The second general election debate of the 2024 campaign season is here, but it’s the first matchup for the current nominees.
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are taking part in Tuesday night’s debate in Philadelphia. After a disastrous performance in the first general election debate of this cycle in June, President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid, upending the campaign in its closing months and kicking off the rapid-fire process that allowed Harris to rise as Democrats’ nominee in his place.
Here’s how to watch the debate:
What time is the Sept. 10 debate?
NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt and TODAY co-anchor Savannah Guthrie will anchor a pre-debate primetime special starting at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET. on NBC, followed by a live presentation of the ABC News-hosted debate at 6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET. Holt and Guthrie will continue special coverage following the debate.
Where can I watch the debate?
Viewers can watch the debate live on NBC Bay Area or via our local NBC Bay Area streaming channel, which is available 24/7 and free of charge across nearly every online video platform, including Peacock, YouTube, Samsung TV Plus and the NBC News app on smartphones and smart TVs.
We will also carry the livestream of the debate at the top of this article. Bookmark this page!
The debate is expected to last 90 minutes. It’s being moderated by “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir and “Prime” anchor Linsey Davis.
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Where is the debate being held?
The second general election debate of this cycle is taking place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. As was the case for the June debate, there will be no audience present.
Pennsylvania is perhaps the nation's premier swing state, and both candidates have spent significant time campaigning across Pennsylvania. Trump was holding a rally in Butler, in western Pennsylvania, in mid-July when he was nearly assassinated by a gunman perched on a nearby rooftop. Harris chose Philadelphia as the spot where she unveiled Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate in August.
In 2020, it was Pennsylvania's electoral votes that put Biden over the top and propelled him into the White House, four years after Trump won the state. Biden’s victory came after more than three days of uncertainty as election officials sorted through a surge of mail-in votes that delayed the processing of some ballots, and the Trump campaign mounted several legal challenges.
What are the rules of the debate?
The debate won't have an audience, live microphones when candidates aren't speaking, or written notes, according to rules that ABC News, the host network, shared with both campaigns.
There will be no topics or questions shared with campaigns or candidates in advance, the network said.
There will be no opening statements. Closing statements will be limited to two minutes per candidate.
Candidates will each have two minutes to answer a question, plus a two-minute rebuttal and an additional one-minute follow-up.
Candidates will stand behind a podium for the duration of the debate. No props are allowed. They will only have a pen, pad of paper and bottle of water.
Will there be another presidential debate?
So far, the candidates have not come to an agreement on meeting again for another debate.
What’s up next?
CBS News will host a vice presidential debate on Oct. 1 between Walz and Trump's running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance. That event is planned to be held in New York City.
