The schedule is officially in place for the 2020 presidential and vice presidential debates as the candidates take the stage later this September going into October.
President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will finally square off for the first of three debates on Tuesday, Sept. 29 in Cleveland, Ohio. Each of their running mates, Vice President Mike Pence and California Sen. Kamala Harris, will face off on Wednesday, Oct. 7 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Commission on Presidential Debates announced the full schedule on Wednesday.
All four debates will last 90 minutes, from 9 p.m. ET until 10:30 p.m. ET. However, due to health and safety standards amid the COVID-19 pandemic, ticketing will be extremely limited for all four events. Also, the event will implement socially distant seating.
Full Details of the 2020 Presidential Debates
Sept. 29: The first presidential debate will be held at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. Fox News anchor Chris Wallace will moderate.
Oct. 7: The vice presidential debate will be held at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. Susan Page, Washington Bureau chief of USA Today, will moderate.
Oct. 15: The second presidential debate will be held at Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida. Steve Scully, senior executive producer and political editor of C-SPAN Networks, will moderate.
Oct. 22: The third presidential debate will be held at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Kristen Welker, co-anchor of Weekend TODAY and NBC News’ White House correspondent, will moderate.
Concerns About the 2020 Debate
The Commission on Presidential Debates, a nonpartisan organization, recently turned down a request from the Trump campaign. They either wanted to move up the three already scheduled debates, or add a fourth debate. Trump’s campaign is concerned that 16 states would already be voting when the first debate on Sept. 29 begins.
In addition, the University of Notre Dame announced in July that it would not host the first presidential debate in September. The university withdrew hosting the event due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.
[H/T New York Post]
