bat away age concerns like he did during his State of the Union address in March, for which he won largely positive reviews. The president also needs to connect with young and Black voters, whose turnout he needs in key states.
For Trump, it will be a chance to separate himself from his criminal conviction last month. Trump also wants to reach suburban women and people disaffected by the economy.
