Presidential debate (June 27, 2024)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
2024 Presidential Election
Date: November 5, 2024
White House Logo.png

Presidential candidates
Democratic Party Kamala Harris (D)
Republican Party Donald Trump (R) (won)
Green Party Jill Stein (G)
Libertarian Party Chase Oliver (L)

Battleground statesList of registered candidatesElectoral CollegePrediction marketsPresidential debatesImportant datesPresidential election by stateCampaign financeLogos and slogansKey staffersVice presidential candidatesPolicy positionsBallotpedia's presidential election coverage index
Primaries
DemocraticRepublicanGreenLibertarian

Ballotpedia's presidential election coverage
2028202420202016

CNN hosted the first general election presidential debate on June 27, 2024. President Joe Biden (D) and former President Donald Trump (R) were the only two candidates who qualified.[1][2]

Jake Tapper and Dana Bash moderated the debate. The debate took place at CNN studios in Atlanta, Georgia.

The debate was 90 minutes with two commercial breaks. Candidates' microphones were muted until it was their turn to speak, and there was no studio audience present for the debate.[3]

To qualify, a candidate had to meet certain constitutional, ballot access, and polling requirements. Click here to learn more about them.

Biden and Trump agreed to participate in the CNN debate on May 15, 2024. This debate is not hosted by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). This is the first time the major party presidential candidates have both declined to participate in debates hosted by the CPD since the organization was founded in 1987.[4]

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Date: June 27, 2024, at 9:00 p.m. ET
  • Location: Atlanta, Georgia
  • Venue: CNN studios
  • Moderators: Jake Tapper and Dana Bash
  • Debate overview

    Video and transcript

    By the numbers

    General election debates

    See also: Presidential debates, 2024

    The following table provides an overview of the date, location, and host in each scheduled 2024 general election debate. Click a link in the Debate column to read more about each debate.

    2024 general election debates
    Debate Date Location Host
    First presidential debate June 27, 2024 Atlanta, Georgia CNN
    Second presidential debate September 10, 2024 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ABC News
    Vice presidential debate October 1, 2024 New York City CBS News


    Second presidential debate

    See also: Presidential debate (September 10, 2024)

    ABC News hosted a second general election presidential debate on September 10, 2024. It was the first debate between Vice President Kamala Harris (D) and former President Donald Trump (R).[16][17]

    David Muir and Linsey Davis moderated the debate, and the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, hosted the debate.[18]

    The debate was 90 minutes in length with two commercial breaks. Candidate microphones were muted when it was not the candidate's turn to speak, and there was no live audience during the debate.[19]

    At the time the debate was announced, President Joe Biden (D), who dropped out of the race on July 21, 2024, and Trump were the only two candidates who had qualified.[20]

    On July 23, Trump said he had only agreed to a debate against Biden, not against Harris.[21] On July 25, Harris accepted the invitation to the debate, while a Trump campaign spokesman said Trump would not accept a debate invitation until the Democratic presidential nomination became official.[22][23] Harris officially became the Democratic nominee on August 2. The following day, Trump said he would not participate in the September 10 ABC News debate, and instead proposed a September 4 Fox News debate.[21] Harris responded, saying she would appear at the September 10 ABC News debate regardless of whether Trump attended.[24] On August 8, Trump said he would rejoin the September 10 ABC News debate.[25]

    Vice presidential debate

    See also: Vice presidential debate (October 1, 2024)

    CBS News hosted a vice presidential debate on October 1, 2024. U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) were the only candidates invited.[26]

    Norah O'Donnell and Margaret Brennan moderated the debate, and the debate was held in the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City.

    The debate was 90 minutes in length with two commercial breaks. CBS said microphones would be hot during the debate, and that CBS reserved the right to mute microphones as needed. There was no live audience during the debate.[27]

    Media commentary on debate schedule

    The section below provides media commentary on the 2024 debate schedule.

    The June debate will be the earliest general election debate in presidential history, occurring before either contender has been named the presidential candidate at their parties’ respective conventions. For Biden, this may be strategic, as it should quiet any and all speculation that Democrats will replace him in Chicago.

    The new debate schedule will also cut the number of debates close to Election Day. Under the schedule proposed by the Commission on Presidential Debates, there would have been three debates, all scheduled after Labor Day. Under the new schedule proposed by Biden, there will be only one post-Labor Day debate. Considering that whatever advantage a debate winner normally gains in the polls usually fades after just a couple of weeks, having fewer debates closer to Election Day is a win for Biden.

    [...] Trump’s continued success at the ballot box should disprove any notion that a functioning democracy does not contain a high element of theater. Trump, at heart, is an entertainer, and his continued polling and ratings success shows he is good at it. Voters should take these debates for what they are — infotainment — be thankful they get to see the two candidates compete in a live forum, and then make their best decision between them this November.[5]

    —Editorial Board, Washington Examiner[28]

    The first of only two debates this year will be held a week before the Fourth of July, when most people’s thoughts are focused on summer vacations, three months before anybody casts a ballot early and more than four months before Election Day. Unless either candidate has a heart attack onstage, no one is likely to remember much about that late June debate.

    Then the second and final presidential debate will occur the week after Labor Day, when kids are getting back to school. If the Biden team aimed to pick two times of year when Americans will be least tuned-in to the political world and the news cycle, they did quite well.

    [...] It’s entirely possible that the debates aren’t going to change anybody’s mind. Biden and Trump are the ultimate known quantities in American politics, so maybe it’s fitting that, at this point, it appears we have two old men opting for the early-bird special, more interested in appearing eager to debate than in actually doing it.[5]

    —Jim Geraghty, The Washington Post[29]

    The conventional wisdom might be that we don’t need many debates during this election cycle, given the familiarity that voters already have with both candidates. But debates are more than about getting to know candidates. The world is a very different place than it was the last time Trump and Biden went toe-to-toe.

    Yes, the media gives regular attention to inflation, immigration, Israel, Ukraine and abortion. But at a time when most “news” more closely resembles campaign surrogacy for one candidate or the other, neither candidate really gets pressed on those issues. And while many voters may have well made up their minds on their chosen candidate, the election promises to be so tight that even the small sliver of people who have not yet settled on a favorite may well determine the direction the country takes.

    We need more presidential debates, not fewer. And while “anywhere, anyplace, anytime” is probably too much to ask for, more than one or two seem called for. Sadly, that seems unlikely to happen.[5]

    —Mick Mulvaney, The Hill[30]

    President Joe Biden is unpopular — his latest approval ratings are in the mid-30s, perilous territory for an incumbent seeking a second term — and if the election were held now he almost surely would lose to his predecessor, Donald Trump.

    That reality makes the June 27 debate between Biden and Trump arguably far more critical for the president than his challenger. But it matters greatly for both men, potentially allowing Trump to command his podium and recover from those unflattering courtroom pictures of an impotent man. Indeed, a good case can be made that this will be the most consequential single presidential debate in living memory.

    The unusually early date for a presidential debate was set at the Biden campaign’s insistence, even at the expense of torpedoing the stated wishes of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which has performed years of fine service. That’s indicative of how much Biden and his team recognize the severity of his situation and view the debate as a chance to reverse his fortunes and reset the negative narratives about his presidency.[5]

    —Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune[31]

    Republican primary debates

    The following table provides an overview of the date, location, host, and number of participants in each scheduled 2024 Republican presidential primary debate.

    2024 Republican presidential primary debates
    Debate Date Location Host Number of participants
    First Republican primary debate August 23, 2023 Milwaukee, Wisconsin[32] Fox News[33] 8
    Second Republican primary debate September 27, 2023 Simi Valley, California[34] Fox Business, Univision 7
    Third Republican primary debate November 8, 2023 Miami, Florida[35] NBC News, Salem Radio Network 5
    Fourth Republican primary debate December 6, 2023 Tuscaloosa, Alabama[36] NewsNation, The Megyn Kelly Show, the Washington Free Beacon 4
    On December 7, 2023, CNN reported the RNC would lift its ban on non-RNC sanctioned debates.[1]
    Fifth Republican primary debate January 10, 2024 Des Moines, Iowa[1] CNN 2
    Sixth Republican primary debate January 18, 2024 Manchester, New Hampshire[37] ABC News, WMUR-TV, New Hampshire Republican State Committee Cancelled
    Seventh Republican primary debate January 21, 2024 Goffstown, New Hampshire[1] CNN Cancelled

    History of televised presidential debates

    Although the 1960 general election debate between John F. Kennedy (D) and Richard Nixon (R) is frequently cited as the first televised presidential debate, two came before it.

    The first televised presidential debate took place on May 21, 1956, when an ABC affiliate in Miami broadcast a Democratic primary debate between Adlai Stevenson and Estes Kefauver.[38] In the general election that year, Stevenson and incumbent President Dwight Eisenhower (R) used surrogates in a televised debate on November 4, 1956. They were represented by former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (D) and Sen. Margaret Chase Smith (R), respectively.[39]

    The Kennedy-Nixon debates that took place four years later showed the importance of television as a visual medium, "Nixon, pale and underweight from a recent hospitalization, appeared sickly and sweaty, while Kennedy appeared calm and confident. As the story goes, those who listened to the debate on the radio thought Nixon had won. But those listeners were in the minority. ... Those that watched the debate on TV thought Kennedy was the clear winner. Many say Kennedy won the election that night," TIME reported on the 50th anniversary of the event.[40]

    While a handful of presidential primary debates were held between 1964 and 1972, the televised presidential debate did not become a staple of American politics until 1976.[41]

    Overview

    The following chart shows the number of presidential and vice presidential debates that took place in each election cycle between 1960 and 2024.

    List of presidential debates, 1960-2024

    The following table shows the date, location, and moderators for each presidential debate between 1960 and 2024.[42]

    Presidential debates, 1960-2024
    Date Location Moderator
    September 26, 1960 Chicago, IL Howard K. Smith, CBS News
    October 7, 1960 Washington, D.C. Frank McGee, NBC
    October 13, 1960 Los Angeles, CA / New York, NY Bill Shadel, ABC
    October 21, 1960 New York, NY Quincy Howe, ABC News
    September 23, 1976 Philadelphia, PA Edwin Newman, NBC News
    October 6, 1976 San Francisco, CA Pauline Frederick, NPR
    October 22, 1976 Williamsburg, VA Barbara Walters, ABC News
    September 21, 1980 Baltimore, MD Bill Moyers, PBS
    October 28, 1980 Cleveland, OH Howard K. Smith, ABC News
    October 7, 1984 Louisville, KY Barbara Walters, ABC News
    October 21, 1984 Kansas City, MO Edwin Newman, formerly NBC News
    September 25, 1988 Winson-Salem, N.C. Jim Lehrer, PBS
    October 13, 1988 Los Angeles, CA Bernard Shaw, CNN
    October 11, 1992 St. Louis, MO Jim Lehrer, PBS
    October 15, 1992 Richmond, VA Carole Simpson, ABC
    October 19, 1992 East Lansing, MI Jim Lehrer, PBS
    October 6, 1996 Hartford, CT Jim Lehrer, PBS
    October 16, 1996 San Diego, CA Jim Lehrer, PBS
    October 3, 2000 Boston, MA Jim Lehrer, PBS
    October 11, 2000 Winson-Salem, N.C. Jim Lehrer, PBS
    October 17, 2000 St. Louis, MO Jim Lehrer, PBS
    September 30, 2004 Coral Gables, FL Jim Lehrer, PBS
    October 8, 2004 St. Louis, MO Charles Gibson, ABC
    October 13, 2004 Tempe, AZ Bob Schieffer, CBS
    September 26, 2008 Oxford, MS Jim Lehrer, PBS
    October 7, 2008 Nashville, TN Tom Brokaw, NBC
    October 15, 2008 Hempstead, NY Bob Schieffer, CBS
    October 3, 2012 Denver, CO Jim Lehrer, PBS
    October 16, 2012 Hempstead, NY Candy Crowley, CNN
    October 22, 2012 Boca Raton, FL Bob Schieffer, CBS
    September 26, 2016 Hempstead, NY Lester Holt, NBC
    October 9, 2016 St. Louis, MO Martha Raddatz, ABC
    Anderson Cooper, CNN
    October 19, 2016 Las Vegas, NV Chris Wallace, FOX
    September 29, 2020 Cleveland, OH Chris Wallace, FOX
    October 22, 2020 Nashville, TN Kristen Welker, NBC
    June 27, 2024 Atlanta, GA Dana Bash and Jake Tapper, CNN
    September 10, 2024 Philadelphia, PA David Muir and Linsey Davis, ABC

    See also

    General election presidential debates, 2024
    Use the dropdown menu below to navigate Ballotpedia's coverage of 2024 presidential general election debates.
    Additional reading




    Footnotes

    1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 CNN, "Here’s what it takes to qualify for the June 27 CNN presidential debate," May 16, 2024 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "cnn" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "cnn" defined multiple times with different content
    2. The Hill, "Biden, Trump qualify for debate as window closes: CNN," June 20, 2024
    3. CNN, "Biden and Trump campaigns agreed to mic muting, podiums among rules for upcoming CNN debate," June 15, 2024
    4. CNN, "Biden and Trump agree to 2 presidential debates, with first set for June 27 on CNN," May 15, 2024
    5. 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    6. Texas Tribune, "Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett calls on Biden to withdraw from presidential race," July 2, 2024
    7. X, "Matthew Choi on July 2, 2024," accessed July 2, 2024
    8. YouTube, "Vice President Kamala Harris defends President Biden’s debate performance," June 27, 2024
    9. The New York Times, "President Biden, I’ve Seen Enough," June 27, 2024
    10. X, "The Recount on June 28, 2024," accessed June 28, 2024
    11. YouTube, "A Brutally Honest Debate Reaction - Pod Save America," June 28, 2024
    12. Trump's campaign website, "Trump Campaign Statement on President Trump’s Historic Debate Victory," June 27, 2024
    13. The Wall Street Journal, "Trump’s Debate Performance Marked by Familiar Theme: Falsehoods," June 28, 2024
    14. Fox News, "Speaker Mike Johnson: Democrats are in panic for very good reason," June 28, 2024
    15. CNN, "CNN TO HOST 2024 ELECTION PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE BETWEEN PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN AND FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP ON JUNE 27," May 15, 2024
    16. Reuters, "Donald Trump proposes alternative election debate, Kamala Harris says no," August 3, 2024
    17. Reuters, "Trump and Harris to debate on ABC, Trump says he wants two more," August 8, 2024
    18. ABC News, "Presidential debate to be held at National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, ABC News announces," August 16, 2024
    19. ABC, "Debate Rules for 'Kamala Harris and Donald Trump – ABC News Presidential Debate' on Tuesday, Sept. 10," September 4, 2024
    20. ABC News, "ABC News Announces 2024 Election Presidential Debate Between President Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump Tuesday, Sept. 10, on ABC, ABC News Live and Hulu," May 15, 2024
    21. 21.0 21.1 CNN, "Trump says he’ll debate Harris on Fox News or not at all after weeks of back-and-forth over ABC News event," August 3, 2024
    22. ABC 7, "Kamala Harris says she is 'ready to debate' Trump in Sept. debate hosted by ABC News," July 25, 2024
    23. The Hill, "Trump campaign won’t commit to debates with Harris yet," July 25, 2024
    24. X, "Harris on August 3, 2024," accessed August 15, 2024
    25. Associated Press, "Game on: ABC News says Harris, Trump have agreed to presidential debate on Sept. 10," August 8, 2024
    26. CBS News, "VP debate hosted by CBS News set for Oct. 1 between Vance and Walz," August 15, 2024
    27. CBS News, "How the VP debate rules will work for the Walz-Vance 2024 showdown," September 27, 2024
    28. Washington Examiner, "Finally, a presidential debate," May 18, 2024
    29. The Washington Post, "Opinion: Trump just agreed to a bad deal on debates," May 16, 2024
    30. The Hill, "Mulvaney: We need more presidential debates, not fewer," May 7, 2024
    31. Chicago Tribune, "Editorial: The Biden-Trump debate next month is far more crucial than your ordinary presidential face-off," May 28, 2024
    32. The Hill, "RNC votes to hold first presidential debate in Milwaukee," February 23, 2023
    33. Fox News, "Fox News will host first 2024 Republican presidential primary debate in Milwaukee," April 12, 2023
    34. The Hill, "McDaniel announces California will host second GOP debate for 2024," April 20, 2023
    35. Reuters, "Third Republican primary debate to be in Miami in early November," September 14, 2023
    36. Associated Press, "Qualification markers grow even tougher for next month’s 4th GOP presidential debate, in Alabama," November 3, 2023
    37. ABC News, "ABC News to host GOP presidential debate before New Hampshire primary," December 7, 2023
    38. Illinois Channel, "From 1956, the First Televised Presidential Debate," June 15, 2016
    39. United States Senate, "The First Televised Presidential Debate," accessed June 12, 2019
    40. TIME, "How the Nixon-Kennedy Debate Changed the World," September 23, 2010
    41. Center for Politics, "Eight Decades of Debate," July 30, 2015
    42. Commission on Presidential Debates, "Debate History," accessed September 28, 2020