This is the first time in the history of the United States that a debate will feature a sitting president and a former president. Organized by the American channel CNNthe first debate of the American presidential election, between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, will take place Thursday June 27 in Atlanta, in the state of Georgia, from 9 p.m. (1 a.m. Friday, in France).
After consulting the teams of the two oldest candidates in electoral history across the Atlantic (81 years for Biden, 78 for Trump), the management of CNN has established some precise rules, to ensure the smooth running of the confrontation.
First, the two journalists who will moderate the debate, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, “will use all the tools at their disposal to enforce speaking times and ensure a civilized debate”. They will thus be able to deactivate the microphones, “except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak”. And this is to respect everyone’s speaking time.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump will be seated behind a lectern, standing during the 90 minutes of the debate. Without an audience around them, at the request of the current president, says the BBC. The candidates’ teams will not be allowed to communicate with them, even during the two commercial breaks.
“Let’s go for a fight”
The two men will not be able to rely on documents either. CNN will nevertheless provide them with a notepad, a pen and a bottle of water.
“Let’s go for a fight”declared Donald Trump, visibly impatient to do battle once again with Joe Biden. “He says he wants to debate me again. In that case, humor me, boy”replied the latter in a video in mid-May.
With these rules, CNN wants to avoid repeating the chaos of the debates during the last presidential election. A second and final televised debate will be organized on September 10 by the channel ABC.
