Summary

Presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees Joe Biden and Donald Trump have officially agreed to two debates for the 2024 election season, scheduled for June 27th on CNN and September 10th on ABC. Talks between the campaigns have been ongoing since April, with Biden's team opting out of debates organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates due to dissatisfaction with the commission's handling of the 2020 debates. CNN will host the first debate in Atlanta without a live audience, moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. The agreed-upon schedule potentially excludes third-party candidates unless they meet the CPD's participation threshold, highlighting the dominance of Biden and Trump in the race. These debates mark a crucial point in the 2024 election, offering insights into the strategies and trajectories of the candidates' campaigns.

‍

For those who read...

After months of back-and-forth, presumptive Democratic and Republican presidential nominees Joe Biden and Donald Trump have officially agreed to their first two debates of the 2024 election season. The debates are set to take place on June 27th on CNN and September 10th on ABC as election day looms closer. 

‍

The Trump and Biden campaigns have been in talks about the specifics on presidential debates since April, and have now officially agreed to this set of two debates. The agreement comes after the Biden campaign announced they would not be participating in any debates organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates, the non-profit organization that has been charged with organizing these events for more than three decades.

‍

The Biden campaign has publicly expressed their disapproval with the CPD’s handling of the 2020 presidential debates, citing the commission’s unwillingness to enforce their rules, allowing Trump to talk over Biden and the moderator and not requiring the Trump and his campaign staff to comply with COVID-19 testing restrictions in place for the rest of the event attendees. The Trump campaign has also criticized the CPD, suggesting that the commission is biased against the former president, which led the Republican National Committee to promise to not work with the commission in 2024 contests.

‍

CNN announced Wednesday that the first of these two debates will be hosted in the organization’s Atlanta studio, without a live audience, and will be moderated by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. 

‍

If the two debate schedule agreed upon by the Biden and Trump campaigns were to be agreed upon in its entirety, it would potentially exclude RFK Jr. or any other independent or third party candidates from participating in the debates. Both networks have agreed to CPD’s traditional threshold for participation, requiring candidates to be earning at least 15% in at least four major national polls from mid-May to late-June in order to qualify to participate in the debates. CNN also announced that candidates must appear on ballots in enough states in order to make it realistic for the candidate to reach the 270 electoral college vote threshold needed to win the presidential election, something only Biden and Trump are set to achieve so far.

‍

As the 2024 election year begins to pick up, these debates could provide a clearer picture of what the fall may look like for both candidates' campaigns as they fight for the presidency. 

‍

Thank you for listening to this Current2 story!

‍

‍

Biden and Trump agree to debates. And then debate about more debates. - POLITICO

Biden and Trump, trading barbs, agree to 2 presidential debates, in June and September

Biden and Trump agree to debates in late June and September