An hour and a half of debate without an audience and deactivable microphones to enforce speaking times: the rules of the first campaign debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, on June 27, were made public on Saturday by CNN, which will organize it .
The duel of the main candidates in the US presidential election will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, in the southeast of the United States, at a much earlier date than usual. The CNN channel had indicated since its announcement in May that the exchange would take place without an audience, a formula that Joe Biden preferred.
She announced on Saturday that the campaign teams of the two candidates had accepted a series of other provisions, including the use of identical lecterns and deactivable microphones.
“Microphones will be muted for the duration of the debate, except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak“, specifies CNN, which adds that the presenters, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, “will use all tools at their disposal to enforce timing and ensure a civilized discussion“.
The 90-minute debate will be interrupted by two commercial breaks and campaign teams will not be able to interact with the candidates during these breaks, the channel also indicates. Notes written in advance will also be prohibited on set, but “candidates will be given a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water“.
The Democratic president and his Republican predecessor agreed to debate twice before the presidential election on November 5, on June 27 and September 10. The second debate will be organized by the ABC channel.
“He says he wants to debate me again. In that case, humor me, dude. I’ll even do it twice“, Joe Biden launched in mid-May in an offensive video message. Donald Trump, who had long been calling for a televised duel, immediately took up the gauntlet: “Tell me when, I’ll be there. Let’s go for the fight!!!“
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