Start of the hot election campaign phase: TV duel between Biden and Trump imminent
According to the surveys, Biden and Trump are expected to deliver another close race in the Presidential election on November 5th, as they did in 2020. Their face-to-face encounter in front of millions of television viewers in the USA will be watched with great anticipation - although it is unclear if the two planned Biden-Trump debates can influence the dynamics of the election.
The TV debate is being organized by CNN. It takes place at CNN's headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, and begins at 9:00 pm local time (Friday 3:00 am CEST). The debate will be moderated by CNN star journalists Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. There will be no audience present.
For the debate, strict rules apply. The microphone of the candidate who is not speaking will be muted - this is intended to prevent interruptions and verbal escalations, as they occurred during the debates between Biden and Trump in 2020.
The television debate is being held more than four months before the Presidential election on November 5th, which is unusual. Previously, the TV debates of US presidential candidates only took place in the last three months before the election.
Neither Democrat Biden nor Republican Trump have been officially nominated as presidential candidates yet. This will only happen at the Republican Party convention in July and the Democratic Party convention in August. The second TV debate between Biden and Trump is then planned for September 10th.
There are also other things about this TV debate that are unusual. For the first time, an ex-president who has been convicted of a crime will participate in such a television debate. Trump was found guilty by a New York jury in late May for falsifying business documents to hide a hush money payment to the former porn star Stormy Daniels. He is the first ex-US president in history to be criminally convicted. The judge will announce the sentence on July 11th.
Trump's criminal conviction could become a major topic in the TV debate - as could the three other pending criminal charges against him. These relate, among other things, to his attempts to overturn his election loss to Biden in 2020 and his role in the storming of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021.
Biden will present Trump, who still refuses to accept his electoral defeat, as a danger to democracy and the rule of law in the TV debate. Just before the debate, the Biden campaign released new TV ads, in which Trump is branded as a criminal who only cares about himself.
Biden has spent nearly a week preparing for the debate at the US President's retreat in Camp David. For the President, it is not only about avoiding verbal gaffes and memory lapses, which are not uncommon for him and fuel doubts about his mental fitness for a second term.
Trump, on the other hand, seems to be preparing for the fact that his rival will be as dynamic in his performance as in his State of the Union speech in March. Before the debate, Trump and his team spread the unsubstantiated allegation that Biden is using performance-enhancing drugs.
Trump himself skipped rigorous debate training and rather relaxed his preparation, according to media reports, discussing likely topics of the duel with acquaintances. The Trump team also released new TV spots shortly before the debate. In these spots, it is accused against the President that he failed in economic and migration policy - themes that Trump will try to bring into focus during the television debate.
- The upcoming TV duel between Biden and Trump during the Election campaign phase is expected to garner significant attention, taking place at CNN's headquarters in Atlanta.
- Despite Trump's criminal conviction for falsifying business documents, he is still set to participate in the Election campaign phase's TV duel, planned for September 10th.
- The rules for the TV duel stipulate that the microphone of the non-speaking candidate will be muted to prevent interruptions and verbal escalations, as seen in past debates between Biden and Trump.
- The TV duel in the Election campaign phase will be moderated by CNN star journalists Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, with no audience present.
- Previous US presidential candidates' TV debates only took place in the last three months before the Presidential election; however, this debate is scheduled more than four months in advance.
- In the TV duel, Biden is expected to portray Trump as a threat to democracy and the rule of law, casting him as a self-centered criminal.
- Trump, despite skipping rigorous debate training, has been focusing on likely topics for the duel and has accused Biden of using performance-enhancing drugs, an unsubstantiated claim.
- The second TV debate between Biden and Trump, part of the Election campaign phase, could potentially delve into Trump's criminal conviction and the three pending charges against him.
