2024 United States presidential debates
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 2024 U.S. presidential election | |
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The 2024 United States presidential debates are a series of scheduled debates between major candidates of the 2024 United States presidential election. Four general election debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates are scheduled to be held between September 16 and October 9, 2024. As of April 27, 2024, both major parties' presumptive nominees, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, have confirmed their intention to participate in a televised debate with one another ahead of the 2024 election.[1][2][3] Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has had consistent polling advantages large enough to swing the results of the election[4] and has challenged both major candidates to participate in a debate.[5]
Background[edit]
In April 2022, the Republican National Committee voted unanimously to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates; committee chair Ronna McDaniel called the organization "biased" and stated that they would find "newer, better debate platforms" for future Republican nominees.[6] This announcement came after years of tension between the organizations, including a threat made earlier in the year by the RNC to change its rules to prohibit nominees from participating in CPD debates. In response, the commission stated that "[its] plans for 2024 will be based on fairness, neutrality and a firm commitment to help the American public learn about the candidates and the issues."[7]
Former president Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, did not attend any primary debates, deeming them unnecessary and detrimental to his campaign.[8] He has previously accused the CPD of unfair treatment in the 2016 and 2020 debates, and the likelihood of Trump attending the debates has been brought into question. Despite this, Trump told Fox News host Bret Baier in a June 2023 interview that he is interested in debating incumbent president Joe Biden should he become the Democratic nominee. At that time, Biden had not committed to attending the debate either, as his campaign was also in conflict with the commission for failing to enforce its rules against Trump[9], though in April 2024 he confirmed he plans to debate Trump. [citation needed]
Biden and Trump became the presumptive nominees of their respective parties in March 2024, setting up the first presidential rematch since 1956. On April 14, 2024, a number of major news organizations signed an open letter to the nominees urging them to attend the debates, arguing for its "rich tradition in our American democracy" and that the "exceptionally high" stakes require debates to be held. Signatories include ABC News, CBS News, CNN, NBC News, and Fox News, among others.[10]
If either major party nominee chooses not to attend a general election debate, it would be the first since 2020, when president Trump refused to attend the second debate with Biden because it would have been virtual rather than in person following Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis.[11] It previously occurred in 1980, when president Jimmy Carter refused to attend the first debate with Ronald Reagan due to the presence of independent candidate John B. Anderson. Should both refuse it would be the first presidential election since 1972 without any general election debate.[12] Additionally, if independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. improves his current polling results, he could be the first third party candidate since Ross Perot in 1992 to qualify for the debates.[13]
Throughout his 2024 campaign, Trump has confirmed his intention to cooperate with the Commission on Presidential Debates repeatedly and vocally challenged Biden to debate "Anywhere, anytime, anyplace."[14]
On April 27, 2024, Biden confirmed he is planning to attend a debate with Trump.[15]
On May 7, 2024, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the best polling Independent presidential candidate since 1992, issued an open letter challenging former President Trump to debate him at the Libertarian National Convention, where both are already scheduled to speak from May 24-25, citing Trump's frequent and vocal claims that he would be willing to debate anywhere and Kennedy's own competitive polling with both major candidates.[16]
Qualification of candidates[edit]
In order to qualify for the CPD-sponsored debates, presidential candidates had to meet the following criteria; vice-presidential candidates qualify by being the running mate of a qualifying presidential candidate:[17]
- Be constitutionally eligible to hold the presidency.
- Appear on a sufficient number of ballots to have a mathematical possibility of winning a majority vote in the Electoral College.
- Have a level of support of at least 15% of the national electorate as determined by five national public opinion polling organizations selected by the commission, using the average of those organizations' most recently reported results at the time of determination.
Debate schedule[edit]
The Commission on Presidential Debates announced the schedule for its four debates on November 20, 2023. All debates will start at 9 p.m. ET and will run for 90 minutes uninterrupted.[17]
| 2024 United States presidential election debates | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Date and time | Host | Location | Moderator | Participants | ||||||||||
| Key:
I Invited |
Democratic | Republican | |||||||||||||
| President Joe Biden of Delaware |
President Donald Trump of Florida | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | September 16, 2024 9:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m. EDT[17] |
Texas State University | San Marcos, Texas | TBD | I | I | |||||||||
| 2 | October 1, 2024 9:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m. EDT[17] |
Virginia State University | Petersburg, Virginia | TBD | I | I | |||||||||
| 3 | October 9, 2024 9:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m. EDT[17] |
University of Utah | Salt Lake City, Utah | TBD | I | I | |||||||||
| 2024 United States vice-presidential election debate | |||||||||||||||
| No. | Date and time | Host | Location | Moderator | Participants | ||||||||||
| Key:
I Invited |
Democratic | Republican | |||||||||||||
| Vice President Kamala Harris of California |
TBD | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | September 25, 2024 9:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m. EDT[17] |
Lafayette College | Easton, Pennsylvania | TBD | I | I | |||||||||
References[edit]
- ^ Epstein, Reid J.; Kanno-Youngs, Zolan; Swan, Jonathan (April 26, 2024). "Biden, Asked if He's Planning to Debate Trump, Says 'I Am'". The New York Times.
- ^ "Joe Biden agrees to debate Donald Trump after weeks of uncertainty". Financial Times.
- ^ Zurcher, Anthony (April 26, 2024). "Biden says he's ready for election debate with Trump". BBC. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
- ^ Edwards-Levy, Ariel (April 22, 2024). "Analysis: Polls show substantial support for candidates like RFK Jr. How much of it is real?". CNN.
- ^ Trudo, Hanna (May 7, 2024). "RFK Jr. challenges Trump to debate at Libertarian Party convention". The Hill. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ McDaniel, Eric (April 14, 2022). "Republicans say they're quitting the 'biased' Commission on Presidential Debates". NPR. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
- ^ Montanaro, Domenico (January 13, 2022). "Republicans threaten to skip traditional general election debates". NPR. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- ^ Samuels, Brett (April 25, 2023). "Trump questions why he should participate in GOP primary debates". The Hill. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ Weissert, Will (November 20, 2023). "Three general election debates are scheduled for 2024. Neither party has committed to attending". Associated Press. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- ^ Murray, Isabella (April 14, 2024). "Major media organizations urge Biden and Trump to debate". ABC News. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ Merica, Dan; Bohn, Kevin (October 9, 2020). "Commission cancels second debate between Trump and Biden". CNN. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
- ^ Greene, Bob (September 30, 2012). "When candidates said 'no' to debates". CNN. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- ^ Shepard, Steven (October 9, 2023). "RFK Jr. goes independent. Does that hurt Biden or Trump?". Politico. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
- ^ Slisco, Aila (April 26, 2024). "Donald Trump challenges Joe Biden to courthouse debate". Newsweek.
- ^ Renshaw, Jarrett (April 27, 2024). "Biden says he plans to debate Trump". Reuters. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Vigdor, Neil; O’Brien, Rebecca Davis (May 7, 2024). "R.F.K. Jr., Invited to Libertarian Convention, Seeks Trump Debate". The New York Times.
- ^ a b c d e f Cohen, Ethan (November 20, 2023). "Commission on Presidential Debates announces dates and locations for 2024 general election debates". CNN. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved November 21, 2023.