duration, notes, cut microphones… The rules of the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump

For this first debate between the two candidates, the microphone of the one who is not speaking will be cut off. Kamala Harris’ team wanted it to remain open to let Donald Trump get upset and interrupt her.

It is one of the key moments of any American presidential campaign: the debates between the candidates. This one could be the first and only one between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. It will take place on the night of Tuesday 10 to Wednesday 11 September on the ABC channel, in the United States, from 3 am, French time.

The setting for this first one-on-one between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris is very similar to the one at the end of June that precipitated Joe Biden’s withdrawal: an hour and a half of debate, with two commercial breaks. The two candidates will be alone, without an audience, without notes, with two journalists to question them for 90 minutes in Philadelphia, in the crucial state of Pennsylvania, in the northeast of the country.

Donald Trump to speak last

Donald Trump won the coin toss. He chose to speak last at the end of the debate. Kamala Harris chose to be on the right side of the screen. There will be no opening statements. They will have two minutes to answer each question and will not be able to question each other.

As in June, they are not allowed to have notes written in advance. The microphone of anyone who is not speaking will be muted. The Harris team wanted it to remain open to let Trump get upset and interrupt.

How did the two candidates prepare?

We know that the vice president notably rehearsed with a former adviser to Hillary Clinton, who dates back to the 2016 campaign. He was dressed like Donald Trump, and in a setting similar to the television studio this Tuesday evening.

On the former president’s side, the official line is that he does not prepare for the debates, that he trusts in his sense of improvisation. In reality, we know that he subjected himself to several three-hour preparation sessions at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.

What are their goals?

On Kamala Harris’s side, it is necessary to appear presidential and show that her opponent is dangerous. On Donald Trump’s side, it is necessary to avoid being too aggressive, not to show contempt towards a woman. The billionaire’s advisers tell him that he must present a “Trump happy rather than tyrannical”They prepared him for questions about abortion, which he boasts of having banned at the federal level but which scares away part of the female electorate.

As for the vice president, she will have to distance herself from Joe Biden’s record that Donald Trump will criticize: the cost of living, the wars in Ukraine and Israel, and immigration. She should portray her Republican opponent as a rich man who only cares about himself and his rich friends.