Washington The presidential debates are around the corner, with Democratic nominee Joe Biden and President Donald Trump set to square off for the first time on stage next week.
All debates are scheduled to take place from 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. ET on their respective dates without commercial breaks.
Here’s what we know about the format and schedule of the four general election debates.
First presidential debate, September 29
The first debate between Biden and Trump will be moderated by Fox News’ Chris Wallace and is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, September 29, at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland.
Wallace selected the following topics for the first debate: “The Trump and Biden Records,” “The Supreme Court,” “Covid-19,” “The Economy,” “Race and Violence in our Cities,” and “The Integrity of the Election,” according to the Commission on Presidential Debates.
Each segment will last about 15 minutes, and the candidates will have two minutes to respond after the moderator opens each segment with a question. Wallace will then use the rest of the time in the segment to facilitate further discussion on the topic, according to the commission.
Vice presidential debate, October 7
The vice presidential debate between California Sen. Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence will be moderated by Susan Page of USA Today and will take place Wednesday, October 7, at The University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
This debate will be divided into nine segments of about 10 minutes each, and each candidate will have two minutes to respond to the moderator’s opening question, the commission said. The moderator will then use the rest of the time in the segment to facilitate a deeper discussion on the topic, according to the commission.
Second presidential debate, October 15
The next debate between Trump and Biden will be moderated by Steve Scully of C-SPAN Networks and will take place on Thursday, October 15, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, in Miami.
The Miami debate will take the form of a town hall where the questions will be posed by citizens from the South Florida area, according to the commission. The participants will be uncommitted voters selected under the supervision of Frank Newport of Gallup, the commission said. The candidates will have two minutes to respond to each question and there will be an additional minute for the moderator to facilitate further discussion, according to the commission.
Last presidential debate, October 22
The third and final debate between Biden and Trump will be moderated by Kristen Welker of NBC News and is scheduled to take place on Thursday, October 22, at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. The format for the third debate will be identical to the format of the first debate.
